Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has joined the board of city-based natural history documentary maker Plimsoll Productions.
The company said his responsibilities as a non-executive director will include providing strategic advice to chief executive Grant Mansfield and the board on matters such as commercial opportunities, talent, diversity and sustainability. 
Plimsoll is best-known for shows such as Hostile Planet, hosted by Bear Grylls, Yellowstone Live and Alaska Live for National Geographic, ITV’s A Year On Planet Earth – the channel’s first new major natural history series for more than two decades – the Night On Earth series for Netflix and Tiny World, for Apple’s forthcoming Apple TV+ service.
Having launched 2013 and grown steadily on the back of its strong output, the firm now has ambitions to nearly double in size in the next year with more than 20 series in production.
The rapid growth is being funded by an investment from private equity firm LDC this summer which valued the business at more than £80m. Details of the cash injection have not been disclosed but it is regarded as sufficient for Plimsoll to make its own acquisitions and investments.
A month after the deal was signed Plimsoll snapped up Brighton-based distributor Magnify Media – in which it bought a minority stake four years ago – opens up a sales division for the firm.
Marvin Rees, pictured above, who has said he will stand for re-election as Mayor next May, was instrumental in bringing one of Channel 4’s regional creative hubs to the city with a campaign in which Plimsoll also played a key role.
He has also founded the City Leadership Programme which invests in the personal development and training for future leaders, while providing work experience opportunities for more 3,500 young people. 
He said: “Plimsoll has a well-deserved reputation for making ground-breaking programmes through creative partnerships, distributed through new platforms.
“I’ve also been very impressed by the company’s commitment to inclusion, opening the doors of opportunity to talent from a wider range of backgrounds. It’s the commitment to excellence, success and values that I believe makes Plimsoll such a stand-out company.”
Grant Mansfield, pictured, added: “Marvin is a dynamic leader who shares our ambitions and values: we both want to see Plimsoll and Bristol continue to grow its national and international reputation as a centre of creative excellence, fuelled by a diversity of local talent.”
