Finance package for creative industries announced at The Big Creative UK Investment Summit
// creative industries // investment // The Big Creative UK Summit
The British Business Bank announce a cornerstone commitment of up to £45m to Redrice Ventures to support the UK’s creative industries.
Today, Tuesday 17 February, commitment to more support for the creative industries has been announced by the British Business Bank and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at The Big Creative UK Investment Summit: a flagship event connecting investors, creative leaders and policymakers at King’s Place, London.
Speaking in a keynote address, Stephen Welton, the Chair of the British Business Bank, unveiled a cornerstone commitment to the sector – with up to £45m into a venture capital firm specialising in seed stage investments across earmarked for the creative industries. This will sit alongside the existing support provided by the bank, such as Start Up Loans and guarantee schemes.
The DCMS also announced today that Creative UK are leading the discovery research around a new ‘single front door’ service: designed to offer clear guidance on accessing finance alongside improved signposting and support from the Business Growth Service and the British Business Bank. This will be launched later in 2026.
The announcements come on the back of roundtables, organised by Creative UK with the British Business Bank – in which key sector stakeholders were convened to support meaningful interventions into the creative finance ecosystem.
The announcements come as new research, published ahead of the Summit today by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, shines more light on the investment opportunities in the sector.
According to the evidence, Creative Industries account for almost a tenth of UK firms classified as having ‘high-growth potential’, higher than 5.1% and 2.4% respectively for Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing.
Commenting on the Summit, and today’s commitments, Caroline Norbury OBE, DL, Chief Executive of Creative UK said: “Creative UK has long advocated for more investment into the creative industries. This increased support from the British Business Bank is an important step forward for the sector, and I am pleased to see more initiatives being unveiled for the creative industries at our Summit today.
“As we look to unleash the full potential of the Sector Plan – access to finance for founders and creatives is a key driver for success, and we look forward to working with the British Business Bank and DCMS to keep widening access further.”
Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray said: “The UK’s creative industries are world-class, with businesses at the cutting edge of their fields existing right across the country.
“Through the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are determined to ensure they can continue to grow. Accessing finance is key to that, which is why we are working with industry to open up more opportunities.”
Christine Hockley, Managing Director & Co-Head of Funds, British Business Bank said: “The creative industries are central to the UK’s growth mission, employing 2.4 million people and contributing £124bn of Gross Value Added to the economy. As a cornerstone investor we hope to crowd in capital to provide additional finance options for companies looking to scale. This will ultimately create more jobs in an already-thriving sector and support the UK to reach its full commercial potential.”
Hasan Bakhshi, Director, Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) says:
“The new Creative PEC report, launching today, finds that almost 10% of high growth potential firms in the UK operate in the creative industries. These can be found across the sector, not only in familiar areas like Application Software, but also in sub-sectors like Advertising, Films and TV, Video Content and Video Games. Our research shows the huge investment potential the creative industries present, underpinning the importance of today’s summit, which is an opportunity for private and public sector investors from across the UK to find out more.”
Notes to Editors
It was also confirmed today that the Office for Investment and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) are working together to identify and deliver strategic investments, connecting UK businesses to international finance and global markets, in order to attract funding to the UK and expand the capability of our most promising creative industries.
DBT, industry and Government partners are also continuing to attract international investors to the UK, to showcase our most innovative creative businesses through export missions and at key global trade events.
The Big Creative UK Investment Summit is a celebration of the extraordinary investment potential which lies within the UK’s creative industries, and is attended by over 200 investors.
During the event, investors are able to connect with creatives from across UK regions via live pitches and networking. The Summit’s rich programme also includes an all-day interactive expo of creative businesses, as well as panels and keynotes exploring topics from regional investment through to foreign direct investment into the UK’s creative sector, the central role of IP in the creative industries and spotlights on successful creative businesses.
Confirmed speakers include host, Steph McGovern (award-winning journalist and broadcaster), Helen Godwin (West of England Mayor), Marverine Cole (multi-award winning journalist and broadcaster), Shriti Vadera (Co-Chair of Creative Industries Council), Stephen Welton (Non-Exec Chair of British Business Bank), Karim Palant (Director of External Affairs, UK Private Capital), and Ida Levine (Board Director, Impact Investing Institute) with more to be announced.
All of the announcements shared at today’s event build on last month’s announcement of a £500 million government package to support innovation in the creative industries. The UK Government has said that further details on how the Sector Plan is being delivered in areas including skills, trade, regional growth, and in key sectors such as music, film and games will follow in the coming weeks and months.
The UK’s creative industries are a national success story. New statistics show they contributed £145.8 billion in gross value added (GVA) in 2024, growing at four times the rate of the wider economy between 2023 and 2024. Research published today by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre also shows that almost one in ten of the UK’s high growth potential firms are in the Creative Industries.
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 to help shape relevant government policy and advocate for meaningful change. Change that will benefit UK businesses, citizens and communities.
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.
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.
