There are a wide range of national and regional funding incentives on offer to productions working in the UK.
For more information on the individual incentives please contact us, or follow the links below.
The BFI Film Fund has a number of funding strands, investing over £26m of Lottery funds per year to support film development, production (including majority and minority co-productions) and distribution activity in the UK.
Film4 is Channel 4’s film production arm. They invest £15 million annually to develop and finance films for theatrical release in cinemas, working collaboratively with filmmakers and often in partnership with other funders. They prioritise stories with contemporary relevance based around British-led talent or content and only accept proposals via production companies or agents.
The UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF) is designed to boost international development, production, distribution, and promotional opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector.
The UKGSF targets support across the screen sector, including film, TV, documentary, animation and interactive narrative games content.
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a UK Government scheme designed to help smaller unquoted trading companies to raise finance by offering a range of tax reliefs to investors who purchase new shares in those companies. The model has become widely used in film development and production. Investment can be directly into the company, or through and EIS fund.
The three key reliefs are:
The Liverpool City Region Production Fund
Open to qualifying local, national and international production companies, the Fund has been created to help drive the further growth of Liverpool’s film and television sector by investing in a diverse portfolio of high-quality content.
Managed by the Liverpool Film Office, the fund can support the production of feature films, TV drama, animation and scripted comedy series that are intending to film in the Liverpool region. It can invest up to 20% of production budget, with a cap of £500,000 per project. There are no specific match funding requirements so its equity investment can be easily combined with other private and public monies including the UK tax credit.
The fund will priortise projects that have some or all of the following characteristics:
International co-productions with Liverpool-based producers are encouraged.
Full details of the Fund can be found https://www.liverpoolfilmoffice.tv/production-fund/
Potential applicants should complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) prior to completing a full application.
The Yorkshire Content Fund
The Yorkshire Content Fund is a public-private investment fund for the TV, film, video games and digital sectors in Yorkshire and Humber, open to producers either based in Yorkshire or wishing to film or establish a base in the region.
Managed by Screen Yorkshire, the YCF can invest from £10,000 to £500,000 in individual film or TV dramas. We normally invest no more than 10% of the total production budget and our investment must be matched on identical terms with an equivalent amount of private sector investment.
Investments are made on market rate commercial terms, with the intention that investment returns will produce a legacy fund to support content development and production in Yorkshire for many years to come.
The fund is open to applications but all applicants must complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form prior to completing a full application.
Screen Yorkshire accepts EOIs on a rolling basis. They will then contact you to advise on whether they recommend progressing the application and what further information they will require to assist them in evaluating the project formally.
West Midlands Production Fund
The West Midlands Production Fund supports the development of the West Midlands as a dynamic, sustainable film and TV drama hub by providing access to finance for start-up SMEs that are active in moving image content production. Previous investments have included The Girl with All the Gifts.
Productions looking for investment must still demonstrate a strong commercial proposition and a positive impact on the region – utilising local cast, crew and services wherever possible and spending a significant portion of the production investment in the area.
The Fund can invest up to £500,000 in any one feature film or TV drama project – with the preferred minimum investment being £100,000. The Fund is able to invest a mixture of both debt (by way of gap, pre-sales discounts, distributor advances and UK Tax Credit discounting) and equity.
The level of the Fund’s overall investment will be commensurate with the proposed project and higher-level awards will only be made to projects that carry a greater prospect of commercial return as well as a powerful regional impact.
Any investment by the Fund – either as debt or equity – must be matched £ for £ by an equivalent amount of private and/or public sector risk finance, on terms to be agreed. Coinvestment from public or quasi-public investors such as the BFI, BBC and Channel 4 (excluding broadcast licence fees) as well as in certain circumstances EIS/SEIS and the UK Tax Credit can be treated as eligible match, in addition to investment from independent private sector investors. Projects attracting significant levels of private investment will be given priority by the Fund.
Supported through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the WMPF accepts applications from producers already based in Birmingham and the West Midlands as well as from companies looking to bring productions to the region.
This is a rolling fund so there is no current deadline for applications.
All prospective applicants must complete and submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form online prior to making an application.
