Industry leaders at the inaugural UK Screen Investment Summit urged the UK’s world-leading screen sector to link its extensive expertise, strengthen regional and cross-sectoral partnerships, and close opportunity gaps to maximise the economic impact of its creative power.
In partnership with Hertfordshire Futures, the event took place at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly on 26 November. The Summit’s guest list included representatives from national and local government, major studios and independents, educators, and innovators from the production, tech and construction sectors.
With Hertfordshire home to major studios including Elstree, Sky, Warner Bros. Leavesden and Fairbanks at the former BBC Elstree Centre, Councillor Jeremy Newmark, representing Hertsmere Borough Council, Hertfordshire Growth Board and Elstree Studios, said: “This isn’t just another conference. It’s the day where we’re empowered to choose whether the UK is simply a location for other people’s stories or whether we use our sector to drive prosperity.”
The Summit is the flagship event of the UK Screen Investment Programme, set up to drive UK-wide growth in film, TV and the wider supply chain. “We’re setting the global standard for how screen industries empower a modern economy,” said Cllr Newmark, adding that to remain on “a solid growth track” the sector must “match global competition with serious, long-term investment and smart partnerships.”
“This programme, with this summit at its heart, is about aligning public policy, private capital, studio capacity and, critically, skills — so our sector is not a nice-to-have, but a core driver of the national growth mission.”
David Conway, CEO of Pinewood Studios and Chair of the UK Screen Investment Programme, said: “It’s fair to say that the UK over-indexes on the global stage in terms of the screen industries — we have outstanding homegrown talent. We continue to attract international companies and investment, and our sector now sits as a key pillar of the government’s modern industrial strategy.”
However, he noted that “the industry faces headwinds from proposed tariffs, a moderation in growth and content investment, and changes in how people consume content — challenges the industry must adapt to.”
Tim Newns, Director, Office for Investment, pledged the Government’s full support, saying: “I can’t really stipulate enough how important Government sees the creative industries.” Highlighting the sector’s £5.6bn value last year and its world-class crews and content creation, he added: “Government is hugely, hugely supportive and recognises the excellence we have.”
Collaboration and Partnerships
In a fireside chat on ‘The UK’s role in global production,’ Alex Boden, Executive Producer at Pistachio Pictures, highlighted the full range of UK production services — from crews to post, VFX to sound — saying “in a relatively small geographical space, it’s incredible how high we punch in terms of what we can deliver.”
Mary Furlong, CEO of Bad Wolf, hailed long-term partnerships between production teams and government as key to financial stability and creative commitment.
Chairing the discussion, Samantha Perahia MBE, Head of Production UK at the British Film Commission, said: “We are at the height of global composition. Tax credits keep us on a relatively level playing field — and then it’s the infrastructure, locations and, crucially, the crew that bring people to the UK. What’s less understood are the additional assets in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the regions of England outside London.”
A joined-up UK approach was emphasised in the panel ‘Shared vision, local delivery: How UK clusters can scale screen production.’
Cllr Nick Small of Liverpool City Council said it was important to consider “how places can fit into the UK narrative. We are stronger together.”
Louise Conolly-Smith, London & Partners, explained the agency’s “UK first” approach when engaging businesses. “To an international person, it’s the UK,” she said. “People don’t realise Elstree isn’t London.”
Cllr Jeremy Newmark said there is “a need to formalise cross-collaboration alliances” backed by national and local government, to create a UK USP for international branding and a joined-up skills strategy.
However, within a collaborative platform, “We need to stay away from homogenisation of content,” said Paul Osbaldeston of Creative Wales. “Regional differences – language, style and attitude – define an area.”
Natalie Moore, Bristol UNESCO City of Film, emphasised the importance of regional culture as an economic driver and that Bristol’s cultural and screen strategies enabled the city to “attract partners, production companies and talent that share our values”.
Marlow and Creative Production Campuses
The Summit coincided with the Government granting planning permission for Marlow Film Studios in Buckinghamshire. Studios Chief Executive Robert Laycock described Marlow as “more than a film studio — a flexible, modern, future-proofed environment where cinema, streaming and the coming wave of glasses-based and immersive media can all thrive.”
Delivering a keynote shortly after the announcement — which coincided with the 80th anniversary of the release of Brief Encounter, starring his grandmother Celia Johnson — Mr Laycock emphasised skills and talent, saying: “UK production facilities must become integrated ecosystems where innovation, talent and technology align. That is how we secure and strengthen our world-leading position.”
He added: “Our language, our references and our storytelling traditions shape how billions communicate and imagine. We can allow others to dilute and monetise what we create — or we can amplify it.”
Mr Laycock also joined the panel ‘The rise of the creative production campus: space, scale and sustainability.’
Opening the discussion on studio evolution, Paul Serkis, Director, McLaren, said: “Whatever we do, it should be UK PLC-driven and it shouldn’t be trapped in the silos that prevent some of the excellent things we do in the creative arts.”
Camden Film Quarter, a film-led mixed-use regeneration project, saw Zerritha Brown of the London Borough of Camden stress that community engagement, residents, businesses, partners and the developer – is essential so “we’re not just plonking something into an area without thinking about how it will impact the community.”
Bee Devine of London’s Garden Studios said “flexibility and diversification” are important — backlots, offices, parking and tech solutions for example — because “investment doesn’t immediately pay off.”
