Oscar-winning Aardman is just the tip of Bristol and Bath’s creative iceberg, with the sector set to grow to £1bn by 2020, writes Stacey Meadwell
The creative industries are worth £660m to the Bristol and Bath area, and that figure is expected to rise to £1bn by 2020. Aardman and Hobbit actor Andy Serkis’s Imaginarium, a motion-capture studio, may be one of the best-known creative companies in the area, but in fact it’s just part of a large and thriving sector.
“The definition of creative industries is very wide: we could be talking about one basket weaver or a digital company employing thousands,” says Matthew Cross, head of inward investment at Invest in Bristol and Bath. “Where we excel is in micro-electronics, CGI, mobile games, digital design, etc.”
And demand is growing. Cross says he has about 40,000 sq ft of active requirements but believes the true figure is double that.
The problem is a lack of suitable space. There are big, shiny offices being developed in Bristol (see p90) but the smaller, quirkier spaces are hard to find. A number of local developers – Verve Properties, Cubex and TCM, for example – have been bringing space forward and it is letting well.
James Preece, director at Colliers International, says: “There seems to be a constant drip-feed of requirements – on the whole small , perhaps 1,500-5,000 sq ft – but there are a lot of them.”
He says these businesses tend to pay between £10 and 15 per sq ft although quoting rents at TCM’s Engine Shed are now £17 per sq ft.
Providing the right sort of space is not that simple, though. Ashley Nicholson, director at Verve Properties, has lots of tech and creative companies at its scheme and is converting the old Brew House in the city centre.
“A lot of people have tried to do creative space, but it’s not just putting in a funky piece of art,” he says, “it’s a state of mind.”
Bristol has a lot of old brick warehouse buildings and they are proving popular. “It is surprising how many companies you get calling when they see a bit of exposed brickwork,” says Preece at Colliers International.
However, he adds that quirky isn’t the be-all and end-all: “Some firms just won’t consider that space. Often it isn’t big enough.”
Bristol and Bath creative facts
¶ 25% of global natural history film production
• £660m creative industries GVA
• £1bn estimated GVA by 2020
• 40 Baftas for work produced in the area
• 2 of 9 creative hotspots in the UK
• 7 of the top 10 telecoms providers have ?a chip designed in the area
Source: Invest in Bristol and Bath
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