London: Beyond The Screen

Step inside London's world-leading film and TV ecosystem

Record-breaking investment

UK screen production investment reached a record-breaking high of £5.6bn in 2024. This was largely driven by high-end TV productions, with a spend of £3.4bn across 181 projects.^[1] Feature films also saw a surge in activity and investment, bringing in £2.1bn through 191 productions.^[2]

For companies looking to scale their production capacity, or tap into world-class post-production and VFX, London’s depth of investment offers more opportunity, more partners and a stronger ecosystem ready to support growth.

A cultural and creative powerhouse

London’s film and TV strengths come not only from its industry infrastructure, but from its cultural heritage and world-class creative districts.

London is home to Ealing Studios, the world’s oldest working film studio, as well as 3 Mills Studios, one of London’s most historic production sites, and the fast-growing production hub in Barking and Dagenham, where new state-of-the-art facilities are shaping the next generation of UK screen production. Creative neighbourhoods like King’s Cross and the emerging Kentish Town Creative Quarter bring together production companies, digital media innovators, post-production houses and education hubs.

From Soho’s VFX and post-production district to the sound stages of west London, the city offers unrivalled access to skills, collaborators and audiences. Some of the critically acclaimed hits made in London include Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, Slow Horses and the Bridget Jones film series - showcasing the city’s strengths as a production hub and its diversity of iconic locations.

London also leads the UK’s screen ecosystem, with more than 1,700 post-production companies,^[3] and more than 4,500 production companies across the capital - the latter generating almost £4bn in turnover.^[4]

The sector is celebrated across the city through major events such as the BFI London Film Festival, which welcomes almost 290,000 people each year.^[5]

Top talent behind the scenes

A world-class creative scene needs an equally world-class workforce behind it, and London is home to some of the best and most diverse talent in the world. Almost half of the UK’s creative industry jobs are based in the capital.

The creative sector accounted for about 7% of the filled jobs in the UK between 2023 and 2024,^[6] and London’s talent pipeline continues to grow. The Mayor of London has committed £10m over the next four years to support the sector, with an expected £2.5bn boost to the economy.^[7]

Economic impact

The creative industries in London and the UK add significant value to the economy. In the UK capital alone, the sector generates more than £52bn each year.^[8] In 2023, the UK attracted 9.3% of the world’s foreign direct investment in the creative sector, the second highest after the US.^[9]

From 2020-2025, London attracted $3.7bn in venture capital investment into media, content and creative-adjacent businesses.^[10]

The capital is also home to 950-plus VC-backed companies in the media, screen and creative economy.^[11]

The lure of London is not lost on the industry’s biggest players. Since 2020, American streamer Netflix has invested £4.8bn into TV and film productions in the UK - double the amount it originally planned.^[12] In 2025, and for the first time in its 42-year history, London-based broadcaster Channel 4 revealed plans to start making its own productions and launching a new Creative Investment Fund.^[13]

Government support

London offers a supportive environment for creative sector businesses, strengthened by a wide mix of tax incentives, grants and other schemes designed to make it easier to set up and grow.

A broad range of tax incentives is available across the industry, covering:

• Film
• High-end television
• Children’s television
• Animated television
• Video games
• Theatrical productions
• Orchestral concerts
• Museum or gallery exhibitions

In 2023-24, the UK government paid out £2.4bn in creative industry tax incentives, with high-end TV and film among the biggest recipients. This was an increase from £2.19bn paid in 2022-23.^[14]

Support for the sector is expected to increase further under the Creative Industries Sector Plan, which commits £380m to developing skills, boosting innovation, research and development (R&D) and encouraging regional growth.^[15] The plan aims to raise overall business investment in the creative industries to £31bn by 2035 - almost double today’s levels.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan also provides targeted help for high-growth areas through a £75m Screen Growth Package, designed to strengthen UK content development and attract more international investment. This includes expanding the UK Global Screen Fund and scaling up the BFI Film Academy to support 16 to 25-year-olds from underrepresented backgrounds as they enter the film industry, alongside the creation of 2,000 new film and TV apprenticeships.

London as a launchpad for growth

For companies that choose London, the city becomes more than a base - it becomes a global launchpad. London’s rich pool of creative talent, distributors, studios, investors and networks gives businesses the visibility and momentum to reach audiences across the rest of Europe, North America and Asia. Many companies that grow in London go on to scale globally thanks to the city’s ecosystem that prepares them for international success. This outward expansion is supported by programmes such as Grow London Global, which help London-based creative businesses enter new international markets through tailored support.

For companies looking to enter the UK market, London offers the ideal starting point. London & Partners works directly with international film, TV and creative tech businesses to help them establish a presence in the city, connect into the ecosystem and unlock the opportunities that only London can offer.

Some of the international markets our clients have come from: