HomeInsightsGovernment announces cash boost for UK’s international trade in the creative industries

The Government has announced a further £1 million in funding for the creative industries. It says that the cash will help the nation’s £92 billion creative industries “seize international trading opportunities and target inward investment from abroad”.

The Government has also announced the appointment of advertising CEO Annette King as chair of the newly established Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board. The Government says that this new industry-led initiative, agreed in the Creative Industries Sector Deal, part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, aims to “stimulate trade in one of the UK’s most exciting sectors and continue a great British success story”.

Through the Export Strategy, launched in August, the Department for International Trade has set out the target of increasing total UK exports to 35% of GDP, which is an increase of 5% from current levels, to transform the UK into one of the G7’s most successful exporting powers.

The extra funding will support UK businesses attending the Shanghai International Advertising Festival where the UK is “Country of Honour”, a new China-UK film exchange to help increase co-productions between the countries, and support an increased British presence at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The Board will include representatives from across the sector, which spans film, TV, publishing, music, games, animation, architecture, advertising, craft, design and fashion.

The Government says that recent statistics show that creative businesses are on average more likely to export than other UK businesses. Creative industries exports in services and goods are currently worth more than £40 billion, including films produced in British studios such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman and albums from artists Little Mix, Ed Sheeran and Michael Ball. There are also more than 2,000 active video games companies in the UK including Rockstar North, King and Rebellion, and together they employ 30,000 people. To read the Government’s press release in full, click here.