Greater Manchester is one of six English regions already with strengths in creative industries such as film and TV, music, fashion and video games to receive equal shares of £150 million from the government’s Creative Places Growth Fund.
The fund was announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan in June, as part of the Industrial Strategy, where the Government shared their intention to invest in the creative industries of six English regions outside of London: Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East, West of England, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has revealed that the fund will be split equally across these regions to drive growth, innovation and investment. The fund will empower local Mayors to support creative professionals, businesses and young people in their communities with access to finance, mentoring and networking opportunities to help them connect with investors and skills programmes.
The £25 million for Greater Manchester will be awarded over three years, starting in the 2026 financial year, to be distributed according to local barriers and opportunities.
This is a new approach to supporting creative industries by devolving funding to high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs). The £25 million allocations will be awarded to the six MSAs over three years, starting in the 2026 financial year, for them to distribute according to local barriers and opportunities. This is part of a whole range of support announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan supporting creative growth across the whole of the UK, including providing business support for local creative businesses, regional skills initiatives, innovation capacity building programmes, or by providing sector specific support such as TV and film production funds.
Separately, today the Government is announcing that more than 100 micro, small, and medium-sized creative enterprises across twelve regions are receiving a share of £8 million in grants through the Create Growth Programme.
The grants, ranging from £20,000 to £140,000, are aimed at helping these high-growth businesses commercialise their ideas and access resources, knowledge and private investment to scale up – turning today’s growing businesses into tomorrow’s success stories.
Grants will help firms to develop innovative new products, attract private investment and access one-to-one mentoring with industry experts.
The businesses in sectors such as gaming, music and marketing are based in Greater Manchester; Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire; North East of England; West of England; Devon and Cornwall; South East; Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Greater Lincolnshire; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Hull and East Yorkshire; West Midlands; West Yorkshire; and Hertfordshire.