Kate Bull of Liverpool City Council explained how Littlewoods has evolved from a single occupier concept to a multi-sector campus. “We’re de-risking — not creating a white elephant — but adding another piece to the jigsaw that is the UK offer.”
In ‘Screen-led growth: unlocking the ripple effect of UK productions,’ Paul Westwood, RIOS, urged developers to site future campuses in “an urban context” next to schools and offices rather than behind fences, to “Remove the security, open up the space.”
Wider Supply Chain Growth
On the same panel, Adam Morley, Hertfordshire Futures, said work was underway to create a screen-focused corridor along the Thameslink route, linking locations including King’s Cross, Camden Film Quarter, Elstree, Warner Bros Leavesden and the new Universal Studios theme park in Bedford.
Panel chair David Cordery, Trowers & Hamlins, said the Universal Studios project had “huge amount of local buy in.” “Most people are supportive and applying for jobs there. They’re very much interested in supporting it,” he explained.
Robin Johnson, VisitBritain, also pointed to the broader economic ripple effects of screen, noting nine out of ten visitors want to see film or TV locations. He said the ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign generated £200m in its first six months, creating opportunities for hospitality packages and place strategies.
Financing
An audience poll revealed financing as the top barrier to growth and this was discussed in the fireside chat ‘Financing UK Content — Where public ambition meets private capital’.
“There is a lot of money looking for investment but producers aren’t equipped to communicate with investors,” explained Emma Smith, Executive Leadership Strategies, adding that they needed to understand the language of finance and risk.
“Everybody in production needs to understand this language,” emphasised session Chair, Debbie Manners, Production, Distribution and Production Services, “from the writer to the director.”
Jimmy Mulville, Imagine Liverpool and Hat Trick Productions, noted the flywheel of value – for example, the monetisation of podcasts and merchandise – and said investors were increasingly eyeing the content creator economy.
Skills
The ‘Homegrown and hired: Aligning skills with industry needs’ panel heard from session chair Dr Stephen Partridge, University of Hertfordshire, on the university’s Propellor Stages — a cutting-edge film studio delivering top-tier creative and technical training. “This initiative is going to prove to be a game changer for developing a diverse and highly skilled workforce at scale,” he said.
Laura Mansfield, ScreenSkills, explained how data on skills needs underpins training programmes and urged partner collaboration for a responsive skills plan. Richard Goodwin, The JGA Group / West London Film and TV Skills Hub, noted a shift from formal qualifications toward training, upskilling and multi-skilling. The panel noted this could support freelancers, often out of work for long spells, into work.
James Taylor-Tovey, Action for Freelancers, said his organisation was exploring how freelancers’ transferable skills could be transferred both inside and outside the sector, and whether freelancers could be paid for training that benefits the wider industry.
AI and Digital
On future skills, Rebecca Hawkes, Elstree Studios, said: “Virtual production will be the driver going forward. Partnerships are key as it’s going to cost a lot of money and we’ve got to get the tech right.”
Laura Mansfield added: “We need to respond to AI. Fear around IP is making us nervous about exploring AI.”
Digital infrastructure was a recurring theme throughout the Summit. Katherine Nash, Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios, said while physical studio expansion may be limited, “more growth is coming in the digital sector. To get there, we need partnerships with local authorities and supply chains that respect the local ecosystem.”
In his keynote, Guy Gadney, Charismatic.ai, argued AI tools can reduce budgets and timescales while maintaining quality: “It’s not about replacing things — it’s about productivity and efficiency and asking what we can do now that we couldn’t do before.”
In the panel ‘Innovation on set and behind the scenes,’ Ben Field, Deep Fusion Films, said AI can shorten a first rough from 5/6 weeks to three hours.
“AI also reduces costs — people come to me because they don’t have the budget to do it traditionally,” he added.
Kelsey Farish, Kelsey Farish Limited, added a note of caution around AI use: “I don’t think we’re asking the right questions. There’s a huge focus on copyright when we need to focus on fair pay and informing people what they’re signing up to.”
Dr Jon Wardle, National Film and Television School, noted that while many use AI, hands-on courses such as model-making are seeing renewed interest. “You’re not going to lose your job to AI — you’ll lose it to someone who can pull all the AI tools together,” he added.
Dr Matthew Boswell, Media Cymru, found that constrained budgets make it hard to fund and encourage tech experimentation unless it shows clear value for businesses and communities. “Some things will fail,” said Laura Helm, Digital Catapult, “but we need to play to learn and grow.”
“I would encourage everybody – even the sceptics of creative tech – to just start playing with AI. It’s so amazing,” added panel chair Celia Taylor, Media Trust Films/Hertfordshire Futures. “Playing – and learning – are underrated moments in our culture.”
In her closing remarks, Katharine Glass, from the UK Screen Investment Programme and White Label Creative, which organised the programme, said: “There were lots of calls for action today and we look forward to building on the success of the Summit with partners throughout 2026, as the programme evolves.”
An in memoriam tribute was paid to Bill Boler, Partnerships Director at West London Business for the Creative Enterprise Zone West, and member of the UK Screen Investment Programme Steering Group.
The UK Screen Investment Summit 2025 is sponsored by University of Hertfordshire (Event Partner); Creative Wales, Hertfordshire Growth Board, McLaren and Trowers & Hamlins (Associate Partners); and British Film Commission, Capital & Centric, Glencar, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Film Office, Marlow Film Studios, Pact, RIOS, Screen Capital West and West London Film & TV Skills Hub (Supporting Partners).
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