Northern Ireland Screen Production Funding
Northern Ireland Screen (NIS) offers production funding in the form of a recoupable loan with profit participation or in limited circumstances, a grant.
The fund is intended to assist in completing budgets on productions which are almost fully financed. NIS will not consider a production with less than 65% of its funding already in place.
NIS is looking for productions which contribute to building a sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland and which can show a direct economic benefit to the region. Projects must be commercially viable and able to demonstrate clear possibilities for commercial exploitation.
In the case of feature films, the attachment of an experienced sales agent would be an asset, as would UK or US domestic distribution. For television, an expression of interest from an international distributor or network broadcaster is preferable.
Funding is available towards the production of feature films, television drama, animation, factual and entertainment television and interactive content.
The Northern Ireland Screen Fund can invest a maximum of £800,000 for feature film and television production funding and a maximum of £500,000 for interactive content production, up to a ceiling of 25% of the overall production budget. However, very few projects are awarded the maximum amount.
The Northern Ireland Screen Fund is open to all legally incorporated companies who can fulfil the British Cultural Criteria and the project Criteria.
Production Growth Fund
The Production Growth Fund aims to help grow Scotland’s screen production sector, creating employment opportunities for Scottish crews, encouraging the use of production facilities, providing significant opportunities for the professional development of producers based in Scotland, and delivering a direct and significant economic benefit to Scotland. It seeks to do this by attracting large scale productions, and maximising spend in Scotland. The Fund has a budget of £2m for the period 2018/19 and is available to qualifying productions in the form of a non-recoupable grant.
They will fund live-action and animated features, and live-action and animated high-end television drama series that demonstrate the ability to create employment opportunities for crew, that utilise production facilities companies based in Scotland, provide co-production opportunities for producers based in Scotland and that deliver a direct and significant economic benefit to the screen production sector in Scotland.
You can apply for a grant towards the budgeted production costs of a project that will be shot and/or post-produced wholly or partially in Scotland.
Producers based within and outside Scotland can apply if they are able to demonstrate that by accessing the Production Growth Fund they will secure major production and/or post-production expenditure within Scotland, employing cast and crew based in Scotland, and/ or using Scotland-based production facilities companies, thereby significantly increasing the economic benefit to Scotland. If you are a producer based outside Scotland, the attachment of a Co-Producer based in Scotland could enhance the overall benefits for Scotland, which taken together with a significant spend to funding ratio will strengthen your application. Applications for the support of projects that aim to maximise training opportunities for crew based in Scotland are encouraged and welcome.
Awards are likely to range from £200,000 up to a maximum of £500,000. The ratio of the Estimated Scottish Spend to the level of funding requested should be a minimum of 8:1.
There are no deadlines and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all the funds have been allocated. Decisions will take up to 12 weeks from the date we receive your application form and we have all the relevant information required to make a full assessment.
Welsh Government
Economic Action Plan
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy has announced the next stage of the Economic Action Plan (EAP) introducing the Economic Contract, Call to Action and Economic Futures Fund. The plan seeks to grow our economy and has been developed to meet the needs of today and to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
The Economic Contract is the framework for a new relationship with businesses looking to access finance, requiring businesses to demonstrate their commitment to growth, fair work, employee health and skills and reducing their carbon footprint, reflecting the kind of business behaviours that many successful and responsible businesses exhibit.
Designed to help businesses prepare for the future and adapt to the challenges they may bring. For Wales, these Calls to Action are designed to enable more inclusive economic growth by promoting regional strengths and tackling structural challenges.
• decarbonisation
• innovation, entrepreneurship and headquarters
• exports and Trade
• high quality employment, skills development and fair work
• R&D, automation and digitalisation
Economic Futures Fund
The Welsh Government are introducing a streamlined finance package bringing together existing finance schemes into a consistent approach, simplifying the process for businesses and allowing Welsh Government to be flexible in how it uses the resources it has to meet business need, and deliver against the points highlighted in the Economic Contract and the Calls to Action.
For more information email CreativeIndustries@gov.wales
You can view the strategy on the Welsh Government website.
For press enquiries please contact enquiries@britishfilmcommission.org.uk or +44 (0)20 7613 7675