audiovisual fianzas sgr.

What audiovisual fianzas sgr. does

CREA SGR (legal name: Audiovisual Fianzas Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca) is a Spanish non-profit mutual guarantee society founded in 2005 through a public-private partnership between Spain's Ministry of Culture and EGEDA. It operates as a regulated financial institution supervised by the Bank of Spain (register number 9848) and is the only sector-specific, national-level SGR in Spain — out of 18 total SGRs operating in the country. Its sole function is to issue financial guarantees on behalf of SMEs and self-employed professionals working in sectors that traditional banks systematically underserve: audiovisual production, cultural and creative industries, sports federations/clubs, and gaming/entertainment. By acting as sole guarantor, CREA enables partner banks (including CaixaBank, Triodos, BBVA, Santander, Bankinter, Sabadell, Cajamar, Ibercaja, and Abanca) to extend credit at their best-client pricing while transferring default risk.

CREA's product surface is organized by sector vertical rather than by loan type. Financing is structured around advance guarantees for subsidies, TV/platform contracts, international sales, and sponsorships, with deal sizes ranging from €20K to €8.5M and terms up to 84 months depending on the product line. The technology stack is intentionally light: a digital application portal at creasgronline.com handles submission and processing, but no public API, SDK, or proprietary risk model is disclosed. Revenue is generated through three fee streams — a 0.5% study commission, a 1% annual guarantee commission (subsidized in year one for audiovisual/cultural deals subject to Ministry of Culture approval), and a 0.5% social-shares participation refundable on operation completion. Distribution is hybrid: direct online self-serve for SMB applicants, channel partnerships with sports federations (ADESP, ProLiga, RFFM) and cultural institutions, and embedded distribution through 11+ partner financial institutions.

The organization's value proposition rests on a specialized, project-focused underwriting approach (qualitative project assessment rather than traditional corporate credit scoring), a member-owned mutual structure, and re-guarantee support from CERSA, regional governments (Madrid, Community of Madrid, Cabildo de Gran Canaria), and the European Investment Fund via the Creative Europe / InvestEU program. Cumulative financing facilitated grew from €7.5M (early years) to €329.5M over a 20-year operating history, with €400M+ flowing through the Triodos Bank partnership alone since 2012. The org holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, AENOR quality certification, and an active equality policy certification. Management is lean: a Managing Director (Rafael Lambea) plus six department heads covering audiovisual/sports, cultural industries, gaming/compliance, risk, formalization, and admin/HR, plus an internal auditor.

Name

audiovisual fianzas sgr.

Legal name

Audiovisual Fianzas Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca

Website

https://creasgr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CREA SGR is a Spanish non-profit mutual guarantee society supervised by the Bank of Spain that issues financial guarantees for SMEs and self-employed professionals in the audiovisual, cultural, sports, and gaming sectors, enabling access to bank financing under favorable terms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pozuelo De Alarcón

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Guarantee Commissions: CREA charges guarantee commissions for facilitating financing through their partner banks. This includes study commissions and annual guarantee commissions.
2. Social Shares Contribution: Partners must contribute 0.5% of the formalized amount in social shares (rounded to multiples of 60 euros), which is refundable upon completion of the operation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CREA SGR is a non-profit mutual guarantee society that acts as sole guarantor for SMEs, self-employed professionals, and entities in the audiovisual, cultural, creative, sports, and gaming/entertainment sectors, enabling them to access bank loans and public administration guarantees under the conditions reserved for a bank's best clients. The organization evaluates projects on their qualitative and quantitative merits rather than relying solely on company credit ratings, and it operates a multi-step process from online application through pre-feasibility, feasibility, bank liaison, and notary formalization.

