TIGA Welcomes UK – French Tech Cooperation, But Recommends Further Action to Grow the UK Games Industry

By January 19, 2018 Press Releases

TIGA, the trade association representing the video games industry, today welcomed the UK and French governments’ efforts to strengthen links in tech and artificial intelligence, and highlighted the need to improve access to finance and business advice for start-ups in the video games industry.

The UK and French governments want to seize the economic and social benefits of fast-developing tech such as AI.[1]In December, the UK was named by Oxford Insights as the best prepared country in the world for artificial intelligence (AI) implementation.

The UK tops the list in Europe for global tech investors, with its tech firms attracting more venture capital funding than any other European country in 2017.[2] However, many UK video games businesses continue to struggle to raise venture capital funding. TIGA research published in 2017 shows that equity investment from an investment fund is the most difficult form of finance to access. Only 11 per cent of games companies that tried to raise institutional finance succeeded, while 89 per cent failed.

 Dr Richard Wilson OBE, Chief Executive of TIGA, said:

 “While the UK is certainly successful at attracting venture capital funding, we still need to do more to support SMEs and start-ups access finance and scale-up. It is often difficult for independent video games developers to obtain venture capital funding, which restricts growth and ambition.

“TIGA has proposed the introduction of a Video Games Investment Fund that would provide pound for pound matched funding, up to a maximum of £500,000, for original game projects.

The Games Investment Fund would also provide a commercial mentoring business advisory service, staffed by industry veterans, for games companies that access its grants or loans. The Games Investment Fund could be managed by a new British Games Institute.”

“The video games industry contributes £1.2 billion to the UK economy each year and we want to build on this success.”

[1] Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 19 January 2018, link

[2] London & Partners, 4 January 2018, link

 

Notes to Editors

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport statistics available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-record-contribution-to-uk-economy

 

About TIGA

TIGA is the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry. Our core purpose is to strengthen the games development and digital publishing sector. We achieve this by campaigning for the industry in the corridors of power, championing the industry in the media and helping our members commercially.

TIGA is intent on building an enduring organisation which continually improves; a business that will make a significant impact on the games industry and so benefit our membership and the wider economy. Since 2010, TIGA has won 24 business awards, an achievement which reflects TIGA’s drive for improvement and to meet best practice.

 

For more information visit: www.tiga.org

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