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North East Create Growth Programme

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Applications now open: North East Create Growth Programme

Deadline: Friday 6th June 2025 at 5pm 

  • Does your business have creativity at its heart?
  • Do you work in one or more of the following sectors: advertising and marketing; architecture; crafts; design and designer fashion; film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT, software and computer services (including gaming); publishing; museums, galleries and libraries; music, performing and visual arts?
  • Do you have a business operating in the North East Combined Authority region? (Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham and Northumberland)
  •  Is your business a Ltd Company, CIC or Charity?
  • As a founder, do you need help building your confidence to make decisions on investment, IP, business structures and growth plans?

The North East Create Growth Programme is designed to help creative businesses like yours. The programme will support you to develop the skills to secure investment so that you can achieve your ambitions for your company to grow. It is tailored to the needs of different creative disciplines, their respective markets, governance and distribution models.

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your strategy, expand your reach, or secure the funding needed to take your creative business to the next level, the North East Create Growth Programme offers the tools, expertise and connections to help you thrive. 

If interested, we invite you to complete the expression of interest form for the North East Create Growth Programme below. If you are eligible, our team will invite you to submit a full application form.



Apply now
Stage 1 criteria and format

Stage 1 criteria and format

Are you ready for your business to grow but don’t know how to achieve it? Create Growth Programme – Stage 1 has been designed for businesses like you, who want to grow and explore commercial investment pathways, but need a little help to do so. Over six months, you will be placed in a cohort of businesses with access to: 

– A course of workshops designed to grow your confidence, ambition and show the different pathways to investment 

– One-to-one coaching sessions with our world-class coaches, to support you to define and achieve your goals

Stage 2 criteria and format

Stage 2 criteria and format

Ready to take the leap into investment? 

Stage 2 is an intensive, high-impact programme designed for ambitious businesses that are ready to commercial investment. Over six months, you’ll embark on a tailored journey that prepares you to pitch with confidence and scale with purpose. You will receive: 

– One-to-one mentoring to address your challenges and craft, with sector specific thought leaders 

– A course of workshops designed to make your investment proposition airtight including intellectual property law, good financial hygiene  

– Opportunities to meet and pitch to our networking of over 100 investors, including sector specific funds and angels

How to apply

How to apply

Applications are now open.



Apply now

We invite you to complete the expression of interest form for the North East Create Growth Programme. If you are eligible, our team will invite you to submit a full application form.

Stage 1 criteria and format

Are you ready for your business to grow but don’t know how to achieve it? Create Growth Programme – Stage 1 has been designed for businesses like you, who want to grow and explore commercial investment pathways, but need a little help to do so. Over six months, you will be placed in a cohort of businesses with access to: 

– A course of workshops designed to grow your confidence, ambition and show the different pathways to investment 

– One-to-one coaching sessions with our world-class coaches, to support you to define and achieve your goals

Stage 2 criteria and format

Ready to take the leap into investment? 

Stage 2 is an intensive, high-impact programme designed for ambitious businesses that are ready to commercial investment. Over six months, you’ll embark on a tailored journey that prepares you to pitch with confidence and scale with purpose. You will receive: 

– One-to-one mentoring to address your challenges and craft, with sector specific thought leaders 

– A course of workshops designed to make your investment proposition airtight including intellectual property law, good financial hygiene  

– Opportunities to meet and pitch to our networking of over 100 investors, including sector specific funds and angels

How to apply

Applications are now open.



Apply now

We invite you to complete the expression of interest form for the North East Create Growth Programme. If you are eligible, our team will invite you to submit a full application form.

FAQs

FAQs

Please read our programme FAQs before submitting your EOI.

Key eligibility criteria:

– Registered as a business on Companies House

– Trading or registered within one of the following areas; Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North and South Tyneside and Sunderland. Please note, Teesside is not included in the geographic area for this programme.

– Operating across one of the following sectors: advertising and marketing; architecture; crafts; design and designer fashion; film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT, software and computer services (including gaming); publishing; museums, galleries and libraries; music, performing and visual arts.

We are particularly keen to hear from businesses who have creativity at their core and who have a strong ambition to grow and improve their business performance. For example, this can be in the form of advancing a product range, growing an audience, diversifying revenues, improving profit margin, becoming self-sustainable, securing investment or developing commercial partnerships.

Contact us

Contact Us

    1. Email our Creative UK North East programme team at dale.glenister@wearecreative.uk to start a conversation.
    2. You can also complete the form below to be added to our mailing list and start receiving updates on the programme and other North East opportunities.


