UK Global Screen Fund: International Business Development

UK Global Screen Fund: International Business Development is sponsored by UK Global Screen Fund. This program provides non-recoupable grants for international growth strategies spanning three or five years.

Applying for UK Global Screen Fund International Business Development | BFI Applying for UK Global Screen Fund International Business Development These guidelines give you the information you’ll need to apply for UKGSF International Business Development funding. Applications are now closed. The next round is scheduled to open in April 2027.

What you can use the funding for What happens after you apply The UK Global Screen Fund ( UKGSF ), financed by the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport ( DCMS ) and administered by the BFI , seeks to increase the UK screen sector’s international competitiveness by offering additional, targeted support at each stage of the screen content supply chain.

The UKGSF supports international business development, co-production, promotion and distribution activities to: grow the revenue and sustainability of UK independent screen businesses by supporting their international activity enable industry to further grow international partnerships and to develop projects with international appeal for mutual benefit increase the reach of UK screen content to international audiences UKGSF International Business Development This funding provides non-recoupable grants for growth strategies that span three or five years, to support companies to develop and expand their turnover and scale of Intellectual Property ( IP ) creation, exploitation or acquisition.

The aims of the funding are to: transform screen content businesses in the four nations of the UK by supporting them to: develop a strong presence in international marketplaces create new international business partnerships and alliances develop and implement targeted development, production, sales, distribution and marketing strategies which exploit new opportunities in the global digital and online realm take advantage of new global export opportunities, develop and grow new revenue streams, and increase levels of private sector investment increase development of quality UK projects and talent, aimed specifically at the global marketplace and at global audiences support the corporate development, growth and international profile of established independent companies already operating in the UK screen sector by helping them to capitalise on opportunities in the global marketplace stimulate business innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking in the UK screen sector when trading internationally UKGSF International Business Development has three application tracks: challenger track : for earlier stage companies that wish to undertake a targeted scaling-up strategy focused on the production, acquisition or distribution of eligible content over a two-to-three-year period.

Challenger track funding has broader eligibility criteria and can only be used on a targeted set of eligible costs general track : for companies looking to expand their revenues, audiences and reach through internationally focused growth strategies over a three-year period transformation track : for companies that wish to embark on an internationally focused, transformational business strategy over a three-to-five-year period.

This track supports activity that is transformative for current business models and requires up to five years to be realised If you have any questions about the fund or the application process, email ukglobalscreenfund@bfi. org. uk .

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Check if you’re eligible Business development strategies supported by this funding need to work towards creating, acquiring or exploiting the following forms of content: feature films (minimum 60 minutes running time) intended for theatrical or online release in fiction, documentary or animation, in any genre programmes (minimum 24-minute runtime across the season or episode, whichever is longer) intended for broadcast television, video-on-demand services, or other forms of online release in fiction, factual (including factual entertainment), documentary or animation, in any genre new interactive narrative video games for commercial digital platforms, generating revenue from the public consumer market by narrative game, we mean a project that enables players to inhabit an imagined space, whether based on actual locations or entirely fictional there will be a player character or characters (usually an avatar or first-person-perspective) which engages with this world, other entities or characters as part of an authored, connected series of events (a narrative arc) Eligibility of your organisation Organisation’s structure and ownership You can apply if your company: is a limited company registered and centrally managed from the UK and in good standing does not have more than 25% of its shares held, directly or indirectly, by one or more of the following third parties: a non- UK corporate entity a television broadcaster/ SVOD platform or operator a video games digital distributor (such as GOG , Green Man Gaming or Valve (Steam)) any company defined as a large company under the Companies Act 2006 has at least two years of accounts filed at Companies House by the closing date for applications to this fund has at least one director who has been a director of the company for more than two years by the closing date for applications to this fund Your company must meet one of the definitions below for a micro-entity or small company according to the Companies Act 2006 (Part 15, Chapters 1 and 12) .

You are also eligible to apply if, due to the employment of time-limited roles for the production of a game or animation, your micro or small company has temporarily scaled up to meet the below definition of a medium-sized company.

A micro-entity must have two of the following: an annual turnover of £1,000,000 or less £500,000 or less on its balance sheet (meaning the total of the fixed and current assets) A small company must have two of the following: an annual turnover of £15 million or less £7.

5 million or less on its balance sheet (meaning the total of the fixed and current assets) A medium-sized company must have two of the following: 250 employees or less on average an annual turnover £54 million or less £27 million or less on its balance sheet (meaning the total of the fixed and current assets) Organisation financial track record If you are applying for the general or transformation track, your company must have achieved a minimum £35,000 gross profit average over a three-year period including the current year forecast and the past two years.

