Create Central
Create Central is a Birmingham-based, private-sector-led industry body established by the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2019 to coordinate the regional creative industries. It delivers grant-funded skills, IP, business-growth, and production-support programmes linking creative SMEs, broadcasters, talent, and universities in the West Midlands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersMidlands, Mauritius
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Create Central does
Create Central is a private-sector-led industry body established by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in October 2019 and headquartered in Birmingham, UK. It operates as an arms-length coordinator of the West Midlands creative industries, linking creative SMEs, broadcasters, talent, universities, and public-sector funders around a coordinated set of programmes covering skills training, content/IP funding, business growth support, and production services.
Its core offerings are structured as interlocking programmes rather than commercial products: the Skills Accelerator (training courses such as Rock up Ready, TV & Film Fusion, and Learn to Lead, delivered with BFI, ScreenSkills, Solihull College, and Shine TV); the West Midlands IP Fund (grants of up to £20,000 for original screen content development, delivered with Creative UK); the West Midlands Create Growth Programme (a six-month fully-funded business growth and investment-readiness programme for creative SMEs, delivered with Creative UK and funded by DCMS); the CreaTech Innovation Scale-Up Lab (CISL, part of the £50m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, supporting CreaTech commercialisation); Traction (a six-week CreaTech market-testing programme); and Production Central WM (a regional film/TV/digital production services office delivered by the West Midlands Growth Company). All programmes are fully funded for eligible participants and the body itself does not generate commercial revenue.
Create Central's business model is grant-funded and event-driven rather than commercial: it secures public-sector grants from WMCA and leverages private-sector investment and partnerships to deliver non-revenue-generating programmes. Its GTM combines community-led engagement within the West Midlands creative ecosystem with curated events (the Big Creative UK Investment Summit, VentureFest West Midlands, RTS Careers Fair, World Screen Tourism Summit) and skills programmes. Governance is provided by an Executive Board of industry leaders chaired by Ed Shedd (formerly of Deloitte's European TMT practice), and the body is bound by a governance framework with WMCA. Customers/beneficiaries are creative SMEs and underrepresented talent in the West Midlands, with anchor partners including the BBC (under two MoUs), Channel 4, ITV, Netflix, Kudos Knight, BFI, Creative UK, and ScreenSkills.
Create Central firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Create Central
- Legal name
- Create Central
- Website
- https://createcentraluk.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Create Central is a Birmingham-based, private-sector-led industry body established by the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2019 to coordinate the regional creative industries. It delivers grant-funded skills, IP, business-growth, and production-support programmes linking creative SMEs, broadcasters, talent, and universities in the West Midlands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Create Central industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Industries Development Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- SIC
- Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA), Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH), Creator Content Production & Co-Creation Studios (BPAFAHAD), Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)
Keywords
Where Create Central is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Midlands
- HQ country
- Mauritius
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Create Central business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Grant Funding & Public Sector Support: Create Central secures public-sector grants from West Midlands Combined Authority and leverages private-sector investment to fund programmes and initiatives. They do not generate commercial revenue but act as a facilitator and coordinator for the creative industries.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Create Central product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Create Central is a private-sector-led industry body that coordinates programmes for the West Midlands creative industries, including skills training (Skills Accelerator), IP/content development funding (West Midlands IP Fund), business growth support (West Midlands Create Growth Programme), film and TV production services (Production Central WM), and CreaTech innovation and scaling support (CISL, Traction). It does not sell commercial products but operates as a grant-funded facilitator connecting creative businesses, talent, broadcasters, investors, and public-sector funders.
Product overview
Create Central operates as an industry body and strategic coordinator for the West Midlands creative sector, offering a portfolio of interconnected programs. The core offerings include the Skills Accelerator (training and bootcamps), West Midlands IP Fund (content development funding), West Midlands Create Growth Programme (business growth support), Production Central WM (film production services), and CreaTech Innovation Scale-Up Lab (innovation and R&D support). These programs work together to develop creative talent, fund original IP, support business growth, and facilitate film production in the region.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Skills Accelerator
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 100 creative businesses supported with funding and expert support
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Create Central
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Create Central technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Create Central partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
25 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- BBCcoreBBC signed second MoU with WMCA and Create Central to nearly double production spend from £24m to £40m annually by 2027. Partnership includes BBC Studios Drama Productions setting up production base in Digbeth and training initiatives.
- Production Central WM (West Midlands Growth Company)coreProduction Central WM is the new regional agency for film, TV, and digital content production, funded by Mayor Richard Parker and delivered by West Midlands Growth Company. Partnered with Create Central to connect industry professionals to regional production network.
- BBC StudioworkscoreBBC Studioworks and Digbeth Loc Studios have joined forces through a new commercial and operational agreement, partnering with Create Central to cement Birmingham as one of the UK's most dynamic homes for storytelling.
- University of WarwickcoreUniversity of Warwick leads Creative Industries Scale-up Lab (CISL) as part of £50m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, partnering with Create Central and other universities.
- VisitBritainminorVisitBritain reports 7 in 10 UK leisure visitors have visited a film or TV location, partnering on SET-JET25 World Screen Tourism Summit in Birmingham.
- Creative UKcoreCreative UK delivers the West Midlands IP Content Fund and Create Growth Programme in collaboration with Create Central. Partnership leverages Creative UK's national network and funding management expertise.
- West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)coreWMCA commissioned Create Central to oversee the economic growth of the creative industries in the West Midlands. WMCA provides governance framework, public sector funding, and political backing for Create Central's initiatives including the £5m per annum investment commitment.
- BFI (British Film Institute)coreBFI selected Create Central as one of six UK BFI Skills Clusters. BFI provides National Lottery funding to support Skills Accelerator programmes with additional match-funding from WMCA.
