Regional production companies are to benefit from company development deals worth up to £50,000 as part of Channel 4’s Creative Cities strategy.

The deals come just a week after the broadcaster announced a major new fund to develop Scottish companies involved in factual television production.

Ricochet South in Brighton and Chameleon TV in Leeds are each to receive £50,000. Dual Purpose in Brighton, Double Band Films in Belfast and Glasgow-based Wark Clements, one of Scotland’s leading production companies, have also all recently negotiated deals with the broadcaster.

Channel 4 has invested with all five outfits on a project basis, but the rationale behind the initiative is to allow the companies to plan their research and development, and retain key talent. The aim is to enable the firms to set up a dedicated research and development function, committed to developing ideas for the channel’s factual programming department. Alan Clements, managing director of Wark Clements, welcomed the initiative.

"Obviously any chance to work more strategically with the channel is welcomed. This strategy adds more coherence to the system, creates greater efficiency and enables the company to become a stronger contender," he said.

Channel 4’s Creative Cities strategy is designed to increase the broadcaster’s contribution to the development of businesses in the UK’s regional cities.

Stuart Cosgrove, Channel 4’s head of programmes, nations & regions, said: "The businesses involved are successful production companies that regularly pitch some of the best programme ideas to Channel 4.

Rather than invest development cash on an ad hoc, programme-by-programme basis, we are investing a lump sum for the year so that companies are in a better position to plan ahead and retain key talent.

"It is also part of a wider drive by the nations & regions department to push popular factual programming, which is increasingly popular in our schedule."