Gross profit is defined as revenues less cost of sales, before any other company overheads such as salaries and wages, rent, and other expenses are taken into account. If you’re applying for the challenger track, your company must have achieved a minimum cumulative £200,000 turnover over a three-year period including the current year forecast and the past two years.

Organisation credits: Challenger track If you have company lead credits For the challenger track, you must have between one and two company credits for a piece of eligible content that has had its initial broadcast, exploitation, or theatrical release within the last three years.

Your credit must show that your organisation led on either: the creation of eligible content (equivalent to a company on-screen producer credit, or storefront-credited developer or publisher for games) the acquisition or commercial exploitation of at least one piece of eligible content If you do not have company lead credits If you do not meet the credit requirement above, you must show both of the following: evidence of a third-party funded development or prototype for at least one piece of eligible content planned for release in the next three years a company credit with significant contribution to the production or distribution of at least one piece of eligible content, or equivalent experience in other forms of screen content (such as short films or short-form videos) Organisation credits: General and transformation tracks For general and transformation tracks, you must have at least one company credit for a piece of eligible content that has had its initial broadcast, exploitation or theatrical release within the last three years.

Your credit must show that your organisation led on either: the creation of at least one piece of eligible content, equivalent to a company on-screen producer credit, or storefront-credited developer or publisher for games the acquisition or commercial exploitation of at least one piece of eligible content You’re not eligible to apply if your company: is seeking support for a proposal based primarily around: news and current affairs programming social networking or match-making sites (unless creating original screen content, of the types listed above, for distribution via social networking platforms) theatre, including live theatre and recorded live theatre websites that are not platforms for the creation or distribution of screen content work that does not meet the other eligibility criteria stated elsewhere in the funding guidelines has previously received an award from UKGSF International Business Development for over £50,000, unless you have completed year three of your strategy and your final report has been approved We may not assess your application if you have mismanaged a previous BFI award or have not provided deliverables on time without reasonable justification.

This list is not exhaustive and if you are unsure if your company is eligible, email ukglobalscreenfund@bfi. org. uk .

3. What you can use the funding for You can apply for funding to support and accelerate an international growth strategy (the business strategy). You will need to demonstrate how you will achieve this strategy through an ambitious, export-focused business plan that can realistically be achieved with our support.

How much you can apply for If you’re applying through the general or transformation tracks, you can apply for between £50,000 and £200,000. If you’re applying through the challenger track, you can apply for an award of £50,000, plus an optional, additional £5,000 to support mentoring costs, if needed. Your business strategy will need to justify the level of funding you apply for.

Ratio of grant to company turnover The total amount of funding you are seeking cannot be more than 25% of your company’s aggregate annual turnover, over the period during which the award is paid out, including turnover of related SPV s which are wholly or majority owned by the applicant company.

This 25% limit of grant to turnover must be reflected in the financial projections of the submitted business plan, the validity and viability of which will be assessed against your accounts for the previous two years. UKGSF International Business Development funding can only be spent on the costs of business strategies connected to creating, acquiring or exploiting IP in at least one of the eligible content categories .

You will be required to itemise proposed expenditure in your application budget and identify how this expenditure will deliver your business strategy.

Generalised expenditure items that cannot be linked to your proposed activity or business plan and that do not provide detail on total amounts allocated (such as stating only “overheads” or “per diems”, freelance staffing as a total with no detail of day rate etc.) will result in your application being less likely to receive support.

Your budget should show any additional funding you have secured towards the activity for which you are seeking UKGSF support. This can include debt or equity funds from external sources (public or private), as well as self-generated funds (meaning revenues derived from prior and ongoing activities).

Eligible costs are limited to expenses associated with internationally-attributable revenue growth through: making a maximum of one new hire, whether via PAYE or freelance contract, to deliver the activity set out in your business strategy strategy-relevant travel to events, IP acquisition/optioning and marketing/ PR expenditure, capped at no more than £10,000 an optional, additional up to £5,000 to enable you to receive support from a mentor for 12 months.

