Delivered in partnership with Triodos Bank, the Creative Growth Finance II (CGF II) fund is the largest single fund to be delivered by Creative UK, following its investment of more than £50 million into the UK’s world leading creative industries over the past decade.

The fund will provide the creative industry with the crucial investment needed to meet the targets set out in the recently published Sector Vision report: a report undertaken jointly by the UK Government and Creative Industries Council.

“Promising creative companies are too often prevented from unlocking their full potential by barriers to accessing the financing they require to grow,” said Tim Evans, Investment Director, Creative UK. “Our new Creative Growth Finance II fund removes those barriers.”

Creativity can change lives

Connecting talent, businesses and organisations across the creative industries from arts and culture to film, television and video games to design, publishing and architecture and everything in between – creative industries really do have the power to change lives.

“Over the past decade the UK’s Creative Industries have grown more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider economy, currently generating £108 billion in economic value and employing 2.3 million people,” said Caroline Norbury OBE, chief executive of Creative UK. “However, this country’s talented creative businesses are experiencing a significant gap between their immense growth potential and access to the funding they need to succeed.”

A key sector for a thriving and resilient society

This new fund continues the success of the first Creative Growth Finance fund, which launched in 2019 and has since invested over £17 million into more than 30 creative businesses located across the UK.

We’re proud of the impact the fund is delivering as it continues to support companies at the forefront of innovation, such as the pioneering company Dimension Studio with their ground-breaking work most recently featuring in major international productions including Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Disney’s live-action Pinocchio.

We were also delighted to hear about the recent expansion of the world’s first ‘amazement park' just a few miles away from Triodos Bank UK headquarters in Bristol, UK. Wake The Tiger is an interactive experience made up of 27 art installations and is the product of the team behind Boomtown Fair. Access to £500k of funding has allowed it to bring even more people and ideas together by expanding the park.

This fund is a great example of why the arts and culture sector is a vital area of our lending portfolio. We fund creative projects because we know they contribute to society by connecting ideas and people, and reflecting, stimulating and encouraging positive change.

“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,” said Phillip Bate, Director of Business Banking, Triodos Bank UK.