Product overview

CREA SGR is a non-profit mutual guarantee society (SGR) supervised by the Bank of Spain that provides financial guarantees to SMEs and self-employed professionals in specific sectors. The product portfolio centers on guarantee instruments that enable cultural, creative, sports, and entertainment sector entities to access bank financing under favorable conditions. Products include sector-specific financing programs for audiovisual productions (up to €8.5M), music artists and promoters (€20K-100K), performing arts productions and tours (up to €1M), digital creation and video game IP development (€20K-500K), cultural sector general financing (up to €2.5M), sports federations and clubs (CSD advances), and gaming/entertainment guarantees. The guarantee model operates by CREA acting as sole guarantor, allowing banks to offer their best client conditions while eliminating default risk.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Audiovisual Production Financing (Financiación Producciones Audiovisuales) Guarantee-backed financing for audiovisual productions (film and television), providing guarantees for subsidies, TV and platform contracts, international sales, and investors. Amounts from €20,000 to €8,500,000 with terms up to 48 months. For SMEs and self-employed professionals in audiovisual production.
• Audiovisual Value Chain Financing (Financiación Otros Agentes Sector Audiovisual) Financing for other agents in the audiovisual value chain including post-production, recording studios, and technical companies. Amounts from €20,000 to €2,000,000 with terms up to 60 months. For SMEs and self-employed in audiovisual auxiliary activities.
• Artist Financing (Financiación de Artistas) Financing for music artists to fund new projects, with repayment through artist activity revenues. Amounts from €20,000 to €100,000. For self-employed and SME music artists.
• Live Music Promoter Financing (Financiación Promotores de Música en Vivo) Financing for concerts and music festivals, with repayment through event revenues. Terms from 12 to 24 months. For music promoters, festival organizers, and concert production companies.
• Music Sector Other Agents Financing (Financiación Otros Agentes Sector de la Música) Financing for all music sector agents including recorded and live music, adapted to individual financial needs. For music SMEs, self-employed professionals, and recorded music businesses.
• Performing Arts Productions and Tours Financing (Financiación Realización de Producciones y Giras) Financing for production and touring of live shows by companies, producers, and self-employed in performing arts. Amounts from €20,000 to €1,000,000 with terms up to 36 months. For theater, dance, circus, and lyric arts producers.
• Performing Arts Other Agents Financing (Financiación Otros Agentes Sector Artes Escénicas) Financing for all agents in theater, circus, dance, and lyric arts sectors, adapted to individual financial needs. For performing arts SMEs and self-employed professionals.
• Own IP Development Financing (Financiación IP Propia) Financing for digital creation and video game companies to develop their own intellectual property, with execution viability and assured return. Amounts from €20,000 to €300,000. For video game and digital content studios.
• Third-Party IP Development Financing (Financiación IP para Terceros) Financing for digital creation and video game companies developing IP for third parties, with execution viability and assured return. Amounts from €20,000 to €500,000. For studios executing third-party work-for-hire contracts.
• Cultural Sector Financing (Financiación Sector Cultural) Financing for cultural sector agents for new projects, business growth, and advance of subsidies. Amounts from €20,000 to €2,500,000 with terms up to 84 months. For SMEs and self-employed in publishing, visual arts, photography, museums, galleries, and other cultural and creative industries.
• Sports Federation CSD Subsidy Advance Financing (Financiación Federaciones Deportivas - CSD) Advance financing for subsidies from the Higher Sports Council (CSD) for sports federations and clubs. For Spanish sports federations and clubs with confirmed CSD subsidy entitlements.
• Other Sports Sector Financing (Otra Financiación Sector Deportivo) Financing for entities with subsidies, sponsorships, or other income justifying repayment capacity. Amounts from €30,000 to €500,000. For sports federations, clubs, and entities with confirmed income streams.
• Gaming License Guarantees (Fianzas de Juego) Gaming guarantees related to gaming licenses required before regional and national regulatory bodies. For gaming and entertainment SMEs and self-employed needing to file technical guarantees for gaming halls, bingo halls, casinos, and online gambling operations.
• Other Gaming Company Financing (Otra Financiación Empresas de Juego) Other financing for gaming companies, adapted to individual financial needs. For gaming SMEs and self-employed in the gaming and entertainment sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Financing growth from 7.5M to 329.5M euros over 20 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• CERSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompañía Española de Refianzamiento (Spanish Re-guarantee Company) providing re-guarantee support for CREA operations and coordination for EIF InvestEU Fund program
• Ministry of Culture (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner from public-private collaboration that established CREA in 2005; provides subsidized first-year guarantee commissions for audiovisual and cultural sectors
• EGEDAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSociedad de Servicios para los Productores Audiovisuales - founding partner in public-private collaboration; hosts CREA headquarters in their building
• ADESPsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSports federation association with collaboration agreement for reaching sports sector clients for subsidy and sponsorship advance financing
• ProLigasecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSports federation with collaboration agreement for sports club financing through subsidy and sponsorship advances
• Real Federación de Fútbol de Madrid (RFFM)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFootball federation with collaboration agreement for Madrid-based sports club financing
• Madrid City CouncilsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner providing re-guarantee support through collaboration agreement for cultural sector financing
• Community of MadridsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government partner providing re-guarantee support through collaboration agreement
• Cabildo de Gran CanariaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsland government partner with collaboration agreement for regional cultural sector support
• Spain Audiovisual HubsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment initiative (Ministerio de Cultura) promoting Spain as European audiovisual hub with 1,600M+ euro investment plan through 2025