The objective of the mentorship should be to support you in growing your company’s international partnerships, reach, sales, audiences and the international appeal of your projects General and transformation tracks Eligible costs can include, but are not limited to, expenses associated with international revenue growth through: hiring salaried or freelance personnel and advisors to deliver the activity set out in your business strategy other business operating costs concerned with expansion into new markets and business areas or, in the case of transformation track applicants, business model change strategies internationalisation and enhanced monetisation establishing relationships with international partners research and development of, and investment in, new business areas innovative strategies to distribute, publish or exploit IP via digital platforms travel costs at a maximum of 10% of the total requested amount, where relevant to the proposed strategy The following costs are not eligible: corporate restructuring costs existing company overhead staff cost contribution not tied to an international growth strategy cost of consultants hired to prepare the company for investment or sale development or production costs, including slate development and game prototyping costs return on capital to shareholders debt and debt service charges provisions for losses or debts excessive or reckless expenditure any costs that you can recoup from third parties litigation costs outside of the scope of services required to secure IP retrospective costs, meaning costs already incurred prior to the date of application.

This list is not exhaustive, and we may tell you that other types of activity within your application cannot be supported by a UKGSF award or ask that you amend specific activities and associated budget allocations. Complying with UK subsidy legislation The amount requested must also comply with UK subsidy legislation.

UKGSF International Business Development operates within the terms of the minimal financial assistance exemption ( MFAE ).

MFAE requires the applicant company and any company within its group of companies (as defined in the Companies Act 2006) must not receive more than a combined total sum of £315,000 from UKGSF International Business Development (or from any other source of public funding also labelled as MFAE ) over a three-year financial period (April to March regardless of your own financial year dates).

If you’re successful in this application, you’ll need to sign a declaration confirming that you will monitor all MFAE subsidies received within your group of companies to ensure that this cap is not exceeded.

For the purposes of determining whether your group has received other MFAE subsidies please note the following: funding from the BFI Doc Society Fund is considered MFAE any other funds awarded to you under UKGSF are not considered MFAE funds awarded through the BFI ’s National Lottery schemes are not considered MFAE unless you have been specifically notified that a payment is MFAE For example, this means that your group could be offered an award of £100,000 from UKGSF International Business Development and within six months also receive £300,000 from other UKGSF funds, or other BFI National Lottery schemes (unless notified as MFAE ) without exceeding the MFAE cap of £315,000.

However, to ensure proportionality, no group of companies can receive more than £781,250 from the UKGSF funding programme over a three-year financial period as defined above. When reporting other subsidy income, if you are unsure as to whether MFAE applies, please list the subsidy and mark ‘unsure’ against MFAE and we will verify this with you. Check the landing page for opening and closing dates for this fund .

We advise you to get in touch with us to ask any questions about your application at the earliest opportunity. Challenger track has a one-stage application process. General and transformation tracks have a two-stage application process.

Applicants will be required to submit a limited amount of information for stage one. After an initial assessment, they will then either receive a declination or be progressed to stage two, where they will be required to provide additional information. If you progress to stage two, you will have ten weeks to develop and submit your application.

Download templates for your application Budget and business plan template for general and transformation track Budget and business plan template (general and transformation track) Microsoft Office - OOXML - Spreadsheet 117 KB Budget and business plan template for challenger track Budget and business plan template (challenger track) Microsoft Office - OOXML - Spreadsheet 111 KB Company projects template (for all applicants) Company projects template Microsoft Office - OOXML - Spreadsheet 19 KB Information you’ll need to provide if you’re applying through challenger track a short company and team history a description of the company’s business as usual operations and current position in the marketplace identification of the potential outcomes and additional value to the company linked to the funding sought a narrative description accompanying your budget of how the funding will be used in the business strategy to meet the outcomes identified summary aims and strategy for the company’s international growth over the next three years, defining the opportunity and target market how you will address the BFI Diversity Standards, both as a company and within the IP that you create, acquire or exploit your commitments to environmental sustainability as a company and through this activity any other public subsidy received in the last three financial years that constitutes or may constitute MFAE applicants applying for the £5,000 mentor allowance must supply: a description of what you hope to gain from the mentorship, and how that will impact your proposed international growth strategy how you will work with the proposed mentor to achieve your intended outcomes, as they relate to your international growth strategy biographies for up to three proposed mentors, explaining why their background is relevant to your international growth strategy and any past mentoring experience they might have we will assess whether they have relevant skills and experience to support company founders in delivering the proposed strategy and driving business growth Documents you’ll need to provide if you’re applying through challenger track If you’re applying through challenger track, you’ll need to upload the following documents in your application form: two years of annual (statutory) accounts your most recent set of management accounts not more than twelve months old (note that these should include a balance sheet and a profit and loss account) corporate ownership chart indicating direct and indirect ownership interests (%) and domicile of related entities, if applicable a completed business plan for the past two complete financial years and a forecast to the end of the current financial year a detailed budget showing the costs requested as well as any proposed additional funding evidence of a third-party funded development or prototype for at least one piece of eligible content planned for release in the next three years (if you do not have a credit leading on the creation, acquisition or exploitation of IP for eligible content) a completed company projects document detailing: any company credits leading on the creation, acquisition or exploitation of IP for eligible content significant contribution to the production or distribution of eligible content equivalent experience in other forms of screen content (such as short films or short-form video) If you’re applying for the £5,000 mentor allowance, you must also supply quotes for 12-month engagement from up to three proposed mentors.

