Warner Bros. will formally confirm its highly anticipated £100 million buy out of Leavesden Studios later this week.

Company executives will confirm long-standing plans to buy and renovate the former aerodrome site, home for the last ten years to the Harry Potter film franchise, at a London hotel on Wednesday.

The renovated studio, which will open in 2012, will become the company’s designated UK film production base.

The announcement, confirmation of plans previously reported by the Watford Observer, will create an estimated 1,500 specialist jobs. The company also anticipates that a further 300 will be created among builders and specialist contractors.

Warner Bros. has leased the 170 acre site since 2000, where it has produced eight Harry Potter films and other more recent blockbusters, including The Dark Knight and Inception. Overall it has attracted some £1.9billion in production budgets – almost 40 per cent of the UK’s inward film investment during the decade.

When completed, the renovations will also include a set tour visitor attraction, capable of catering for some 6,000 visitors a day.

MP Richard Harrington said: “This is absolutely excellent news for Watford. I have met with Warner Bros. many times and have been very interested about these plane. “This is not just good news for Watford but good news for the UK film industry as a whole.

“They are also a very responsible company that wants to play a full and active role in the local community; helping local charities and joining the local chamber of commerce as well. I am delighted about this and delighted about the jobs it will create.”

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill added: “It is very good news for Watford because it will create jobs – jobs of all different kinds. That is the benefit of having a company like this on our doorstep.”

Company executives also gave their response to the news.

Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO, said, “For 86 years, Warner Bros. has been intrinsically involved in film production in the UK.

"Our purchase of Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden and our multi-million pound investment in creating a state-of-the-art, permanent UK film production base further demonstrates our long-term commitment to, and confidence in, the skills and creativity of the UK film industry.”

Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros. praised the studio as “a place of incredible ambition, boundless energy and unprecedented success.”

Josh Berger, President & Managing Director of Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, added: “At a time when investment in the UK is critical, Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is a significant endorsement of the creative talent here in the UK. It will generate jobs, inward investment and interest in an industry that is respected the world over.”