Creative UK launches £35m investment fund

A £35m investment fund targeting tech startups in the cultural sector has been launched by industry body Creative UK.

The Creative Growth Finance II (CGF II) fund from the not-for-profit has been tasked with expanding the creative sector in line with the recently established government goal of growing the British creative industry by £50bn over the decade.

Creative UK CEO Caroline Norbury OBE said: “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.”

CGF II follows on from the group’s first fund, launched in 2019, which has since invested more than £17m across over 30 startups in film, TV, virtual reality, gaming and software development.

According to the Salford-based group, the portfolio of its first fund has so far experienced an average revenue improvement of 108%, creating 225 jobs and going on to raise nearly £19m in further third-party funding.

Previous startups backed by Creative UK include advertising software firm Covatic, ecommerce services company Venture Stream and customer data insight specialist Bulbshare.

CFG II will be delivered in partnership with Netherlands-based Triodos Bank.

“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,” said Triodos Bank’s UK director of business banking, Philip Bate.

“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.”