Information you’ll need to provide if you’re applying through general and transformation track If you’re applying through general and transformation track you’ll need to provide the following at stage one: a short company and team history a description of the company’s business as usual operations and current position in the marketplace identification of the potential outcomes and additional value to the company linked to the funding sought a narrative description accompanying your budget of how the funding will be used in the business strategy to meet the outcomes identified for general track applicants, summary aims and strategy for the company’s international growth over the next three years, defining the opportunity and target market for transformation track applicants, the nature and proposed impact of the outlined transformation plan and the opportunities for international growth that would be unlocked through this over the next three to five years If you’re invited to stage two, you’ll be asked to submit a more detailed application that builds on the strategy proposed at stage one.

Your plans cannot be significantly different, and you should include: any updates regarding your team, projects or forecast revenues since your stage one application detailed information on how your company’s strategy addresses the goal of increasing international sales, audiences, reach, revenues and the creation, acquisition or exploitation of IP with international appeal details around how your company’s strategy will be implemented and achieved across the funding period detail around other sources of funding that could be leveraged during the strategy period, including but not limited to equity raises or planned debt and secured or anticipated external public or private funding identification of outcomes and additional value to the company linked to the funding sought any further relevant details regarding the costs proposed in the budget and how these will be incurred, for example: if hiring for a role, whether potential candidates have been identified or if a job description has been written if planning to attend markets, why these markets are relevant for the strategy and not part of the company’s business-as-usual how you will address the BFI Diversity Standards, both as a company and within the IP that you create, acquire or exploit your commitments to environmental sustainability as a company and through this activity any other public subsidy received in the last three financial years that constitutes or may constitute MFAE Documents you’ll need to provide if you’re applying through general and transformation track If you’re applying through general and transformation track, you’ll need to upload the following documents at stage one: two years of annual (statutory) accounts your most recent set of management accounts not more than twelve months old (note that these should include a balance sheet and a profit and loss account) corporate ownership chart indicating direct and indirect ownership interests (%) and domicile of related entities, if applicable a completed business plan for the past two complete financial years, and a forecast to the end of the current financial year a detailed budget showing the costs requested as well as any proposed additional funding a completed company projects document detailing: any company credits leading on the creation, acquisition or exploitation of IP for eligible content significant contribution to the production or distribution of eligible content equivalent experience in other forms of screen content (such as short films or short-form video) If you’re invited to stage two, you’ll need to provide the following documents: an updated business plan (page two of the template) forecasting your company’s projected turnover for the next three-year period for the general track or five-year period for the transformation track any documentation supporting the assumptions behind the business plan an updated detailed budget (page two of the template) showing the costs requested allocated across the period of funding Additional areas you will need to consider You will also need to address the BFI ’s cross-cutting priorities in your application.

The UKGSF seeks to ensure a UK -wide benefit and address geographic imbalance within the industry. You will be asked to answer a question on the UK -wide elements of your company and projects.

As part of our assessment we consider: where your company is registered where your company staff are based and work is being undertaken how the work that your company creates, acquires 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 Environmental sustainability You’ll need to outline how environmental sustainability will be embedded into your activity and organisation more broadly.

This includes: reducing carbon emissions as much as possible and maximising environmental benefits of your activity telling us about any relevant themes of eligible content you are developing including how projects engage with the climate emergency If funded, you’ll need to report how you have applied the environmental sustainability principle in your activity and organisation.

We’ll also signpost you to a range of tools, resources, and training opportunities to support you in embedding good environmental practice. If you have questions or would like to discuss approaches to improving environmental sustainability, you can contact us for advice at ukglobalscreenfund@bfi. org.

uk . Equity, diversity and inclusion In your application you will be asked to answer a question about representation within your organisation’s leadership. You will also need to complete and submit the BFI Diversity Standards – UKGSF form so we can understand your intentions around diversity, inclusion and representation for your organisation.

