The acquisition facilitates STV Studios’ expansion with bases in Glasgow and London, and the establishment of offices in Cardiff, Belfast, Brighton, and Manchester. This will bolster its capacity to harness the ongoing growth of production in the nations and regions.

Established in 2012, Greenbird has cultivated its independently-owned network of high-calibre producers, boasting an archive exceeding 2,000 hours of content. This year, the Greenbird network, now incorporated into STV Studios, will deliver over 350 hours of fresh programming across 25 recurring series.

The merger sees Greenbird founders Jamie Munro and Stuart Mullin joining the STV Studios board as chief commercial officer and finance & integration director, respectively.

They will collaborate with COO, Paul Sheehan, under the stewardship of managing director, David Mortimer.

STV CEO Simon Pitts said: “Growing STV Studios into the UK’s #1 nations and regions production company is one of our core strategic objectives. This transformative acquisition represents a major step towards that goal, adding significant scale and creative firepower to the group and immediately accelerating STV’s overall diversification in terms of both revenue and profit.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Greenbird and to welcome their incredibly talented network of creative leaders to the STV family as we jointly aim to grow our production base in the UK and internationally.”

Mr Munro and Mr Mullin added: “This is an exciting new chapter in Greenbird’s history. We are hugely proud of the Greenbird incubator model we have built. It has given creatives space to flourish and deliver some of the most innovative, entertaining and loved programmes in the UK.

“Their creative power is unrivalled and has been recognised by viewers, critics, awards panels and through the volume of international sales that their shows have generated.

“We’re delighted to be working with Simon and David at STV. We look forward to a future together helping a wider network of creatives realise their ambitions.”

The newly amalgamated business has its sights set on international growth, capitalising on the success of their production portfolio, such as Tuesday’s Child’s LEGO Masters and STV Studios’ Bridge of Lies, in territories outside the UK.

Mr Mortimer said: “Over the last four years we have transformed STV Studios’ creative and commercial performance, so now feels like the right time to take our next big step towards becoming one of the UK’s most successful production networks.

“I’ve known and worked with many of the team at Greenbird and their associated companies previously and can’t wait to get on with the job of creating an environment for creatives to thrive in. Jamie and Stuart have built a brilliant business with a bespoke approach that has delivered fantastic results.

“They’ll bring unrivalled commercial expertise as part of our senior management team and I know that over the next few years, together we will be making some huge television shows for broadcasters and streamers both here in the UK and around the world, so this feels like an exciting new era for STV Studios.”

The acquisition was funded by the existing financial resources of the STV Group. The move follows Keshet International’s acquisition of a majority stake in Greenbird five years prior.

Mr Munro and Mr Mullin added: “We’ve had a great five years in partnership with Keshet International and would like to thank them for all their support during this time.”