Axis Studios, a visual effects company based in Glasgow, has appointed administrators, and 162 people have lost their jobs at the company.

All production projects will cease at both Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFX Limited, which trade under Axis Studios.

Axis Studios, which is based in Glasgow but has a presence in Bristol, worked across large projects in TV, film, and video games.

The company has been animating in Scotland since 2000, becoming the nation’s largest animation studio by 2008. Among its numerous accolades is a Royal Television Society award and an Emmy.

On July 15, Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory were appointed administrators, and while all productions have ceased, they are looking for operators to continue with live projects.

“It is a great shame to see a creative business in Scotland close its doors. Axis has been a studio of choice for key production companies and has produced content for household names such as the BBC, Netflix and Blizzard Entertainment,” McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint administrator, said. “The Company experienced a high demand for its services during COVID as animation and visual effects for TV, film and videogames skyrocketed.

“Unfortunately, however, Axis has more recently been impacted by a decline in customer projects, as well as increases in labour costs which have resulted in severe cash flow problems. The directors worked tirelessly to explore alternative solutions, but ultimately had to take the difficult decision to seek the appointment of administrators.”

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The company previously employed 166 workers, four of which will be retained to assist with the transfer of knowledge and the wind down of operations.

“Our priority is to give employees support in the first instance,” Geoff Jacobs, joint administrator, said. “We would encourage any party with an interest in Axis’ live projects to contact us immediately.”