Several indies have decided not to renew their membership of industry body PACT.

At least eight small and medium companies are leaving, according to reports. They say a rising membership fee is not justified for the representation they get.

Three indies who have confirmed their decision are Zig Zag, Betty and Firecracker.

"It is quite simply a cost issue for us," said Betty's managing director Andrew Conrad. "We had been having doubts for a while but the recent rate hike has put this into perspective and we don't now feel the service is worth the fee PACT demands.

"I am sure PACT does a good job on many levels but I don't feel that indies like us are properly represented. I think many medium- sized indies feel like they are very small fishes in a very big pond."

The three companies are members of the medium-sized producers group New Independent Producers Alliance.

PACT recently introduced a new fees structure which means many production companies pay more.

John McVay, PACT's chief executive, responded: "Turnover in the indie sector is up by around £2bn as a result of PACT's work. We have added significant value to the sector and by winning the terms of trade we enabled indies to own their own IP and build a sustainable production business for the first time in 20 years.

"I didn't want to put the fees up but it is something we have had to do to continue offering a level of service to our members."