North East Mayor Kim McGuinness today announced the expansion of a fund to help the region’s creative talent grow and compete on a global scale.
The Mayor and Creative UK have come together to relaunch the £1.5 million North East Culture and Creative Investment Programme (CCIP), offering a blend of loans and equity investments tailored to the unique needs of creative businesses.
The CCIP is designed to provide sustainable finance for commercially viable, growth-minded businesses that are innovative, operate within the creative and cultural sectors, and are committed to delivering meaningful impact in the region.
The programme aims to bolster the creative economy, a key part of the North East Combined Authority’s interim Local Growth Plan, and has been expanded to span the whole CA area, including Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham, and Northumberland.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:
"I have put creative and cultural industries at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and with that new jobs and opportunities for local people.
"I know that with the right support we can help local talent find a global market, which is why we are expanding the £1.5 million North East Culture and Creative Investment Programme to make it available to businesses and professionals right across our region."
Carol Bell, Regional Associate Director, North at Creative UK commented:
"The CCIP has been providing vital investment to North East creative businesses to support them on their growth journey for a number of years. This is a unique programme for the sector which complements all the amazing development work undertaken by organisations like North East Screen, Generator, New Writing North as well as Creative UK’s own Create Growth Programme. All of this activity helps creative businesses develop creative IP, new products, and services that need investment to grow. In time that investment will be returned so an ongoing pipeline of businesses can be supported into the future."
Rahul Misra, Investment Principal at Creative UK Investments, also commented:
"We are extremely pleased to expand our partnership with Kim McGuinness and the North East Combined Authority on this breakthrough fund for the creative and cultural sector in the region. Since our first investment in early 2022, we have provided investment to a fast-growing and diverse portfolio across a range of sectors and stages of growth. We look forward to creating many more success stories.
"To be eligible for funding, businesses must be based in the North East and operate within the creative and cultural industries. They must be registered on Companies House and able to provide a suite of financial information, including forecasts.
Throughout its lifetime, the CCIP has invested £2.5m (excluding grants) in North East businesses, which led to £3.5m in follow-on investment. This includes backing innovative and exciting North East businesses such as Orbital FX, Deadgood, and Grid Finder.
For further information on North East Culture and Creative Investment Programme and how to apply, please visit https://www.wearecreative.uk/support/regional-growth-programmes/north-east/north-east-investment/