Lee International

The business was incorporated as Lee Electric (Lighting) Ltd in 1961 by John Lee and Benny Lee, two film lighting electricians. Lee Electric was primarily involved in the rental of lighting equipment for commercial and documentary productions, as all principal film and television studios were at the time equipped with their own lighting equipment.

Although the lighting rental market grew throughout the 1960s, largely due to the impact of commercial television, the market was dominated by a single manufacturer of lighting equipment, Mole-Richardson (England) Ltd, which was also the largest rental house.

In 1967 Lee Electric started to purchase lighting equipment from the Italian manufacturer, Ianiro, which was itself attempting to establish a foothold in the international market. In addition, Lee Filters was formed to design, market and, from 1974, to manufacture lighting filters.

Also in 1967, BBC2 started to transmit in colour, with BBC1 and ITV following in 1969. The introduction of colour transmission entailed a substantial increase in the amount of lighting needed in studios as well as on location. With a major increase in the amount of equipment available to it as a result of purchasing Ianiro equipment, Lee Electric was able to tender for and to win a five year contract with the BBC for the supply of lighting equipment for U.K. television outside broadcasts. The contract, which was retained by Lee Electric for many more years necessitated further substantial investment in equipment and it also guaranteed high utilisation of that equipment and established Lee Electric’s leading reputation and position in the lighting rental market.

The contract was won from Mole Richardson (England) Ltd, which was ultimately acquired by Lee Electric in 1975, and subsequently extended in 1990.

In 1968 Lee Electric purchased a three acre site in North Kensington, which was converted to provide premises for the lighting equipment rental business and a three stage film studio. Lee Electric was able to compete with the major U.K. studios because it offered its stages on a ‘four wall’ basis, that is without the requirement to use the studio’s labour and equipment. Significant feature films made at the Kensington studios included ‘A Touch of Class’ and The Who rock opera, ‘Tommy’. In the same year Lee Electric acquired Telefilm Lighting Services Ltd, a competitor, thereby further increasing the quantity of equipment that Lee Electric could provide and expanding its range of marketing contracts.

To enhance the services offered to the television companies, Lee Scaffolding Ltd was formed in 1969 to hire scaffolding for rigging lighting equipment for television outside broadcasts. Stagemate Ltd was also established to provide scaffolding to film production companies.

Lee Electric (Northern) Ltd was formed in 1972, primarily to service the lighting requirements of the BBC in the North of U.K. It then became a major rental house in its own right.

In 1974 Lee Enterprises Ltd was formed to act as a bulk buyer of consumable items, principally for the rest of the Lee Group but also as a wholesaler to third parties. In 1975 Joe Dunton Cameras Ltd was formed to provide a camera rental service to the film industry.

In 1977 Lee Electric moved to Lee International Film Studios, Wembley. Over the two year following the studios acquisition, Lee Electric completely refurbished and refitted these studios for film and television productions and commercials.

By 1979 Lee Electric had established good working relation ships with a number of U.S. film production companies whose lighting requirements outside of the U.S.A were serviced by Lee Electric and who used Wembley Studios. In that year Lee Electric took the strategic step of opening a lighting rental house in New York. The establishment of Lee Lighting America was coupled with the acquisition of Belden, a New York based distributor and selling agent for film and television equipment, which had been the exclusive U.S. distributor for Lee Filters since 1976. In January, 1986 a second rental house was opened in Los Angeles.

In August, 1984 Lee Electric acquired the famous Shepperton film studios complex where major film have been produced since the 1920s.

In October, 1984 a new holding Company, Media Technology International PLC, was formed to acquire Lee Filters and Joe Dunton Cameras and admission was obtained to the Unlisted Securities Market on the London Stock Exchange. At that time, Lee Electric and John and Benny Lee owned in aggregate 59.3 per cent. of MTI’s issued share capital. It was considered that the allied but self-contained activities of Lee Filters and Joe Dunton Cameras could be more successfully developed under its own management and with direct access to the capital markets. In June, 1984 Joe Dunton Cameras had established a subsidiary in the U.S.A.

In June, 1985 Lee Electric acquired Colortran, a U.S. manufacturer of lighting products, with a U.K. branch in Norfolk. Its products included advanced computerised dimming control systems and specialist lights fo theatres and architectural applications. Through this acquisition the Lee Group secured an international network of distributors and agents.

In November, 1985, MTI acquired Mitchell Camera Corporation, which was based in Los Angeles and was one of the oldest manufacturers of film cameras. The acquisition reduced the Lee Group’s interest in MTI to 53.9 per cent. Which was further reduced to 29.9 per cent. As part of the reorganisation that took place prior to the Offer for Sale.

Lee International was formed in May, 1985 and is now the holding company for the Lee Group.

In November, 1985 Lee International made a recommended cash offer for a listed company, Humphries Holdings PLC, which rents lighting equipment in Europe, manufactures low voltage lighting, operates music recording studios and duplicates video tapes. The offer was declared unconditional on 5th December, 1985 at which date it had benn accepted in respect of shares representing 94.2 per cent. Of the issued share capital.