Hammer Horror returns from the grave

CULT film production company Hammer Horror is set to be revived after being sold off to a consortium led by Dutch media billionaire Jon de Mol, the creator of Big Brother.

No official price was given for the deal. But sources at Hammer, which created gothic horrors in the 1950s and 1960s such as Dracula, the Curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy, said Cryte Investments, in which Mr de Mol is a major shareholder, got it for a "few million" pounds. The new owners plan to invest at least 25m initially to resurrect the popular British films - and plans are in the pipeline with a UK broadcaster to launch a Hammer Horror TV series.

Cryte also hopes to restart Hammer's production division and create new films for the first time in more than 30 years.

Simon Oakes, who will run Hammer for Cryte, said: "Hammer is a great British brand - we intend to take it back into production and develop its global potential. The brand is still alive, but no-one has invested in it for a long time."

The company was previously bought by a consortium of private investors in 2000.

Larry Chrisfield, former head of Ernst & Young's Entertainment and Media Group and a member of the original consortium, said:

"There were significant revenues from the back catalogue and also from merchandise. It was profitable, it always has been and it probably will continue to be."