Spotlight on Mike Mawbey, Portfolio Risk Manager
// investment
2020 has been a time of change for many creative businesses, and it has been crucial to show a high level of innovation and adaptability to continue company growth and success. As we wrap up the year, we’re spotlighting some of our investee companies who have adapted their business strategy and inspired us and many others throughout the year. We can’t wait to work with more talented companies in the new year!
New Creative Growth Finance investments
We were happy to support some impressive creative businesses this year through our Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund, including:
FuturLab, a Brighton-based independent games studio best known for their award-winning Velocity series. Established since 2003, the talented team has produced 11 original games across multiple platforms, working with some of the biggest names in the industry including EA and Playstation.
Moonraker VFX, a Graphic and Visual Effects studio based in Bristol, which has built a strong local and international reputation with producers and broadcasters creating award winning visual effects content for Television, Film, Commercials, Museums and Visitor attractions.
Create Health, established to enhance the way that new healthcare technologies, treatments and methods of care are presented to the people that matter, through delivering powerful communications that influence mindsets, increase brand value and progress the world of health.
Yippee Entertainment is acquired
Games Label Team 17 acquired Creaive England supported Yippee Entertainment in January, enabling the team to work on a combination of original IP, as well as franchises owned by Team17 and partners with titles released through its publishing label.
Auroch Digital on how to raise finance
We learned some valuable lessons from Creative England investee company Auroch Digital in April. Their Chief Executive Tomas Rawlings discussed raising finance and why the games sector is ripe for investment. Read the full article here.
LivingLens is acquired
We were happy to see that one of our investee companies LivingLens was acquired by Medallia in May, followed by the announcement of the new company’s video asset management capabilities. The world is moving to remote video as a fast and powerful way to capture rich customer feedback and insights – a driving force behind the need for a centralized platform to store, search and analyze the contents. We can’t wait to see how the new company progresses!
Skylab is acquired
In June, Creative England supported Skylab was acquired by Inc & Co Group. Skylab, based in Trafford Park, Manchester, has worked with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City; Formula 1 teams – Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso – and national governing bodies such as Swim England and the British Paralympic Association and world federations such as FIFA and the IOC.
Northcoders introduce a new programme
Creative England investee company Northcoders launched a new programme in October to ‘upskill’ developers for post-Covid economy. The programme, combining instructor-led workshops, e-learning, mentoring and practical project-based learning, will see developers dive into one of three specific language tracks via dedicated masterclasses for the first time, where participants will be able to focus on GO, Typescript or C#.
Antstream do for video games what Netflix did for movies and TV shows
Andy Martin from The Independent spoke to Steve Cottam from Creative England supported Antstream in October – the service bringing back those old games from your childhood. In this positive and insightful article, Andy compares the Antstream service to Netflix. Read the full article here.
Landmrk and the European Space Agency’s project
In October, it was announced that strategic investment by the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency has created a brand new revenue stream for charities who have had their fundraising efforts affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The combined strategic investment by the two space agencies has been awarded to one of our investee companies Landmrk – a digital platform that gives brands the power to create compelling audience-focussed interactions via the mobile web.
Wriggle Christmas Campaign
As a result of being hit by Covid-19, Creative England supported Wriggle launched Bristol Pantry, in partnership with local food and drink producers and artists, creating bespoke Christmas Party packs and presents. They also launched a festival Christmas campaign entitled ‘Wriggle Christmas’.
They’re a small businesses who are constantly innovating to meet the needs of their consumers – find out more about them here.
We cannot wait to see what 2021 brings for the companies we’ve had the honour of investing in. If you’re a promising creative business, our Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund could give you the investment you need to scale up and succeed.
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