Nuggit launches £5m fund to help UK YouTubers grow

Startup Nuggit has launched a £5 million fund aimed at helping UK YouTubers grow their businesses.

The fund is designed for creators who have reached what Nuggit describes as an "inflection point," ensuring they can professionalise their channels into media businesses through access to capital, commercial strategy and data-led content planning.

The initiative builds on the company's existing platform, which has worked with more than 30 creators, including football fan media company Arsenal Fan TV and creators Only Scrans and Anna Saccone. Those using the platform have seen sales typically grow by 29% in under a year, while six have transitioned to creating content full-time, according to Nuggit.

"We're seeing the creator economy continue to mature with more recognition of the value of a creator's IP and the sector's economic importance. However, the financial and operational infrastructure around it simply hasn't kept pace," founder and chief executive Johnny Freeland said.

Freeland said many creators eventually reach a stage where growth is constrained, usually due to time and resources, arguing that they should be able to access capital without having to sell their channel or intellectual property.

"The paradox of the creator economy is that successful creators build their channels by being incredibly self-reliant and resourceful. However, at a certain point this becomes a limitation," he said, adding that financing options for all but the largest creators have so far been poorly structured and difficult to access.

The launch comes as access to finance has emerged as one of the biggest challenges facing UK creators. Nuggit cited Oxford Economics research showing YouTube's creative ecosystem contributed £2.2 billion to the UK economy and supported more than 45,000 jobs in 2024.

A YouTube Creator Consultation, which surveyed almost 10,000 UK creators, found that just 7% felt adequately supported when it came to securing capital and business loans, while only 17% felt supported in skills and training. The findings informed the formation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Digital Creators, which has since examined issues including access to finance and how the government can better support creator-led businesses.

More information, including how to apply, is available here.