On 20 April 2020, the Chancellor announced a new £1.25 billion coronavirus package to protect firms driving innovation in the UK.
The package includes a new £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development. These will be made up of funding from government and from the private sector.
The Future Fund will issue convertible loans between £125,000 to £5 million to innovative companies which are facing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak and is due to launch in May 2020.
The Chancellor has said that the targeted help is designed to ensure that firms in some of the most dynamic sectors of the UK economy are protected through the coronavirus outbreak, so that they can continue to develop innovative new products and help power UK growth.
TIGA have previously campaigned for the establishment of a Creative Content Fund, which would disburse 20 loans of up to £150,000 per annum to game developers and could be made in two forms. Loans could be made on a pound for pound matched funding basis, or the Creative Content Fund could distribute funding in the form of a convertible loan on commercial terms. This also links to TIGA’s proposal for a Video Games Investment Fund.
For more information on the innovation support package, please see here.