The British Business Bank (BBB) providing £45 million for a specialist investor in the creative industries is one of several government announcements aimed at supporting creative businesses.
The funding is for Redrice Ventures’ £75 million Fund II. The London-based venture capital firm delivers seed-stage investments across the creative industries sector, supporting premium, purpose-driven consumer brands and related B2B technology.
The creative industries is one of the government’s eight key sectors in its industrial strategy and its sector plan included £500 million funding for research, development and innovation.
As well as the Redrice Ventures funding, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) also said the BBB is exploring using its existing financial guarantee capacity to support IP-backed lending to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. This was a request by the government in last November’s Autumn Budget.
The bank is also working with sector stakeholders including small creative business owners, finance providers, public finance institutions, and the Creative Industries Council to understand the investment opportunities in the sector.
Other announcements this week are Creative UK launching a new “single front door” service later this year to provide guidance on accessing finance alongside improved signposting and support from the Business Growth Service and the British Business Bank.
DCMS has also published new resources for creative businesses, including a map of finance available to the sector, and case studies of successful creative scale-ups.
Statistics published earlier this month show the creative industries 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. In addition, new research published this week by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre found that almost one in 10 of the UK’s high growth potential firms are in the creative sector.
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.”
Caroline Norbury OBE, 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.
“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.”