Delivery & funders

Who is delivering the programme?

The North East Create Growth Programme is a collaboration between the North East Combined Authority and Creative UK.  Seven local authorities across Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham and Northumberland are also supporting the programme. In addition, sector specialists including: Generator, Sunderland Software City, North East Screen, New Writing North, and North East Local Enterprise Partnership are also involved.

FAQs

Please read our programme FAQs before submitting your EOI.

Key eligibility criteria:

– Registered as a business on Companies House

– Trading or registered within one of the following areas; Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North and South Tyneside and Sunderland. Please note, Teesside is not included in the geographic area for this programme.

– Operating across one of the following sectors: advertising and marketing; architecture; crafts; design and designer fashion; film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT, software and computer services (including gaming); publishing; museums, galleries and libraries; music, performing and visual arts.

We are particularly keen to hear from businesses who have creativity at their core and who have a strong ambition to grow and improve their business performance. For example, this can be in the form of advancing a product range, growing an audience, diversifying revenues, improving profit margin, becoming self-sustainable, securing investment or developing commercial partnerships.

Contact Us

    1. Email our Creative UK North East programme team at dale.glenister@wearecreative.uk to start a conversation.
    2. You can also complete the form below to be added to our mailing list and start receiving updates on the programme and other North East opportunities.


Who is delivering the programme?

The North East Create Growth Programme is a collaboration between the North East Combined Authority and Creative UK.  Seven local authorities across Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham and Northumberland are also supporting the programme. In addition, sector specialists including: Generator, Sunderland Software City, North East Screen, New Writing North, and North East Local Enterprise Partnership are also involved.

What is the North East Create Growth Programme?

North East Create Growth Programme is a programme of support that focuses on helping founders of creative businesses to become more sustainable, build a growth plan and develop an investment strategy and proposition. The programme will look like:

  • Diagnostic meetings with investment mentors will precede your application and will support you to dig deeper into your business plans and finances to look at what scaling up might offer you and how investment can help. These are individual diagnostic meetings with one business / applicant at a time. 
  • Online and in person workshops, events, and talks that provide overarching business skills and tools but also sector specific advice and resources.  
  • Peer to Peer Learning Sessions that will give you a regular place to share experiences, explore challenges as a wider team and consider your place in the wider creative industry ecology. 
  • One to One Mentorship that ensures you get bespoke advice and coaching to clarify your vision and business model. The mentor will support you to write business plans, proposal, and investment pitches ready for an investment application process. 
  • Open events to learn from experienced founders, intensive development courses, multi-day residentials. 

Who is delivering the programme?

The North East Create Growth Programme is a collaboration between the North of Tyne Combined Authority and Creative UK.  Seven local authorities across Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, Durham and Northumberland are also supporting the programme. In addition, sector specialists including: Generator, Sunderland Software City, North East Screen, New Writing North, Creative Fuse and North East Local Enterprise Partnership are also involved.

 

What is the timeline?

The programme launched in November 2022 and will run until March 2025. The cohorts will be staggered across the two years. The estimate dates are as follows:

  • Cohort 1: April 2023 application support. July 2023– January 2024 programme
  • Cohort 2: Sept 2023 application support. January 2023– June 2024 programme
  • Cohort 3: April 2024 application support. July 2024 – Jan 2025 programme

What is the eligibility for the programme?

To be eligible for the business support under the programme, you must meet the following criteria:

  • Registered as a business on Companies House
  • Trading or registered within one of the following areas; Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North and South Tyneside and Sunderland. Please note, Teesside is not included in the geographic area for this programme.
  • Operating across one of the following sectors: advertising and marketing; architecture; crafts; design and designer fashion; film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT, software and computer services (including gaming); publishing; museums, galleries and libraries; music, performing and visual arts.

We are particularly keen to hear from businesses who have creativity at their core and who have a strong ambition to grow and improve their business performance. For example, this can be in the form of advancing a product range, growing an audience, diversifying revenues, improving profit margin, becoming self-sustainable, securing investment or developing commercial partnerships.

What is the application process?

