Create Growth Programme: Creating national economic growth from the English regions

Creative UK is a key delivery partner for the DCMS Create Growth Programme.

Through multiple years of delivery in six distinct regions, we have witnessed the impact the programmes have on the supported businesses, the targeted regions, and the wider economy.

One learning is clear:

Regional interventions create growth on a national scale. 

Case study
Baesha

Baesha blog header (1)

Read more
Case Study
Pasimo

Pasimo blog header

Read more
Case study
Rezon

Rezon blog header

Read more
Case study
Schwartz Patrick Media

Schwartz Patrick Media blog header

Read more
Case study
Felt Nowt

Felt Nowt blog header

Read more
Case study
NOVAK

NOVAK blog header

Read more
Case study
Flamingo Heights

Flamingo Heights blog header

Read now
Case study
Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events / Gig Lab

Ghostwriter Giglab blog header

Read more
Case study
Meg Fletcher

Meg Fletcher blog header

Read more
Case study
Layers Studio

Layers Studio blog header

Apply Now
Case Study
ToneAlly

ToneAlly header

Read more
Cast Study
Shudder Films

Shudder Films blog header

Read more
Case Study
Orbital

Orbital FX blog header

Read more

 

Creative UK and the Create Growth Programme

Creative UK delivered the Create Growth Programme in six of the regions (North East, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Cornwall, Devon and the South East), in partnership with local authorities.

To date, Creative UK has taken 426 businesses through the programme, where they benefitted from one-to-one mentor support, access to tailored workshops, and connections to investors.

The results speak for themselves.

CGP CUK map v2

 

Creative UK and the Create Growth Programme

Creative UK delivered the Create Growth Programme in six of the regions (North East, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Cornwall, Devon and the South East), in partnership with local authorities.

To date, Creative UK has taken 426 businesses through the programme, where they benefitted from one-to-one mentor support, access to tailored workshops, and connections to investors.

The results speak for themselves.

A story in numbers

426 businesses were supported across six Create Growth Programme regions.​

The following graphics demonstrate the impressive achievement of the programme to date. 'Actual’ data has been self-reported by participants in exit interviews with the Creative UK delivery team. Not all participants in all areas completed all parts of the exit interviews, though the sample size is always greater than 36% of participants. ​

​‘Estimated’ takes the ‘Actual’ figure and extrapolates the figures if had been received from 100% participants. ​
​
This is an early impact evaluation and it is expected that additional investment, jobs and growth will be achieved as businesses implement their learnings over future years.​

Total value of investment 

Total value of investment
£ Millions. All types of investment (equity, debt, grants)

Gross Value Added (GVA)*

Gross Value Added
 
*GVA is calculated based on FTE jobs created with average region/sector salaries, based on the assumption that they are secured for 3 years. No deadweight/multipliers have been applied.
​

 

% of businesses by underrepresented characteristic

The graph below shows the breadth of CGP business founders who reported ‘underrepresented characteristics’, compared with UK workforce averages. We are particularly proud of achieving this breadth of diversity when we consider that both the creative industries workforce, and business founders as a group, are typically less diverse than the UK Workforce. The fact we have been able to engage founders in these numbers, and that they are ambitious for commercial growth, gives a strong platform on which to build future interventions with optimism and hope. ​​

Case study
Baesha

Baesha blog header (1)

Read more
Case Study
Pasimo

Pasimo blog header

Read more
Case study
Rezon

Rezon blog header

Read more
Case study
Schwartz Patrick Media

Schwartz Patrick Media blog header

Read more
Case study
Felt Nowt

Felt Nowt blog header

Read more
Case study
NOVAK

NOVAK blog header

Read more
Case study
Flamingo Heights

Flamingo Heights blog header

Read now
Case study
Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events / Gig Lab

Ghostwriter Giglab blog header

Read more
Case study
Meg Fletcher

Meg Fletcher blog header

Read more
Case study
Layers Studio

Layers Studio blog header

Apply Now
Case Study
ToneAlly

ToneAlly header

Read more
Cast Study
Shudder Films

Shudder Films blog header

Read more
Case Study
Orbital

Orbital FX blog header

Read more

What is the Create Growth Programme?

Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Create Growth Programme was created to support high-growth potential creative businesses in 12 identified English regions to gain the skills, expertise, and investor connections necessary for growth and success.

