Is the UK’s south east region a competitive destination for the world’s creative industries? The answer is firmly yes, according to the latest report from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. Foreign Direct Investment in the UK’s Creative Industries analyses foreign investors’ investment decisions from 2013–2023.
The creative industries have accounted for 10% of all inward UK foreign direct investment (FDI) projects over that decade. Globally, this country is second only to the USA, taking 9.3% versus the USA’s 12.9% of the global share of inward FDI.
Geographically within the UK, most inward investment in the form of mergers and acquisitions are clustered around the south-east of England, which includes Oxfordshire.
The UK ranks second for six out of nine sub-sectors – advertising and marketing; film, TV, video, radio and photography; publishing; architecture; design and designer fashion; music, performing and visual arts. It is third in IT, software and computer services, which account for over 70% of FDI projects, and in museums, galleries and libraries.
While the majority (80%) of foreign investors in the UK’s creative industries are from North America and Europe, there is notable investment in new projects from emerging markets such as India and China.
Talent
Asked what made them choose the UK, the reasons most frequently mentioned are its competencies in software and digital technology, with talent, games, expertise, tech and access to media and customers all featuring highly.
One M&A example cited by the report is Electronic Arts (EA)’s acquisition of Codemasters, a software company located just north of Oxfordshire near Banbury. EA explained how they sought to combine their own technology, platform expertise, and global reach with Codemasters’ uniquely ‘creative and talented’ team.
Helen Ryan-Wallis, Strategy and Internationalisation Manager for Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership says: “We are not surprised by the findings of this report, having seen the value that inward investors place on access to world-class creative minds when investing in Oxfordshire in all sectors. The creative industries have been identified as one of the UK’s growth-driving sectors and have always flourished here.
Oxfordshire’s strengths include: IT software/computing services , music and performing arts; film/TV, gaming, and publishing – home to the country’s largest centre of publishing outside of London.
A notable gaming spin-out, was Natural Motion who was acquired for US$500m Whilst Rebellion who privately invested £78m in Rebellion Studios, are now redefining the industry bringing together cutting-edge film and TV production and stages, 30 years of games production and two decades at the forefront in Performance Capture technology."
What can Oxfordshire offer investors in creative industries?
- Established Strengths - especially in publishing, gaming, and AI. (publishing houses OUP and Thames and Hudson, gaming companies Rebellion and First Touch Games)
- Talent and resources - Oxfordshire has a highly educated workforce, with 51% of the working age population qualified to degree level or above and home to 4,969 (July 22) creative sector businesses representing 12.5% of all businesses (Source: Clusters data, Creative UK). Access to brilliant minds. For example, there are AI centres of expertise at each of its two universities, Oxford Brookes and the University of Oxford, which has also produced many leaders in
- the creative industries.
- Space to grow - With up to 1.9 million sq ft of new office and laboratory space is due to be delivered between 2023 and 2025, and the region offers an attractive quality of living.
- Proximity to London - Oxford is an hour from London and 45 minutes from Heathrow airport and is also in reach of the UK’s other creative and artistic centres including Bristol, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and Birmingham.
- World-class - Museums, galleries and libraries, including the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodlean library in Oxford.
The full report can be found here.
Citation: ‘Foreign Direct Investment and the UK’s Creative Industries’ Jones, J., Simandjuntak, D., Maioli, S. and Fazio, G. (2024). DOI: 10.5281/ zenodo.14045803.