Ukie welcomes new IP-backed lending guarantee in Chancellor’s SME finance package

 

The government’s announcement of a £500 million allocation to the British Business Bank’s ENABLE Guarantee programme marks a significant step forward for creative businesses seeking to raise finance against the value of their intellectual property.

Ukie along with UK Video Game Council, chaired by Nick Button-Brown, have engaged with the British Business Bank to build the case for IP-backed lending tailored to the needs of games businesses, evidencing how games studios’ IP assets can and should be recognised by commercial lenders as a driver of growth.

The announcement, alongside the wider expansion of the Growth Guarantee Scheme, delivers on a specific commitment in the Creative Industries Sector Plan and reflects sustained engagement between industry and government to close the financing gap facing IP-rich SMEs.

Nick Poole, CEO of Ukie, said:

“For years, games studios with genuinely valuable IP have been treated by lenders the same way as businesses with no assets at all.

Britain is a world leader at creating that IP, but too often the only way to scale it has been to look overseas for investment, taking value and growth out of the UK in the process.

Nick Button-Brown and the Video Games Council have worked with the British Business Bank to enable more debt to be available through
IP-backed lending.

Nick Button-Brown, Chair of the UK Video Game Council said:

“I’m absolutely delighted at this announcement. It has been very difficult for the creative industries to have access to lending of any form, and this sets up a framework that should make that available to many.  With this BBB support, games businesses should be able to get cost-effective debt to help grow and to take advantage of major opportunities as they come up.”

There is more detail to come as the scheme’s specifics are finalised and lenders develop their approach to IP-backed loans, and Ukie will continue working with the BBB and our members to help shape the details.

In the meantime, studios with questions about the scheme, or about accessing finance more broadly, should get in touch with the Ukie team.

Read the full release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-to-unlock-billions-in-finance-for-small-businesses–2