Generating £1.2 billion to the British Exchequer, according to a new Oxford Economics report. That's the equivalent of $6.7 billion in gross domestic product. The Economic Impact of the UK Film Industry underlines the importance of the UK film tax credit. Without the UK film tax relief in place, UK GDP would £1.4 billion a year less. The government spends about £110 million a year on the tax credit, so it’s getting an extra £13 back for every pound spent.
UK Film Council, the Pinewood Shepperton group and post-production companies Framestore, Cinesite and Double Negative all paid for the report, so there’s no surprise it’s so upbeat.
Oxford Economics says that the core film industry – stripping out ancillary businesses such as tourism and merchandising – contributes £1.6 billion in GDP and £445 million towards the public purse. This means that the core UK film business is worth slightly more in GDP than, say, the British computer manufacturing industry. And film is worth three times as much to the local economy as designer fashion.
- The UK film industry directly employs around 36,000 (up by 30% since 2000 and 7% since 2006), supporting a total of 100,000 direct and indirect jobs (up from 95,000 in 2007).
- Inward investment is estimated to account for around £3.6 billion of film’s contribution to GDP and £960 million in Exchequer revenues.
- Films depicting the UK are responsible for generating around a 10th of overseas tourist revenue, totalling around £1.9 billion a year.
- Showing UK films on TV helps local broadcasters generate about £245 million of revenues. Total multiplier activity contributes a further £1.6 billion a year to UK GDP and £425 million to UK tax revenues.
- Merchandising – merchandising associated with UK films supported about 6,600 jobs in 2009 and contributed about £237 million to UK GDP and £107 million to the Exchequer.
- Fifty eight per cent of the production workforce is university educated.
- London has a global market share of approximately 20% in VFX work.
