Evaluation of the Create Growth Programme: Final report
Frontier Economics' final independent evaluation of the CGP, which provides a bespoke package of finance, business support and investor capacity building to support creative businesses in England.
Applies to England
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This report presents the final findings of an independent impact evaluation of the Create Growth Programme (CGP).
The CGP, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was a £43 million initiative to support the development of businesses in the creative industries with high-growth potential. The CGP provided a bespoke package of finance, business support and investor capacity building to support creative businesses in particular areas of England. The programme was initiated in late 2022 in six areas of England (the ‘original regions’) before being expanded to a further six areas (the ‘expansion regions’) from March 2024. The CGP concluded in March 2026.
The CGP’s activities, and this evaluation, have informed the Creative Industries Sector Plan’s interventions designed to increase annual investment in the sector from £17 billion to £31 billion by 2035. The government’s new £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund provides six Mayoral Strategic Authorities with devolved funding that will enable them to increase locally-tailored investment readiness support, building on the work of the CGP.
Public finance support for the creative industries will also increase private investment available to scaling creative businesses across the UK. The British Business Bank (BBB) is significantly increasing support for UK creative businesses with debt and equity finance. This has included targeted investment, including a £45 million cornerstone investment in Redrice Ventures, to support the creative industries.