This means detailing how you will address industry under-representation in relation to disability, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status and geographical location. If successful, you will need to report following the conclusion of your activity, evaluating how you have delivered against the aims of the Diversity Standards in practice.

If your plans are not fully developed at the point of application, then please state the stage you are currently at and explain how you will turn your aims into actions. If we are interested in supporting your organisation we may ask you to further develop your ideas before we make a funding decision.

If your team or organisation has a long-standing commitment to diversity, enabling you to meet the BFI Diversity Standards by continuing your current practice, your application should outline how you will build on past achievements and show leadership to the wider industry. You’ll need to create an account for the BFI Diversity Standards portal, if you don’t already have one.

Once you have logged in to the portal, click ‘start new application’ and select the Diversity Standards – UKGSF version of the form. Ensure that you have information about your activity, staff, early career and training opportunities and your accessibility processes before you start filling in the form. This form will give you a unique reference number, which you’ll need to complete the main application form.

You’ll need to submit both forms by the same deadline as for your main application. Application forms received without a completed and submitted Diversity Standards form will be considered incomplete and therefore ineligible. The information you provide within your Diversity Standards form may be shared with any funding partners or the BAFTA and BIFA film awards, and used to help inform future funding decisions, research, and strategy.

Any equality monitoring data will be anonymised. If you have questions or concerns about your ability to meet the standards or would like to discuss approaches to meeting the criteria, you can contact the Diversity Standards Manager in the BFI Certification Unit on 020 7173 3273 or email diversitystandards@bfi. org.

uk . Submitting your application To apply, you’ll need to create an account or have an existing account on our grant website. You’ll then need to complete and submit the online application form.

You can save your application and return to it when you need to.

For guidance about how to use our new BFI applicant portal: Applicant guide for using the new portal PDF 961 KB You can view a PDF preview of the application form to see the questions you will be asked in full: UKGSF International Business Development - application preview PDF 214 KB Incomplete applications will be considered ineligible so please ensure that you complete all sections of the application form with the information requested.

If you need additional support using the application form or encounter technical issues, please contact us at ukglobalscreenfund@bfi. org. uk .

We will only consider funding projects that have been submitted to us through the formal application process. This means that we cannot accept, or read, informal submissions such as scripts or application materials submitted by any means other than via the online application portal. 5.

What happens after you apply Check our response timeframes for applications . Once you have submitted your application, you’ll receive a unique ID number and an automated confirmation of receipt. If you do not receive this, email ukglobalscreenfund@bfi.

org. uk You’ll get confirmation we received your application within five working days. We will review your application to check that it is eligible for assessment.

If your application is ineligible We will endeavour to inform you of this within 14 weeks. If you then realise you’ve made an error on your application which has rendered it ineligible, please tell us immediately, as we may allow you to correct it and resubmit. We continue to verify application eligibility throughout the assessment process and may determine at any point that an application is ineligible.

If we need more information to determine eligibility We may write to you by email to request more information about your application. If we need more information, it may have an impact on our ability to take a funding decision within the response timeframes above. You will be required to respond to this request within five working days or as otherwise specified in correspondence.

If no response is given within that timeframe, the application will be declined. How your application is assessed The UKGSF seeks to support projects that are in clear need of public funding and that make a case for achieving significant results against the aims of the funding .

Our assessment scores eligible applications against the following criteria: International growth strategy 25% quality of your business strategy, especially the activity intended to increase international growth and revenues quality of your overall strategy for creation, acquisition, marketing or distribution of IP in the international marketplace quality of your plan to achieve clearly defined outcomes focused on increasing company revenues relating to international business activities, increasing international audiences and developing further international partnerships Finance plan and resources 20% robustness of the financial projections in the business plan, which must demonstrate at least 75% of turnover coming from sources other than International Business Development funding the level and nature of additional funding (debt or equity) secured or anticipated from external public or private sources the level of resource invested or reinvested into the business by your company level of clarity as to how the business strategy will be delivered including how reasonable and detailed the allocation of expenditure is across planned activity potential impact of the stated outcomes resulting from the funding on international revenues and financial sustainability, partnerships and audiences visibility and measurability of results within the business plan period Innovation within the strategy, new business models, new international relationships or partnerships alignment with the aims of funding and BFI cross cutting priorities through implementation of the proposed business strategy quality of narrative detail of what the funding will allow you to do (for example targeted hires, skill development, acquisition, development and