Screen agency rakes in £179m for East Mids economy
Regional screen agency EM Media has generated more than £12m for the East Midlands economy in the past year. The region has "led the way" in both investment and return, according to EM Media chief executive, Debbie Williams. EM Media says it has contributed more than £179m to theregion since 2002.
Creative industries in the East Midlands have "flourished", according to the screen agency’s annual report, as it detailed a business growth rate of 10.4 per cent. The growth rate is 2 per cent higher than the UK average for creative agencies.
Since 2002, EM Media has raked in more than £179m for the region’s economy, and has supported more than 780 creative businesses.
In the past, the regional screen agency has provided funding for projects including Shane Meadows’ BAFTA award-winning This is England.
Chief executive of EM Media, Debbie Williams, said that the screen agency had "an enviable track record".
She added: "The impacts – both economic and creative - of almost a decade of investing in creative talent are remarkable and unprecedented. If a measure of film success is winning awards then this region and its talent has led the way.
"The economic climate meant EM Media had to work even harder in 2009/10 to secure finance to invest across the digital sector and we had to invest strategically and creatively to ensure the maximum benefit could be derived from public finance. The match income or partnership finance raised as a result of our 2009/10 investments created economic benefit to the region of over 25 times the amount invested."
It was announced last month that regional screen agencies would no longer run as separate entities, but would fall under government funded umbrella organisations from next year. Along with the seven other screen agencies outside London, EM Media will reconfigure as part of Creative England.
Williams said: "The new decade will bring changes to the way public finance is invested locally in the creative industries. I sincerely believe EM Media has shown how it can be done and in 2011 we will be focussing our efforts on making sure we build on success and that distinctive British voices from across the East Midlands continue to discovered, supported and championed."
