Creative UK and Triodos Bank have partnered on a £35m investment fund for the creative industries, as part of government plans to grow the UK sector by £50bn and create one million extra jobs by 2030.
The £35 million Creative Growth Finance II (CGF II) fund aims to provide the investment needed to help meet the targets set out in the UK government and Creative Industries Council’s Sector Vision, published in June, which includes growing creative clusters across the UK, building a highly skilled and inclusive workforce and to maximise the positive impact of the creative industries on individuals and communities.
CGF II is the largest single fund to be delivered by Creative UK, following its investment of more than £50m into the UK’s creative industries over the past decade.
It follows the first Creative Growth Finance fund, which launched in 2019 with Triodos Bank and has since invested over £17m into more than 30 creative businesses located across the UK, from fields of film and TV, virtual production, narrative-based video games, advertising and software.
The fund is targeted at established UK creative companies looking to scale-up and grow, so is not suitable for pre-revenue start-ups, with loans available of between £100,000 and £1m.
As of August 2023 the existing CGF fund portfolio has experienced a 108% improvement in average monthly revenues, a 39% headcount growth average with more than 225 jobs created, and nearly £19m raised in further third party funding.
Companies to have received support from the initial CGF fund include virtual production outfit Dimension Studio, which received two rounds of investment worth £1m and has worked on Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Disney’s live action Pinocchio, plus visual effects studio Moonraker VFX who has worked on BBC, Apple TV+, Netflix and Disney+ productions and received loans worth £700,000.
Between 2012-17, Creative UK invested £20m in public funds into creative companies, achieving a 99% loan repayment rate, a three year business survival rate of 83% (compared to a national average of 60%), and generating an additional £4 of private capital for every £1 of public money.
Caroline Norbury, chief executive at Creative UK, said: “Over the past decade the UK’s creative industries have grown more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider economy, currently generating £108bn in economic value and employing 2.3 million people. However, this country’s talented creative businesses are experiencing a significant gap between their immense growth potential and access to the vital capital they need to succeed.
“In launching the Creative Industries Sector Vision, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged the ’enormous potential of our creative entrepreneurs and businesses’ and said that ’growing the economy means growing the creative industries’. However, the potential of the creative industries risks being unfulfilled if the creators and innovators whose talents power our growth are unable to access the capital and financing they require.
“That’s where Creative UK comes in. We know that with the right investment, the power of the sector to drive growth and innovation across all corners of the UK can be truly transformative.”
Phillip Bate, director of business nanking, Triodos Bank UK, said: “Four years on from the launch of the first Creative Growth Finance fund, our partnership with Creative UK goes from strength to strength and continues to support companies at the forefront of innovation. For a bank only focused on financing projects with positive impact, we can see the social importance of these organisations to the UK. Creative UK’s expertise has been key to helping us grow our funding of this important sector.”
Tim Evans, investment director at Creative UK, noted “what truly sets our investment offer apart is Creative UK’s deep understanding of the huge value of creative IP, and our knowledge of what creative companies need to flourish. Our Creative Growth Finance portfolio don’t only gain access to much needed financing, they also receive specialist mentoring and support that is unmatched within the UK’s creative sector”.
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