Apply for UK Global Screen Fund International Business Development Strand

The UKGSF seeks to increase the UK’s international competitiveness by offering additional, targeted support at each stage of the screen content supply chain.

Aims

• The aims of this strand are to:
  • support the transformation of UK screen content businesses through international activity
  • stimulate business innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking in the UK screen sector when trading internationally, and in particular to seize new global export opportunities
  • support the corporate development and growth of independent companies already operating in the UK screen sector across the four nations of the UK by helping them to capitalise on opportunities in the global marketplace
• The International Business Development strand will achieve these aims by:
  • assisting UK companies to develop a strong presence in the international marketplace
  • facilitating increased development of quality UK projects and talent aimed specifically at the global marketplace and at global audiences
  • supporting the creation of new international business partnerships and alliances

Categories

• The International Business Development strand offers two application tracks:
  • International Business Development – General Track: for eligible companies from any of the screen sectors looking to expand their revenues, audiences and reach through internationally-focused growth strategies over a three-year period.
  • International Business Development – Film Transformation Track: for eligible applicants with a track record in the independent film sector, who wish to embark on an internationally-focused transformational business strategy related to independent UK film over a three to five year period.

Priorities

• They will consider:
  • where the applicant company is registered
  • where the applicant company staff is based and work is being undertaken
  • how the work that the applicant company creates, acquires, and/or exploits reflects the culture and talent of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English regions outside Greater London
  • any other proposed UK-wide benefits within the application.

Funding Information

• You can apply for an award of between £50,000 and £200,000 over the period of the Business Plan (with payments being made to successful applicants over a three year period).

Eligible Costs

• Eligible Costs are those costs connected to creating, acquiring and/or exploiting IP in at least one of the following categories:
  • feature films (minimum 60 minutes running time) intended for theatrical and/or online release in fiction, documentary and/or animation, in any genre
  • programmes intended for broadcast television, video-on-demand services, or other forms of online release in fiction, documentary and/or animation, in any genre
  • Interactive narrative video games for commercial digital platforms, generating revenue from the public consumer market’.

Ineligible Costs

• The following costs shall not be considered eligible:
  • corporate restructuring costs
  • across-the-board staff cost contribution not tied to an international growth strategy
  • cost of consultants hired to prepare the company for investment
  • slate development support (including core development costs of interactive narrative video games) not directly tied to the proposed international growth strategy.

Eligibility Criteria

• A company will be eligible if it is a limited company registered and centrally managed in the UK and is either a micro-entity or small company according to the definitions used by the UK Government.
• Medium-sized companies are also eligible.
• The eligible company should also have:
  • a company credit leading on:
    • the creation of at least one project that falls within the above categories, equivalent to a company on-screen producer credit, or storefront-credited developer/publisher for games, or
    • the acquisition and/or commercial exploitation.

Ineligibility Criteria

• If your company has previously received an award from the UKGSF International Business Development strand for over £50,000, you’re not eligible to apply for further funding from this strand until you have completed Year 3 of your strategy and your Final Report has been approved.
• Additionally, applications will not be considered for support if they’re based primarily around:
  • news and current affairs programming
  • factual entertainment
  • reality TV
  • game shows
  • social networking or match-making sites (unless creating original screen content for distribution via social networking platforms).

For more information, visit BFI.