- ScreenSkillscoreScreenSkills partners with Create Central and WMCA to invest in skills and talent development, including apprenticeships and traineeships for the West Midlands screen industries.
- Solihull College & University CentrecoreDelivers Peaky Blinders Training Bootcamps and other Skills Accelerator courses in partnership with Create Central, WMCA, and Kudos Knight for local talent development.
- BBCcoreStory Engine Birmingham - stage to screen scratch night bridging TV & Theatre industries, championing creatives in West Midlands with script editors from BBC shows.
- Kudos KnightcoreCreative partnership between Steven Knight and Kudos (Banijay UK) delivering Peaky Blinders Training Bootcamps with Create Central, WMCA, and Solihull College.
- Shine TVcoreShine TV (MasterChef, Hunted) partners with Create Central's Skills Accelerator to deliver TV & Film Fusion courses and career development programmes.
- BBCmajorBBC's Made Of Brum campaign featuring Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight celebrating Birmingham's original homegrown stories with 100+ billboards across the city.
- NetflixmajorNetflix co-producer with BBC on Peaky Blinders return, with two new series filmed at Digbeth Loc Studios for BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and Netflix globally.
- ITVminorITV mentioned as regional partner supporting West Midlands creative industries ecosystem.
- YouTubeminorYouTube listed as national partner supporting West Midlands creative industries.
- West Midlands Health Tech Cluster (Medilink Midlands)minorWMHTC delivered by Medilink Midlands, partnering with Create Central to run XR Health and Wellbeing Hub bringing together health chiefs and creative sector.
- Birmingham City UniversitycoreKey academic partner in XR Health and Wellbeing Hub and various CreaTech initiatives, providing research and development capabilities.
- Coventry UniversitycoreCoventry University partners with Create Central on CreaTech Frontiers and Createch Europe Connect internationalisation pilot for creative SMEs.
- Digital CatapultminorDigital Catapult listed as specialist regional and national agency supporting CISL programme for creative and immersive technologies.
- Filming in EnglandminorFilming in England Industry Mixer events supported by Create Central to unite regional crew, supply chain businesses, and local partners.
- Channel 4coreChannel 4 has partnered with Create Central on pilot development funding initiatives. Emma Hardy, Director of Commissioning Operations, has endorsed the IP fund.
- UKTVminorUKTV listed as national partner supporting West Midlands creative industries.
- ParamountminorParamount listed as national partner supporting West Midlands creative industries.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Create Central competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Screen Scotland: National screen agency for Scotland performing the same regional development, funding, and skills role as Create Central, but with a national (Scottish) rather than regional mandate and a larger standalone budget.
- Creative Wales: Welsh Government creative industries team that funds and supports Welsh creative businesses — a regional peer with overlapping programmes in skills, IP development, and production support, but with a national (Welsh) mandate.
- Film Cardiff: Regional film office supporting production in Cardiff/Wales — a thinner-scope regional peer demonstrating the standard model of a small geographic production services intermediary.
- Northern Ireland Screen: Regional screen agency funding and developing the screen industries in Northern Ireland — direct model for a small, grant-funded organisation supporting film/TV production, skills, and IP development in a defined geography.
Direct peers
- ScreenSkills: UK-wide skills and workforce development body for the screen industries; a direct peer in the Skills Accelerator space and a named strategic partner, delivering apprenticeships and traineeships for the same cohort.
- Creative UK: National creative industries body that is the most direct comparator — it actually delivers the West Midlands IP Fund and Create Growth Programme on behalf of Create Central, and operates as an industry body coordinating creative sector growth across the UK.
- West Midlands Growth Company: Regional development agency that delivers Production Central WM on behalf of Create Central and the Mayor — a closely entangled peer in regional economic development, with overlapping mandate in attracting production investment and creative sector growth.
- Film London: Regional film production services office analogous to Production Central WM; both serve as one-stop shops connecting productions to crew, locations, and facilities, but Film London covers the capital.
- British Film Institute (BFI): National film and screen industry body that designated Create Central as one of six BFI Skills Clusters, with overlapping mandates in film funding, skills development, and ecosystem coordination across the UK.
Others
- Olsberg SPI: International creative industries consultancy that authored a key economic study for the West Midlands creative sector; comparable as an external advisor shaping regional creative industry policy rather than delivering programmes directly.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Create Central social profiles
Digital presenceCreate Central financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Create Central leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Create Central funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Create Central M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Create Central
What does Create Central do?
Create Central is a private-sector-led industry body that coordinates programmes for the West Midlands creative industries, including skills training (Skills Accelerator), IP/content development funding (West Midlands IP Fund), business growth support (West Midlands Create Growth Programme), film and TV production services (Production Central WM), and CreaTech innovation and scaling support (CISL, Traction). It does not sell commercial products but operates as a grant-funded facilitator connecting creative businesses, talent, broadcasters, investors, and public-sector funders.
Is Create Central a public or private company?
Create Central is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Create Central founded?
Create Central was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Create Central based?
Create Central is headquartered in Midlands, Mauritius, in the Africa region.
How does Create Central make money?
One revenue line is on record: grant Funding & Public Sector Support.
Who are Create Central's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Screen Scotland, Creative Wales, Film Cardiff and Northern Ireland Screen. Direct peers are ScreenSkills, Creative UK, West Midlands Growth Company, Film London and British Film Institute (BFI). Olsberg SPI is listed as an others.
Does Create Central have an API?
No public API is recorded for Create Central.
What industry is Create Central in?
Create Central's product category is Creative Industries Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAC, Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening), with a secondary code of EDABAAAA, Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 7819.