AITA Films Collapses Over Funding, Leaving ‘Angels In The Asylum’

AITA Films, producer of Simon Pegg’s *Angels In The Asylum*, will be shut down after a year in administration, with £3.8 million in creditor claims.

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Filming stopped in Feb 2025 after promised financing from John Cairns and Parkland Pictures failed to materialise. Cairns later guaranteed a bridging loan from Brandhouse Global, which tied up the IP and halted work.

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AITA Films (Rob Sorrenti director-producer), John Cairns (Parkland Pictures sales agent), Brandhouse Global (bridging-loan provider), the Redundancy Payments Service (UK body that repaid part of wages), Simon Pegg (actor/executive producer, not financially liable), and unpaid crew.

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Creditors are owed £3.8 million; about £600 000 in wages remain unpaid. The Redundancy Payments Service has repaid part of the claim, but a crew member expects only one-third of the amount due.

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The film’s spokesperson says production paused because expected funding “did not materialise” and that the bridging loan “has created a complex situation around the production’s intellectual property.” Cairns counters that Parkland Pictures was only a sales agent and that “the producers went ahead and started the film without the full funding in place.” A producer quoted in HOLR Magazine blames the financier for “financial mismanagement” that caused the collapse. The contradictory accounts form a direct factual conflict, and the former colleague who arranged the bridging loan remains unidentified.

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Stakeholders are seeking new financing and a possible IP restructuring with Brandhouse Global. Simon Pegg’s name may help attract investors, but rebuilding trust with creditors and crew will be essential before any restart.

Producer Slams Financier As Film Company Collapses -

• “Production was paused because expected funding from Mr Robert John Cairns and Parkland Pictures, which had been promised several months earlier, did not materialise,” — *Angels In The Asylum* spokesperson

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• “When shooting was due to start, Mr Cairns then personally guaranteed a bridging loan from Brandhouse Global Limited, whilst maintaining that the promised funding would arrive imminently.” — *Angels In The Asylum* spokesperson

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• “Parkland Pictures’ agreement was as sales agent to the film Angels In The Asylum. Neither I, nor Parkland Pictures, had an agreement to fund the film. The producers went ahead and started the film without the full funding in place.” — John Cairns, Parkland Pictures

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• “The government is paying up for the mistakes of the producers. This is not why I pay my taxes. Pegg and the executive producers could write this off in a second and pay everyone off.” — Unnamed crew member

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• “We have done everything in our power to make this happen and remain fully committed to doing so.” — *Angels In The Asylum* spokesperson

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