From £2 Million in Debt to Building One of Scotland’s Best Film Production Companies

Edinburgh businessman Matt Brown credits Scientology with helping him turn his life and business around

EDINBURGH — August 2026

When Matt Brown looks back at the journey that took him from his troubled teens and a failed business buried in £2 million of debt to running a successful film production company with a great team of around 20 people, he says there was no single overnight breakthrough.

Instead, there was a decision to keep on going and a will to learn and to grow as a person.

Today, Matt is the Managing Director of MBP Ltd, an award-winning Scottish film production company working across documentaries, television, adverts and online content. The company operates from Edinburgh and London and has worked with some major organisations and brands.

But Matt’s route to becoming a successful entrepreneur was not always a smooth one.

A difficult start

Matt grew up in Northern England and describes his childhood as largely enjoyable. His teenage years, however, took him in a different direction. He fell in with the wrong crowd, his education suffered and his interest in learning declined.

“I was quite lost for a while,” he says.

When he started to work, his jobs were varied. He worked as a photographer, a cameraman and a freelance producer, while also taking on whatever work was necessary to support himself and his creative ambitions. There was even a time when he owned a nightclub and a bar, working on the doors himself, as well as a time he was counting cars for the council.

But throughout it all, he was trying to build a career in film production. That was the goal and he never lost sight of it.

“I just grafted,” he says.

He got himself work on as many productions as possible, taking on different roles and learning different departments, while continually reaching out to people in the industry for opportunities.

That persistence eventually led to the creation of MBP Ltd.

The turning point

Matt’s life took a dramatic turn when his first business failed.

He was left owing approximately £2 million and says he was at a crossroads, unsure what to do next.

It was around this period that he was introduced to Scientology by his now wife, Gillian.

What interested Matt was that he didn’t simply find a religious philosophy or belief system, but what he describes as practical tools for dealing with life, decision-making and business.

One of the ideas that particularly affected him was taking responsibility for one’s own decisions and becoming more in control and “cause” in life, rather than just waiting for what would happen.

He also says he learned not to be afraid of taking opportunities and saying yes.

Losing £750,000 of work overnight

Those lessons were put to a major test years later when the Covid pandemic hit.

Matt says MBP suddenly lost around three-quarters of a million pounds worth of work as productions and projects disappeared almost overnight.

Instead of simply cutting back and waiting for the market to recover, Matt got to work applying a principle he had learned in his study of Scientology and he redirected the entire team towards generating new business.

The company focused heavily on promotion, marketing and sales. In a time when the world was standing still, Matt and his team were anything but.

The result, he says, was remarkable.

“We managed to not only survive but we flourished.”

From survival to success

Today MBP has a team of around 20 and operates from Edinburgh and London.

The company has established itself in Scotland’s film production industry, with work spanning commercial, corporate, television and documentary production. Film Edinburgh lists MBP among Edinburgh’s production companies and notes its work with organisations including the BBC, Coca-Cola Enterprises and governments.

For Matt, however, the biggest measure of success isn’t a particular turnover figure or a single major contract.

He still describes himself as someone who “grafts every day”.

But there is one change he does notice.

“We are now one of the most established and respected production companies in Scotland and we regularly get approached by people that I used to dream of working with.”

The connection between personal growth and business

Matt says that his experience with Scientology has affected far more than his professional life. Having taken courses and other services he says he has gained practical knowledge he can use every day in both business and life, contributing to a successful life, family and business.

His view is that improving the individual inevitably improves the business.

“The more you improve yourself, the more the business will improve,” he says.

He believes the results have been tangible, describing repeated periods of business growth and greater stability following his continued personal development.

Looking back at the period when he owed £2 million, Matt is certain about the results.

“I really do feel that Scientology saved my life.”

He says the tools he learned have helped him improve his circumstances, survive the collapse of his first business, pay off what he owed and ultimately build a successful company and a successful life.

His advice to other entrepreneurs is therefore straightforward: don’t just work on the business — work on yourself.

“Everything I have done in Scientology has not only made me a better person, happier and more competent, but the reflection on the business is very real and tangible.”

For Matt, the story is not finished. He has big plans and big dreams.

Despite what he has built, Matt says he has no intention of slowing down.

Watch Matt’s full story in the 30 minute Meet a Scientologist episode below:

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