On the heels of a management buyout that ended its three-year partnership with Spain’s Zinkia Entertainment, London-based distributor Cake is launching two new companies equipped to finance high-end animated and live-action kids TV projects.

Each company expects to raise US$8.1 million in investment capital under the UK Government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which would help support several kids series sporting significant budgets.

With additional funding from investors, the yet-to-be-named companies aim to raise the majority of their show budgets through domestic and international broadcaster license fees, presales, soft money and the recently introduced UK tax credit for animation.

The idea is that if Cake takes on full budget responsibility, its independent co-production partners will be free to focus on creating and developing content. Cake, in turn, will executive produce projects running through the new outfits and exclusively handle international distribution once they’re completed.