A new pounds 5 million fund to support the growth of creative businesses in the West Midlands is to be launched in Birmingham this week. The Advantage Creative Fund (ACF) is a region-wide venturecapital investment fund which expects to help more than 50 companies to realise their potential over the next five years.

Investments will be made in three bands: under pounds 50,000, pounds 50,000-pounds 100,000 and over pounds 100,000. The fund will be open to proposals from a wide range of creative businesses with the potential to grow rapidly, including start-up enterprises and established companies in areas such as design, interactive leisure software, publishing, music, film, TV and radio.

The ACF is a successor to a pilot scheme that ran between 2000 and 2001 which showed there was a strong demand for venture capital among creative businesses. It is backed by Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, the European Regional Development Fund and Arts Council England.

Although it is a not-for-profit company itself, the ACF invests only in commercial businesses capable of generating substantial earnings and which have strong growth prospects.

ACF chairman Peter Tomlinson, who is also chairman of Saga Radio 105.7FM, said: ‘The fund’s main aim is to grow the creative business sector in the region. It aims to achieve this by making profitable investments to assist creative companies to grow, then reinvesting its profits in further businesses in the future.’

John Edwards, chief executive of Advantage West Midlands, said: ‘The West Midlands Economic Strategy identifies businesses in the creative industries as those which can help close the region’s productivity gap, generate greater wealth, and diversify into new activities which have greater value-adding potential.’