Toho Acquires UK Distributor Anime Limited, Establishes European HQ in London
With this acquisition, Toho now has direct distribution subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and Asia, completing a global infrastructure that lets it bypass third-party licensors for its own anime and live-action IP in all major regions.
Reporting from 2 sources: Deadline Anime, Otaku News.
Toho, the Japanese entertainment company behind Godzilla Minus One, announced on December 19 that it has acquired all shares of Glasgow-based anime distributor Anime Limited from Germany's Plaion Pictures. The acquisition gives Toho immediate distribution capabilities in the UK and France across theatrical, home video, TV, streaming, and merchandise. Toho will also establish a European regional headquarters in London, led by Toho Global, its overseas business division. Anime Limited founder and managing director Andrew Partridge will join the leadership team of the new European base. In a parallel move, Toho and Plaion Pictures have agreed to a strategic alliance, with Plaion extending Toho's distribution reach into Germany, Italy, and other European markets. The deal follows Toho's acquisition of US distributor GKIDS in October 2024 and the launch of a Singapore-based Asian hub in November 2024. Toho cited the European anime market's estimated value of $4.77 billion in 2024, projected to reach $9.05 billion by 2030, as context for the expansion. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Toho's European push comes just over a year after it bought US distributor GKIDS, which operates under Los Angeles-based Toho International, and launched Toho Entertainment Asia in Singapore. The three regional bases now give Toho direct control over theatrical, home video, streaming, merchandise, and games distribution for its properties across all major markets. Toho also owns a 25% stake in Fifth Season, the US studio behind Severance.
Anime Limited was founded in 2012 and has distributed titles including Your Name, Weathering With You, Promare, and Godzilla Minus One in the UK. It also operates the ALL THE ANIME online store. The company was acquired by Plaion Pictures in 2022. Toho said the acquisition's impact on this year's consolidated financial results could be "negligible," with the focus on medium- to long-term growth under its Toho Vision 2032 strategy, which identifies overseas and animation as key growth drivers.
Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global, said the move gives Toho "immediate pan-European distribution capability" and access to Plaion's infrastructure for merchandise operations. Andrew Partridge called the deal a chance to "expand the interest of anime across our territories."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.