Stage 1
If you would like to apply for the business support programme you need to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form found here. If you have any questions about the programme you can read our FAQ document or email the team at northeast@wearecreative.uk. We are also planning on hosting some webinars on the programme which we will advertise on this page and in our newsletter.
Stage 2

Once the team has looked at your EOI they will be in touch, either with an invitation to fill out a full application form to join the programme, or to discuss different options and opportunities. Please allow up to 4 weeks for a response to the EOI. This is a rolling application and can be completed any time. However if you have a preferred cohort, ensure you complete this before the cohort deadline. The estimated deadlines for the cohorts are as follows:

  • Cohort 1 – EOI Deadline April 2023
  • Cohort 2 – EOI Deadline October 3rd 2023
  • Cohort 3 – EOI  Deadline April 2024
Stage 3
This diagnostic process will allow for our investment and business mentors to look at the potential of your business and it’s future invest-ability. The Creative UK North East team will also use the diagnostic process to understand how the business support programme needs to be shaped, which mentors we need to employ and how the broad range of selected applicants can support each other across sectors. If you are not successful, then the support team have a good understanding of how to support you next and where to sign post you to. At the end of the 6-9 Month programme your mentor and the Creative UK North East team will help you to build a pitch and proposal for investment and will be introduced to investment partners or other finance options. The key strand to the investment is through Innovate UK’s Funding Competition.

Contact Us

    1. Email our Creative UK North East programme team at northeast@wearecreative.uk to start a conversation.
    2. You can also complete the form below to be added to our mailing list and start receiving updates on the programme and other North East opportunities.


Meet the North East’s First Create Growth Programme Cohort

The first edition of our North East Create Growth Programme has officially begun. In June 2023, this intensive, six-month support scheme kicked off with a launch event held at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art welcoming each of the 16 creative businesses taking part in 2023’s inaugural cohort.

Read more

Applications are now open for DCMS Create Growth Programme competition 2. If you have questions about your application for Innovate Competition 2, please contact Innovate KTN. If you would like to notify us that you are considering an application to Competition 2, please fill in our Expression of Interest form mentioning the competition in the ‘Tell us how you plan to deploy investment’ field.

Unpack your Potential: Investment Bootcamp Explained
Our North East Investment Bootcamp aims to give founders everything they need to create a growth plan that’ll strengthen their business offering and help them secure investment. Across six months, 20 businesses from the region will receive a package of bespoke mentoring support and access to exclusive one-to-one time with investors from a range of backgrounds. Meanwhile, by being encouraged to work on their business rather than in it, they’ll be able to rewire their creative brain to ensure that both their company and creative goals are reached.
Eager to learn more? Programme Manager Jackie Boyd unpacks some key details with her interview with Simon Bland
Read interview

Stories from the programme:

Meet the North East’s First Create Growth Programme Cohort

Meet the North East’s First Create Growth Programme Cohort

The first edition of our North East Create Growth Programme has officially begun. In June 2023, this intensive, six-month support scheme kicked off with a launch event held at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art welcoming each of the 16 creative businesses taking part in 2023’s inaugural cohort.

Read more

Meet the North East’s Second Create Growth Programme Cohort

Meet the North East’s Second Create Growth Programme Cohort

The second cohort for the North East’s Create Growth Programme was announced as they met for for the first time in Newcastle’s Common Room.

Read more about the second cohort here.

Case Studies

Interested in applying to the Create Growth Programme? Find out more from our alumni of founders here.

Meet the North East’s First Create Growth Programme Cohort

The first edition of our North East Create Growth Programme has officially begun. In June 2023, this intensive, six-month support scheme kicked off with a launch event held at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art welcoming each of the 16 creative businesses taking part in 2023’s inaugural cohort.

Read more

Meet the North East’s Second Create Growth Programme Cohort

The second cohort for the North East’s Create Growth Programme was announced as they met for for the first time in Newcastle’s Common Room.

Read more about the second cohort here.

Interested in applying to the Create Growth Programme? Find out more from our alumni of founders here.

I can’t tell you what a difference being part of this organisation is making to the journey of developing Bamboo Media Productions Ltd. Bit-by-bit, with every talk, zoom, programme, workshop, and mentor session we’re getting fitter and fitter as a business. 

Read more

It’s fantastic, it’s given all of us the opportunity to challenge ourselves really and put ourselves in the situation of what it’s actually like to pitch for our businesses right now in front of an audience we haven’t yet met. It puts us on the spot. Things like a one minute pitch, a three minute pitch, these things are really important to have prepared.

It’s really supportive, it’s a great atmosphere, a room of really talented young businesses and people who are really enthusiastic about what it is they’re doing. Creative UK is certainly helping us a great deal.

Read more

Creative UK North East’s Create Growth Programme has been developed with and funded by North East Combined Authority and Department of Media, Culture and Sport to increase the sustainability of the creative industries in the North East.