Screen Yorkshire announces £15m fund for investment in film, TV, games and digital
Screen Yorkshire has announced a new £15 million fund to invest in creative content in film, TV, games and the digital sector.
The Yorkshire Content Fund, managed by Screen Yorkshire, secured £7,500,000 of investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is being matched by private sector investors on a project-by-project basis.
Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire, said: “The Yorkshire Content Fund marks a new era for the region’s creative businesses and for Screen Yorkshire as an organisation. These are difficult times and access to capital is still limited so to secure such a major pot of investment for the creative industries in Yorkshire and Humber is an incredible win for the region and for Screen Yorkshire.
“The fund will also create hundreds of jobs across the supply chain, which is so critical at the moment. I’m sure Yorkshire can now continue to create great content and to build on its legacy of film and TV such as Red Riding; The Damned United and This is England and video game production such as Broken Sword and Worms. It’s an exciting time to be in the creative industries in Yorkshire and Humber.”
Mark Herbert, managing director of Sheffield’s Warp Films, said: “Yorkshire has virtually everything you need to produce TV and film – stunning and diverse locations, skilled and experienced crew and now the new Yorkshire Content Fund. Finance is always a critical part of the jigsaw of getting TV or film made so this fund can only help in increasing production levels within Yorkshire.”
Charles Cecil, managing director of York-based Revolution Software and Screen Yorkshire Board Member, said: "The advent of ubiquitous broadband has opened up huge opportunities for video games developers to self-publish their titles and, in doing so, retain the lions' share of the revenues - Yorkshire, in particular, has a large number of successful, independent developers who find themselves in a fantastic position to grasp these opportunities. However, to capitalise on these opportunities upfront investment is required and can be very challenging to secure in this tough financial environment. The Yorkshire Content Fund will address this issue and also lead to significant job creation.”