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CERSA (Compañía Española de Reafianzamiento): Spain's national re-guarantee company that provides counter-guarantee coverage to all Spanish SGRs including CREA. Directly comparable as a mutual-style credit guarantee institution serving the same regulatory ecosystem under Bank of Spain supervision.
• Elkargi SGR: Basque Country regional SGR providing guarantees to SMEs, structured as a mutual guarantee society under the same Spanish regulatory framework as CREA. Comparable business model, regulatory classification, and counterparty relationships with banks.
• European Investment Fund (EIF): EU-level financial institution that implements Creative Europe and InvestEU cultural-sector programs through CREA. Directly comparable as a cultural-sector credit intermediation partner and counterparty for guarantee-backed financing in the EU.
• Istituto per il Credito Sportivo: Italian credit institution specialized in sports-sector financing, providing guarantees and loans to sports federations, clubs, and entities — a near-exact functional analogue to CREA's sports-sector guarantee line. Comparable as a sector-specialized public-purpose credit institution serving sports SMEs.
• SGR-Cesgar: Spanish regional mutual guarantee society providing SME guarantees under the same regulatory framework as CREA. Directly comparable mutual guarantee model, regulatory classification, and bank-partner distribution structure.

Regional players

• Avalis SGR: Catalan regional mutual guarantee society providing SME guarantees under the same Spanish SGR framework as CREA. Comparable mutual guarantee model and credit intermediation function, though Catalonia-focused rather than sector-focused.
• ENISA: Spanish public SME financing entity focused on entrepreneurs and small businesses, including participative loans to cultural and creative sector SMEs. Comparable as a public-purpose SME credit institution targeting similar customer profiles in Spain.

Broad incumbents

• ICO (Instituto de Crédito Oficial): Spain's state-owned financial institution providing credit lines to SMEs including cultural and creative sectors through partner banks. Comparable as a public-purpose credit intermediary, though operates at national/state level across all sectors rather than specializing in culture/sports/entertainment.
• BPI France: France's public investment bank providing guarantee and financing products to cultural/creative SMEs through programs equivalent to CREA's sector specialization. Comparable as a public-purpose cultural-sector credit intermediary, though broader in scope.

Others

• ICAA (Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales): Spanish public body administering audiovisual-sector subsidies and grants that CREA's customers depend on for repayment capacity. Comparable as an ecosystem participant shaping the demand side of CREA's audiovisual guarantee portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CREASGR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTJvb-vHIYeKI38xTnAp-xg
• Facebookfacebook.com/CREA-SGR-203279266823609
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/audiovisual-sgr
• Instagraminstagram.com/creasgr

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about audiovisual fianzas sgr.