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Creative Growth Finance

Investment for creative businesses

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From direct investment and loans to business support; we champion the best ideas of talented people and their businesses.

Creative England understands the needs of creative businesses. We know how difficult it is to access finance from traditional sources and that in order to take your business to the next stage, you need a cash injection to make your growth plans a reality.

Whether you’re looking for cash-flow support through the current pandemic or long-term investment to grow your business, we have the flexibility and expertise to offer financial support that works for you.

Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund

The Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund, in partnership with Triodos Bank UK, is a £24 million fund providing vital scale up finance to the UK’s most promising creative businesses.

What we offer

  • 100% virtual application process
  • Loans of £100,000 – £500,000
  • Capital repayment holiday of 6 months
  • Fixed interest rates from 7% – 15%
  • Repayment terms up to 4 years
  • Initial decision to progress within 3 days
  • 5% management fee will be charged on payment of the loan

Criteria

  • Your company must be registered in the United Kingdom
  • You must operate within the creative industries (by this we mean; Film, TV, Media, Immersive and Video Games, Advertising & Marketing, Digital & Creative Tech, Creative Software Solutions, Fashion, Architecture, Music, Publishing)
  • Your most recent annual turnover must have been at least £300,000
  • You must have at least one year of accounts filed at Companies House

The Investment process:

  • To start your application, please follow the ‘apply here’ link below.  This will take you to an eligibility questionnaire.  If you meet the minimum criteria you will then be automatically directed to an Expression of Interest.
  • In the Expression of Interest we ask for some top level financial information – please complete the spreadsheet linked below and attach this to the online EOI.
  • The Investment team will review this information and make a decision within 3 days.
  • If your business is suitable, you will then be invited to submit a full application.  To complete this you will need an integrated finance model, management accounts, a sales pipeline and any other information you think might be relevant for us to review.  More details about an integrated finance model can be found in the FAQs and there is also an example of an integrated finance model linked below for you.  Please feel free to use this as a template if you do not already have one.
  • We commit to making all investment decisions within 4 weeks

For further information on criteria, and the application process applicants must read our FAQs here

Before applying, please fill out the following spreadsheet: EOI Financial Information

Once you’ve completed the above, apply here.

Integrated Finance Model

Meet the Team

Mehjabeen PatrickChief Financial Officer

Mehjabeen is Creative England’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the implementation and running of all operating functions across the company. With extensive experience as a Finance Director, Mehjabeen oversees all investment activity for the company and has a keen interest in growing its commercial activities and diversifying its income stream. Previously Mehjabeen worked as Director of Finance for United Nations Association and Stakeholder Forum.

mehjabeen.patrick@creativeengland.co.uk

Tim EvansHead of Investment

Tim oversees the investment activity at Creative England. As well as managing the debt and equity investment activity, Tim helps to build relationships with the partners and networks that help the businesses to thrive. Tim’s prior experience includes running his own production company, the management of Creative England’s equity fund and the programme management of the South West Innovation Network programmes. He is passionate about supporting companies beyond investment and enjoys supporting entrepreneurial talent to build and execute on their ideas.

tim.evans@creativeengland.co.uk

Kate AdamSenior Investment Manager

Kate is responsible for managing investment activity at Creative England. As well as holding responsibility for the delivery of investment, Kate oversees the management of Creative England’s equity portfolio. This follows managing the delivery of the Regional Growth Fund investment programme from 2014. Prior to working at Creative England Kate worked as a project manager in both the public and private sector.

kate.adam@creativeengland.co.uk

Mehjabeen is Creative England’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the implementation and running of all operating functions across the company. With extensive experience as a Finance Director, Mehjabeen oversees all investment activity for the company and has a keen interest in growing its commercial activities and diversifying its income stream. Previously Mehjabeen worked as Director of Finance for United Nations Association and Stakeholder Forum.

mehjabeen.patrick@creativeengland.co.uk

Tim oversees the investment activity at Creative England. As well as managing the debt and equity investment activity, Tim helps to build relationships with the partners and networks that help the businesses to thrive. Tim’s prior experience includes running his own production company, the management of Creative England’s equity fund and the programme management of the South West Innovation Network programmes. He is passionate about supporting companies beyond investment and enjoys supporting entrepreneurial talent to build and execute on their ideas.

