In June 1997, the company announced they had purchased the rights to Captain Pugwash and would produce a new television series featuring the character. In December 1999, The Britt Allcroft Company announced they had acquired a 50% stake on Sooty from then-owner from Sooty International Limited, forming a joint-venture company called Bridgefilms, which would also handle licensing rights to existing Britt Allcroft creation Mumfie.. In March 2000, HIT Entertainment offered a $363 million bid to purchase the company, alongside other interested companies. In the same month, the company announced they had purchased The Media Merchants for £14 million, bringing Art Attack to their list of IPs.
Gullane Entertainment
In September 2000, with the poor reception and box-office bombing of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Britt Allcroft stepped down as the company's CEO, and under new leadership, the company announced they would rebrand as Gullane Entertainment in order to expand and export their brands worldwide. Britt Allcroft would however remain as a creative consultant for the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise. In January 2001, Gullane announced they had purchased the book franchises Zippy Dinosaurs and Vroom Vroom for £1.1 Million. In July 2001, Gullane purchased Guinness World Records for £45.5 Million from their original owners Diageo, although Gullane would continue to license the Guinness brand name from Diageo. In December 2001, Gullane purchased a majority stake in Fireman Sam from S4C International for £16 Million, with both companies agreeing to produce a new season of 26 episodes and to remaster the previous 4 seasons. In July 2002, HIT Entertainment agreed to purchase Gullane when no white knight could be found for the company. In January 2003, Britt Allcroft announced she had resigned as a board director at HIT Entertainment in order to focus her work on her new company Britt Allcroft Productions.
After the Purchase
As of 2020, many of Gullane's IP's still remain under the ownership of HIT Entertainment. The "Gullane Limited" subsidiary remains as the IP name holder for the Thomas & Friends franchise. In October 2007, HIT put the rights to both Mumfie and Sooty up for sale. Britt Allcroft reaquired Magic Adventures of Mumfie in March 2008, while Richard Cadell would purchase the Sooty franchise and brand in June 2008. In February 2008, HIT sold the Guinness World Records brand and franchise to Ripley Entertainment.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Gullane's only feature-length film. This film features Thomas and his friends protecting a lost engine from the evil Diesel 10 and finding some magic. The film stars Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor, Peter Fonda as Burnett Stone, Mara Wilson as Lily, Russell Means as Billy Twofeathers, Didi Conn as Stacy Jones, and Edward Glen as the voice of Thomas.
