Location Works

What Location Works does

Location Works Ltd. is a UK-based, family-owned location library and scouting services company founded in 1985 by Kell Gatherer and now managed by his daughter Lorna Gatherer-Ford as Managing Director. The company serves the film, television, photography, and events industries by maintaining a searchable catalog of over 900,000 location images organized by type (urban, domestic, interiors, stately homes, public buildings, transport, outdoor landscapes, etc.), which clients browse to identify filming or event venues. Beyond the digital library, Location Works provides end-to-end location scouting and management services, including custom location queries where coordinators curate private web pages matching client briefs, as well as site visits (recces), permissions acquisition, logistics coordination, and on-set support.

The company's core technology platform is Sumeru, a bespoke browser-based job-tracking database that enables secure remote access to location data from any computer, supporting a fully distributed operating model with no central headquarters. The team works from hubs in London and Suffolk, with additional remote staff across Bristol, Devon, Northampton, Norfolk, Ireland, India, and Sweden, using VOIP telephony for collaboration. This virtual structure is positioned as a cost and carbon advantage.

Location Works generates revenue through transaction fees charged to production companies for the use of locations from its library, supplemented by custom scouting and management service fees. Its client base includes virtually all major UK broadcasters and global streamers/studios (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple TV+, Sky, Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount). Distribution is direct via telephone (0800 334 5505) and email ([email protected]), with the online library serving as the primary discovery channel. The company also partners with Carbon Aware Productions, the Woodland Trust, and Film London to offer carbon offsetting aligned with production industry sustainability goals.

Name

Location Works

Legal name

Location Works Ltd.

Website

https://locationworks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Location Works is a UK-based, family-owned commercial location library and scouting service, supplying over 900,000 location images and end-to-end venue management to film, television, photography, and event production clients since 1985.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Location Scouting Services

NAICS

Facilities Support Services (561210), Administrative and Support Services (561)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Locations Services (Scouting, Permits, Management) (MPADAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Studios, Stages & Location Services (Facilities, Location Scouting/Permits) (MPAAAMAG), POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms (BPAMANAD)

Keywords

• Location scouting services
• Filming location library
• Production location management
• Photography location sourcing
• Event venue location library

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Location Usage Fees: Location Works is a commercial library that charges a fee for the use of locations. Productions pay to access and use locations from their library for filming, photography and events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Location Works operates a commercial location library of over 900,000 images covering UK and international sites, searchable by category and keyword, paired with full-service location scouting and management for productions. The company supplies locations to feature films, television dramas, commercials, music videos, photographic shoots, and events, and handles site visits, permissions, logistics, and on-set coordination. An internal job-tracking system called "sumeru" supports a distributed virtual workforce.

Product overview

Location Works operates as a location library and scouting service for the film, television, photography, and events industries. The core offering is the Location Library—a searchable database of over 900,000 images of locations across the UK and internationally, organized by categories (urban landscape, domestic, interiors, castles/stately homes, public buildings, entertainment, education/sport, industry/commerce, transport, and outdoor landscapes). The company pairs this digital library with Location Scouting & Management Services that include site research, recce visits, permissions acquisition, and on-set shoot coordination. Their internal technology platform, Sumeru, powers job tracking and secured data access for their distributed workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Location Library
• Location Scouting and Management Services
• Custom Location Query Service Bespoke location research where Location Works creates a private web page with a curated selection of locations matching a client brief when specific requirements cannot be met through general library search. Delivered via direct enquiry (phone/email) and inside sales.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of locations provided for feature films, television dramas, commercials, music videos, photographic shoots and events each year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Carbon Aware Productions (CAP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocation Works supports Carbon Aware Productions, a partnership with the Woodland Trust that helps production companies reduce their carbon footprint. CAP calculates carbon emissions from power usage and travel to locations, then plants trees through Woodland Trust (0.25 acres per tonne of carbon offset). CAP is recognized by Film London.
• Woodland TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough the Carbon Aware Productions partnership, Location Works connects clients with Woodland Trust for carbon offsetting through tree planting (0.25 acres per tonne of carbon offset in UK).
• Film LondonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFilm London recognizes Carbon Aware Productions (CAP) as an approved carbon offset initiative that Location Works supports for production clients.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Movie Maps: Digital platform aggregating global filming locations for film productions. Comparable to Location Works as a location discovery platform, but operates as a digital-first aggregator rather than a curated scouting agency with full management services.

Direct peers

• LA Locations: US-based location scouting and management firm serving film, television, and commercial productions in the Los Angeles market. A direct functional peer to Location Works, offering location libraries and scouting services to the same enterprise customer base.
• Pacific Locations: US-based location services company providing scouting and management for film and television productions. Comparable to Location Works in operating a location library and scouting business serving studio and streamer production clients.
• 1st Option Locations: UK location finding and management agency serving film, television, and advertising productions. Comparable to Location Works in providing curated location libraries and scouting services for the same enterprise production buyer base.
• ShootFactory: UK-based online location library for film, television, and photography shoots. Operates as a near-direct competitor to Location Works, offering a searchable image database of locations used by production companies, agencies, and photographers.
• Ultimate Locations: UK location library serving film, television, and commercial productions. Directly competes with Location Works in the UK location scouting and library market with a similar searchable image database model.

Broad incumbents

• Film London: London film commission and screen industry agency that supports productions filming in the capital. While not a commercial location library, it overlaps with Location Works in providing location services and production support, and recognizes the CAP partnership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/locationworks
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Location-Works/108690102482517?ref=mf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/companies/location-works
• Instagraminstagram.com/locationworks
• Pinterestpinterest.com/locationworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Location Works