tim.evans@creativeengland.co.uk

Kate is responsible for managing investment activity at Creative England. As well as holding responsibility for the delivery of investment, Kate oversees the management of Creative England’s equity portfolio. This follows managing the delivery of the Regional Growth Fund investment programme from 2014. Prior to working at Creative England Kate worked as a project manager in both the public and private sector.

kate.adam@creativeengland.co.uk

Jackie BoydInvestment Manager

Based in our Manchester office, Jackie is part of our investment team and manages our portfolio of tech and digital investments. Before joining Creative England, Jackie worked in the games sector at SCEE and ran investment funds within the creative sectors in the North East.

Jackie.Boyd@CreativeEngland.co.uk

Matt BrowningInvestment Manager

Matt is responsible for management of the equity portfolio, aiding the growth and development of the businesses we’ve supported. Matt also manages debt activity, assisting through the investment process as well as managing the recoupment. Matt previously worked in the private financial sector, where he was responsible for the reconciliation of client money and assets.

matt.browning@creativeengland.co.uk

Based in our Manchester office, Jackie is part of our investment team and manages our portfolio of tech and digital investments. Before joining Creative England, Jackie worked in the games sector at SCEE and ran investment funds within the creative sectors in the North East.

Jackie.Boyd@CreativeEngland.co.uk

Matt is responsible for management of the equity portfolio, aiding the growth and development of the businesses we’ve supported. Matt also manages debt activity, assisting through the investment process as well as managing the recoupment. Matt previously worked in the private financial sector, where he was responsible for the reconciliation of client money and assets.

matt.browning@creativeengland.co.uk

Get in touch

To learn more about our investment offer or how to invest with us please fill in our contact form.

creative england equity portfolio

Antstream
Audiopi Limited
Booking Live Limited
Mbition
Covatic Limited
Crowdfunder
Curamicus Limited
Cyclr Systems Limited
Daredevil Project (Duel) Limited
Landmrk Limited
Locomizer Limited
MakerClub Limited
Personalyze Limited
Quvium Limited
Simpleweb Limited
Wriggle Limited
Do More Design
Bulbshare
Mo
LivingLens
Antstream

Antstream is the World’s first retro game streaming subscription service, available now on the Android and Windows platforms. Antstream has a huge library of licensed and carefully curated classic games available to play on demand. Antstream also adds a unique twist with custom asynchronous challenges, allowing you to compete against your friends, and the global Antstream user-base.

Website: http://www.antstream.com/

Audiopi Limited

Audiopi provides audio tutorials / educational podcasts which have been designed to inspire learning. Written by people in the know, from experienced teachers to exam board examiners and academics from leading universities, they follow the curriculum to ensure absolute relevance and provide all the necessary arguments. Furthermore, by using audio, a proven format to aid learning, teachers and students alike can use and listen when they wish both inside and outside the classroom, on their computer or phone.

Website: www.audiopi.co.uk

Booking Live Limited

Based amidst the UK’s second largest tech cluster, BookingLive is at the forefront of pioneering booking software design. Specialising in the provision of online booking systems, BookingLive work with a variety of clients, from party organisers to international activity centres.

Website: https://www.bookinglive.com

 

 

 

Mbition

Every runner is different – your schedule, fitness level, running history and importantly your goal. Mbition takes all this into account, creating a 100% personalized plan, that gives you total flexibility. It uniquely adapts your plan each week to optimize your training and keep you on track with your goal.

Website: http://mbition.coach

Covatic Limited

Covatic empowers media companies to deliver exceptional in-app experiences by identifying when, where and how each individual can engage with content – all without needing to expose personal data. Combining the latest machine learning expertise with decades of broadcast industry experience, Covatic is meeting the challenge of building a loyal audience base in today’s fragmented media landscape.

Website: http://covatic.com

Crowdfunder

Crowdfunder is a Crowdfunding website platform which helps companies, social enterprises, charities, clubs, etc. raise financing to support their plans. Crowdfunder is the number 1 Crowdfunding Platform in the UK having raised over £40million for businesses, charities, social enterprises and individuals. Crowdfunder connects projects that matter with people who care.