Innovate UK and Innovate Business Connect (formerly Innovate KTN) were also commissioned by DCMS to administer grants and increase the number of investors willing to invest in creative businesses outside of London, as part of the Create Growth Programme. 

 

CGP DCMS Innovate strip

 

Cornwall CGP audience shot 800 x 800 (1)

Investor connections

Once business strength and confidence had been established, the Create Growth Programme cohorts were ready to grow their business by pitching to investors.

We built a national investor network, with over 200 attending events across the regions. Alongside this, we have an active community of 80+ investors and mentors who have interacted with businesses throughout their journey.

Through intimate dinners, pitch events, introductions and a regular Investor Club newsletter, we were able to engage investors who were interested in exploring opportunities within the Creative Industries.

Investor speaks at a pitching event

Schwartz Patrick Media 540 x 540 v2
Case study

Ballpoint Films

Schwartz Patrick Media 540 x 540 v2
Case study

Schwartz Patrick Media 

Flamingo Heights 540 x 540
Case study

Flamingo Heights 

Felt Nowt 540 x 540 v2
Case study

Felt Nowt

ToneAlly 540 x 540
Case study

ToneAlly

NOVAK 540 x 540
Case study

NOVAK 

Baesha headshot
Case study

Baesha 

REZON 540 x 540
Case study

Rezon 

Schwartz Patrick Media 540 x 540 v2
Case study

Bamboo Media Productions 

Success stories from the programme:

£100,000 raised in angel investment

Borro: turning a parental frustration into a scalable business model​

Founded in 2021 by Sarah Green, a mum of two, Borro offers a rental service for baby and children's clothing -providing a sustainable, affordable, and hassle-free alternative for families.​

To date, Borro has helped parents save hundreds of pounds and prevented hundreds of kilograms of CO₂e emissions.

Sarah took part in the West Midlands CGP, pitching at both the regional and national Creative UK summits.​

Since then, Sarah has raised over £100,000 in angel investment and is now preparing to raise a further £450,000 to help scale the business.

Borrow founder exhibits at event
xigxag founder exhibits at event

£690,000 raised in investment

xigxag: revolutionising accessible digital reading​​

Stepping up to revolutionise the way we consume books, co-founders Kelli Fairbrother and Mark Chaplin built the Xigxag app in 2019, offering users the first ever fully-integrated listen-and-read experience without a subscription. ​

Xigxag took part in pitching at Cornish showcases, south west regional and national summits.

Since they joined the Create Growth Programme they have raised £690,000 and are currently closing their third round of investment having developed strong relationships with two investor partners at the regional and national summits.

"We have been in conversation with them for a couple of years, but you definitely improved our investor positioning that ultimately led to us converting them!" Kelli Fairbrother, co-founder of xigxag

Cornwall CGP quote Denzil Monk
Cornwall CGP quote Sam Crosby
Cornwall CGP quote Alex Tighe

Want to know more?

Sign up to our monthly newsletter to be the first to hear about the work of Creative UK, including new opportunity launches, exclusive events, and updates on the businesses in our cohorts.

 

Sign up to our newsletter

Programme feedback

Infinity 27

Cohort 1

“I think the programme has been brilliant. I'm excited for future cohorts to benefit from it. I've been surprised by how much support I've received from everyone."

Candle and Bell

Cohort 1

“The programme has definitely increased my knowledge. Definitely happy I was accepted onto it.”

Tull Stories

Cohort 2

“Feel so much more confident after the coaching. I can do things now I wouldn't have been able to do before the programme.”

Ghostwriter / Giglab

Cohort ?

“At Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events, we’ve been incredibly lucky to have the support of some fantastic organisations in the North East while developing Gig Lab. Being part of the Creative UK Growth Programme has been invaluable, helping us make the most of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award we received. It definitely helps when everyone involved is such great craic, but with a bunch of North East creatives, what else would you expect?!”

Bamboo Media

Cohort 2

“I've really enjoyed the programme and got so much out of it. I think the CUK team have been really great, very quick to answer any questions I had.”

Changing Relations

Cohort 2

“My mentor has been such a good match for me. The relationship has really worked and I've learnt so much. [They have] really helped with business planning and I feel I've really moved forward because of this.”