Sources of Funding Report also reveals 76% of UK developers planning to take advantage of Games Tax Relief
TIGA, the network for developers and digital publishers, in partnership with Google has launched a new in-depth report that details and assesses the funding sources currently available in the UK for games companies.
The report is split into two parts, a survey of nearly 40 independent UK developers on their experiences with and use of third party sources of funding, and an in-depth source-by-source funding guide.
Developer Survey
Key findings from the survey include:
- 76% of respondents intend to submit at least one project for Games Tax Relief (GTR) in the next year;
- 100% of respondents had used third party funding in the past three years;
- 97% of respondents had used third party funding in the past 12 months;
- 62% of respondents’ costs in the last year had been covered by third party funding; and
- in the past 12 months respondents had claimed back an average of 7.5% of their total costs in R&D tax credits.
This demonstrates third party sources of finance are critical to the on-going health of the UK games development industry. It also indicates that the UK games sector is still transitioning from a dependency on publisher and other client funding towards greater self-sufficiency.
While not all of this funding activity would have been through necessity, TIGA believes the majority was essential for covering costs and securing UK games development jobs.
Sources of funding
The report offers guidance on a broad range of sources of grant, reward, debt and equity funding, including:
- angel investors;
- investment funds;
- corporate venture capital;
- business accelerators;
- financial institutions;
- crowd funding;
- trade partner commissions and advances;
- project finance schemes;
- Government-backed business funding; and
- tax rebate schemes.
For each of these sources, the report offers guidance on:
- what each funding source comprises;
- how it works;
- the broad funding criteria used;
- a list of key funder examples and other resources; and
- an assessment of the practical accessibility of the funding for UK games companies.
There are also an array of interviews with funders on what they look for, including Chris Lee, David Lau-Kee of London Venture Partners, Luke Lang of Crowdcube, Enda Carey from Standfast Interactive and Matt Sansam from IC Tomorrow.
This is in addition to case studies from developers on the lessons they’ve learned, including Patrick O’Luanaigh of nDreams, Joe Stevens from Whispering Gibbon, Nick Brown from Boss Level, Charles Cecil of Revolution Software and Dean Gifford of Preliminal Games.
Dr Richard Wilson, CEO, TIGA, comments:
“TIGA’s goal is to strengthen the UK videogame industry and support developers and digital publishers, which is why we have partnered with Google to produce this report on one of the top priorities facing developers: access to finance. The report itself underlines just how crucial third party funding is for UK games businesses, so we are very pleased to be able to offer such an in-depth and comprehensive guide to the sources of funding available in the UK.
“As this report is free for the whole industry, I would encourage people to share this content as much as possible. Together we can strengthen the game development and digital publishing sector.”
Rupert Whitehead, Developer Relations Programs Lead, UK, Ireland and Nordics for Google, added:
“The landscape for game studios to get funding is complicated. This report should make it easier to find some of the right organisations to talk to so they can get the financial backing they need. I hope that as a result of this report we will see more games developers able to make their projects a reality with the investment they need.”
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Methodology
The TIGA & Google Sources of Funding Report has been prepared and written by Games Investor Consulting (GIC) in conjunction with TIGA (The Independent Games Developers’ Association) and is based on data from a survey of 38 developers conducted by TIGA in May 2014, interviews were conducted by GIC with developers and funders as well as publicly available information.
About Google Inc.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognised in the world. Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
About TIGA
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK video game industry.
We help developers and digital publishers build successful studios, network with the right people, save money and access professional business advice. We also have traditional publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.
TIGA is 90% funded by independent UK businesses. 80% of our board members are developers and/or from UK owned businesses, and 50% of our board are UK business owners themselves. Since 2010, TIGA has won 17 business awards.
TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:
- Political representation
- Media representation
- Business services
This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.
It also means our members’ voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video game trade media.
Get in touch:
Tel: 0845 468 2330
Email: info@tiga.org
Web: www.tiga.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigamovement
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga
For further information, you can also contact: Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org
Drew Field, TIGA Communications Director on: 07720 643 344, or email drew.field@tiga.org