Website: http://crowdfunder.co.uk

Curamicus Limited

Curamicus is preparing to launch CuraPal® – the first wearable assistive technology that auto-detects falls by the Wearer and communicates with Carers. Curamicus have more than 40 years’ combined healthcare and related technologies experience.

Website: www.curamicus.co

Cyclr Systems Limited

Cyclr is an iPaas and Cloud Integration platform company developing a product which allows businesses to drag and drop connect their cloud apps to create marketing automations and more.

Cyclr’s drag and drop ‘builder’ was developed in association with academics from the University of Brighton who lead the field in visual language design. It is a major piece of IP differentiation, allowing even complex business processes to be visualised and built quickly and easily.

Website: http://cyclr.com

Daredevil Project (Duel) Limited

Duel is an enterprise platform for incentivising and collecting amazing, authentic and brand safe content from brand and publisher’s audiences, allowing them to create their own exclusive library of Customer Generated Visual Content about their brand and products.

Website: http://duel.tech

Landmrk Limited

Landmrk brings maps to life on the mobile web by using content to incentives users to move. Landmrk is a location-based experiences platform powering branded, global campaigns for companies including Sony Music, Showtime Networks and CeX.

The Landmrk platform allows brands to create bespoke campaigns that place digital content into physical locations, anywhere in the world.

Website: https://landmrk.it

Locomizer Limited

Locomizer’s customers use Locomizer tech like a ‘magnifying glass’ to help them to identify precise locations, so that they deliver their message to the right people at the right time. Locomizer Ltd is an award-winning global leader in the application of biological science and spatial analytics to help classify multiple different types of human behaviour.  Backed by more than 10 years of leading scientific research, Locomizer has invented a new way of connecting the emerging parallel digital world to physical real-world environments.

Website: http://locomizer.com

MakerClub Limited

MakerClub helps children discover a passion for invention.

They are designing 21st-century learning tools that encourage creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills with a suite of hardware, online personalised learning and a network of real-world design and technology communities.

Website: https://makerclub.org

Personalyze Limited

Personalyze is an award-winning, AI-driven people analytics company that has created the world’s most powerful profiling technology on individuals across social and digital, enabling us to understand people better than anyone else.

Website: https://www.topicdna.com

Quvium Limited

Quvium is a technology and data company specialising in smart management of respiratory disease by listening to, interpreting and analysing cough. Quvium empower patients to engage with their cough profile symptoms which helps clinicians and carers improve the control of chronic respiratory diseases

Website: http://www.quvium.co.uk

Simpleweb Limited

Simpleweb is small, focused team delivering digital products to start-ups, early stage businesses, and organisations that want quality and innovation, with a personal service. Simpleweb get equity stakes in the SME’s for their services, space and investment.

Website: http://simpleweb.co.uk

Wriggle Limited

Wriggle is on a mission to help you discover the best local food & drink. Since launching in Bristol in 2014 Wriggle has introduced nearly one hundred thousand people to hundreds of amazing independent restaurants, cafes and bars.

Website: http://www.getawriggleon.com

Do More Design

DoMoreDesign.com is a web platform that connects UK businesses who want great brand design work to help them grow,with the UK’s freshest design talent to deliver just that.

Website https://domoredesign.com/

Bulbshare

Bulbshare helps the world’s leading organisations stay ahead of the game through audience collaboration.

Website: https://bulbshare.com/en/

Mo

Mo is a platform that enables you to manage your Employee Nominations and Awards scheme in a more social, more engaging and, ultimately, more meaningful way.

Website: https://mo.work/

LivingLens

Video is changing the way brands understand their consumers and customer. LivingLens helps you manage and leverage it.

Website: https://livinglens.tv/

COVID-19 Industry Disruption & Advice

We know  that COVID-19 is having a very serious and immediate impact on businesses and freelancers from across the country.

We have collated the measures the government has introduced for businesses and freelancers. This will be regularly updated to act as a valuable resource for you during this time. Find out more here.