The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Commission announced a series of agreements that will boost SMEs and small mid-caps in Europe’s cultural and creative sectors with around €141 million of new financing for cultural and creative businesses and projects in Europe. These EIF guarantee transactions are backed by the InvestEU programme and will facilitate access to finance for these businesses via intermediaries from France, Germany, and Finland.
A transaction has just been signed between the EIF and the French Institut pour le Financement du Cinéma et des Industries Culturelles (IFCIC), a long-standing EIF partner in the Cultural and Creative sectors with clients both in France and in other European countries. IFCIC will benefit from the Invest EU Cultural and Creative Portfolio Guarantee Product (CCS GP). The European Union's support is expected to leverage a portfolio of around €85 million of financing. Thanks to this, IFCIC will be able to provide eligible debt financing to SMEs, small mid-caps and small public enterprises active in the CCS sectors that are perceived to be riskier. A significant portion of the guaranteed portfolio targets businesses in the audio-visual sector where banks lack the know-how to assess expected cash flows and production success.
The second approved transaction concerns Beta Film, a German Munich-based independent film and television studio that distributes, finances, and produces high-quality entertainment content for the global market. Beta Film leverages on its broad network of subsidiaries to complement its financial support with an extensive market and production know-how. The European Union's support is expected to leverage a portfolio of around €45 million in financing. With this, Beta Film can complement the offerings of traditional lenders and provide tailor-made financing solutions to the European audiovisual sector, which would otherwise be unable to bridge the financing gap at the production stage of an audiovisual project. Beta Film will enable independent European producers to obtain additional financing for their audiovisual projects and promote international distribution to maximize revenue potential.
Lastly, the EIF has approved a guarantee line under the Invest EU Cultural and Creative Portfolio Guarantee Product for the Finish Impact Film Fund (FIFF) managed by Aurora Studios, a Finnish audiovisual production and distribution company set up in 2014. Europe's support for this Finnish alternative investment fund that invests in artistically and commercially ambitious films and TV-series is expected to issue around €11 million in financing.
“We are delighted to support Europe's cultural and creative sectors through this series of agreements supported by the InvestEU programme,” said EIF Chief Investment Officer Alessandro Tappi. “These three renowned French, German and Finnish partners benefiting from guarantees granted by the EIF play an essential role in supporting European audiovisual productions. Culture is at the heart of the European project and these agreements can make an important contribution in maintaining and creating many jobs in a sector that has both a close link to our European identity and strong export aspirations”.
Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, added: “Through the Invest EU Cultural and Creative Portfolio Guarantee Product, the EU is strongly committed to helping cultural and creative businesses finance their innovative projects and stimulating initiatives contributing to European diversity and economic development. The agreements signed today will allow many European film producers find the means to finance projects which keep the European audiovisual creation at the forefront of the world stage.”