Creatives come together to advocate for Cultural and Creative Industries at Labour Party Conference 2025
// Labour Party Conference
Today, Wednesday 30 July, Creative UK unveils a landmark report that exposes structural challenges in the financing landscape for the UK’s screen-based storytelling businesses. Titled Lights, Camera, Capital: Access to Finance for Screen-Based Storytelling Businesses and supported by the BFI, the report draws on fresh data and industry insights to shine a spotlight on the finance gap undermining the growth potential of one of the UK’s most dynamic creative sectors.
The findings show that while 74% of screen-based businesses actively use some form of external finance – a higher rate than UK SMEs – a staggering 83% report unmet finance demand (meaning they either failed to secure the full amount of funding needed or were discouraged from applying at all), and 77% feel underfunded. These businesses, including those working across Film & TV, Animation, Video Games, Immersive and CreaTech, are ambitious, innovative, and globally competitive – yet are held back by an investment ecosystem that often fails to understand their value or meet their needs.
Creative Enterprise is already playing a vital role in addressing many of the challenges highlighted in the report. Supported by the BFI Skills Fund (awarding National Lottery funding), this work contributes to a wider ambition to build a stronger screen sector by equipping businesses with not just capital, but the skills, confidence and long-term capacity they need to grow. Through targeted programmes focused on investment readiness, founder development, business growth, and a strong focus on diverse leaders, Creative Enterprise is helping screen businesses build the skills, confidence and networks they need to attract funding and scale sustainably.
But to deliver change at scale, a coordinated, system-wide response is now essential. This report sets out a clear case for deeper collaboration between policymakers, investors, and industry, and outlines priority areas for action to close the finance gap and unlock sector growth. Key priorities, amongst others, include expanding access to investment readiness support, particularly for underrepresented founders, and rebuilding trust between creative businesses and finance providers thus tackling the perception gaps and risk assumptions that currently limit access to finance.
Haley Edwards, Head of Creative Enterprise at Creative UK, said:
“This report reinforces what we see every day working with screen-based storytelling businesses across the UK: incredible creativity and ambition, held back by a finance system that doesn’t always understand or support their needs. Through Creative Enterprise, with the support of the BFI, we’ve seen first-hand how targeted investment readiness programmes and tailored support can unlock potential, build confidence, and attract new capital into the sector. But this can’t be solved by any one initiative alone – it’s time for wider change. If we want to see real growth in the sector, we need to back creative businesses with the investment tools and confidence to thrive.”
Sara Whybrew, Director of Skills and Workforce Development, at the BFI, said:
“The Government’s Industrial Strategy Sector Plan for the Creative Industries highlights the importance of investing in new enterprise and growth, and we know it is crucial that emerging screen businesses get the support they need to innovate and grow to boost new employment opportunities as well as creative outputs. We are proud to fund Creative Enterprise, awarding National Lottery Funding, for a Business Development Training Programme that is enabling us to play a small part in supporting this mission, whilst also helping to level the playing field for those that are too often and too easily overlooked. We know this programme makes a difference to a wide range of beneficiaries, but its role supporting female founders is especially important as it is helping to make inroads into improving gender equity in our sector.”
The report was commissioned by Creative Enterprise, part of Creative UK, supported by the BFI, and authored by Amy Tarr, George Vincent, and Harry Gault.
Powering Screen Ambition: Telling the Stories Behind the Data
Alongside the launch of the report, Creative Enterprise is also proud to unveil Powering Screen Ambition. Running over the next four months, this new impact campaign is showcasing the real stories behind the statistics. Through founder insights and in-depth case studies, the campaign highlights how Creative Enterprise programmes have helped screen-based businesses grow, adapt and thrive. It explores the journeys, challenges and breakthroughs of entrepreneurs across Film, TV, Games, Animation, Immersive and CreaTech – and celebrates the impact of a support ecosystem that has helped shape a more connected, resilient and confident screen businesses across England.
Download the full report: https://creativeenterprise.wearecreative.uk/lights-camera-capital-report
Explore the Powering Screen Ambition Impact Campaign: https://creativeenterprise.wearecreative.uk/impact
Notes to Editors
For Media Enquiries please contact press@wearecreative.uk
About Creative UK
Creative UK is the national membership body for the Cultural and Creative Industries. We exist to champion creativity in its widest form – representing world-leading organisations from sectors as diverse as advertising, animation, architecture, broadcasting, crafts, design, digital, education, fashion, games, heritage, museums, music, performing arts, photography, publishing, theatre, TV, visual art and more.
We are an independent not-for-profit, which uses the insight and experience of our members, partners and the businesses we work with to help shape relevant government policy and advocate for meaningful social and economic change right across the UK.
Our vision is a world where creativity is valued and recognised as the driving force for our future. We’re so passionate about this that we put our money where our mouth is: through own landmark investment funds, we’ve directly invested millions of pounds into creative businesses over the last decade.
Our team is based across the UK, and we work closely with Local and Combined Authorities to support creative talent, whilst delivering hands-on support – spanning business diagnostics, mentoring and investment readiness. As part of this, Creative Enterprise is a bespoke set of initiatives for ambitious screen businesses, developed with National Lottery funding from the BFI.
Our Filming in England service is a dedicated and bespoke production service to feature film and high-end TV productions looking to film in England, outside of London.
About Creative Enterprise
Creative Enterprise is a support arm of Creative UK. Creative Enterprise is a bespoke set of initiatives for ambitious screen businesses to access connections, training and networks to achieve business growth, and has been developed with National Lottery funding from the BFI to increase the sustainability of the moving image sector in England.
Our goal is to give film & TV, games, immersive, animation and creative tech companies a disproportionate advantage in the industry. Working closely with our partners at the BFI, Creative Enterprise has been designed by industry leaders to take ambitious entrepreneurs who work in moving image for storytelling, spanning film and television, games and technology, on a journey to maximise their ability and create opportunities for business growth. www.wearecreative.uk/support/creative-enterprise
About BFI Screen Sector Skills and Workforce Development Support
Through our National Lottery and Department for Culture, Media and Sport funding, we’re committed to supporting a UK screen sector workforce that is skilled and reflective of the population.
Our skills and workforce development funding programmes for 2023-2026 are investing £30m of National Lottery good cause funding and have been informed by a range of research including the BFI’s Skills Review, the BFI and ERIC screen careers research, and the PEC’s Good Work Review of the Creative Industries.
We work with a range of partners including:
- BFI Skills Clusters covering seven major production hubs across the UK
- BFI Film Academy
- WorkWise for Screen with Counterculture
- ScreenSkills Bursaries
- Creative Enterprise with Creative UK
- International Horizons: Scripted with TRC
- Careers and Progression with Into Film
- Young Creatives with National Saturday Club’s Film & Screen Clubs
- Places Fund: Skills and Training (delivery partners to be announced in early 2025)
- Skills Research
The BFI is a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image.
Our mission is:
- To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
- To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive
- To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals – delivered online and in venue
- To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding
- To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Jay Hunt OBE