Investment Plan for Europe supports new financing for the cultural and creative sectors in the Nordic countries

• EIF supports REinvent Finance to make new financing available to Nordic film and TV series production companies, backed by the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
• Financing will support worldwide distribution of Nordic audio-visual content while providing an alternative finance solution to traditional banks.
• The guarantee terms of the CCS Guarantee Facility have been further enhanced under the EIB Group’s COVID-19 support measures and are expected to support 60 transactions.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a guarantee agreement with Danish alternative finance provider REinvent Finance. Part of creative hub REinvent Group, the alternative investment fund manager will provide new financing to operators in the Nordic film and TV series industry to improve access to finance for a category under pressure due to COVID-19. The guarantee agreement is backed by the European Commission under the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Thanks to CCS GF, REinvent Finance will increase its debt financing products to creative companies throughout the Nordic countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. A total guarantee amount of up to €26 million is expected to support 60 transactions in the film and TV series production sector, supporting Nordic creative content to go worldwide. The financing will become available through bridge financing loans, minimum guarantees (gap financing), as well as content development loans through REinvent Finance.

European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “I welcome this new agreement under the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility, which will enable easier access to financing for Nordic film and TV production companies. The culture and creative sectors are facing unprecedented difficulties as a result of the economic shock brought by the coronavirus pandemic. As such, this support will ensure continuation of their vibrant and unique contribution to Europe’s audiovisual landscape.”  

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard commented: “The Nordic countries have a very vibrant cultural and creative scene. This support of the CCS Guarantee Facility enables the European Investment Fund and REinvent to improve access to finance for companies active in these sectors that often face significant difficulty in obtaining loans, and it is very important that we are able to support this important sector in tough times like these.”

CEO at REinvent Finance, Rikke Ennis states: “We are immensely proud and glad that the European Investment Fund has granted us the means to help us expand the slate of Nordic content to be presented to the global market. In REinvent we have seen a healthy appetite in the market for quality content from the Nordics and it is a pleasure to be able to enforce the effort to continue to target the international buyers and support producers in their financing of projects.”

Background Information:

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro-, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. It provides first loss guarantees enabling the EIB Group to invest in riskier projects. The projects and agreements approved for financing under EFSI have so far mobilised €546.5 billion in investment, benefitting over 1.4 million SMEs.

About the European Union’s programme for cultural and creative sectors

Creative Europe is designed to support the creative and cultural sectors. The aim of Creative Europe is to promote cultural diversity, encourage the circulation of European culture and creativity and strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors.

REinvent Finance was established in May 2018 and is part of REinvent Group – a collection of companies specialized in the creative development, financing, production, sales and distribution of film and TV series. REinvent Studios functions as executive and creative producer, developing, financing and co-producing various projects. REinvent Finance offers financial products such as cash flowing, bridge financing, equity and gap investments. REinvent International Sales functions as a sales agent for both our own series and high-profile projects out of Scandinavia. The mission of REinvent is to be the one-stop-shop for the Nordic film and tv industry and to create new business opportunities for the creative entertainment industry.