Media and technology UK - Industry outlook 2024

Our first UK media and technology industry outlook gives unique insight into the challenges and opportunities the sector is facing, using data from our survey of 200 business leaders. 

The media landscape continues to soar in the UK, with entertainment and media achieving record-breaking revenues and inbound investment in recent years. While over 84% of our media respondents feel optimistic about the next 12 months for their business, this drops when looking more long term. 

Our research also indicated a similar sentiment for technology businesses, despite the fact the UK remains a leading place for them to set up and grow, with 49 tech ‘unicorns’ created to date and a burgeoning sector worth more than $1tn supported. Over 72% of tech respondents are optimistic about the prospects for their business over the next year, but again, this drops when looking further ahead.

With uncertainty on the horizon – what are the opportunities and challenges for the UK media and tech industries?

There were several standout findings in our research, including only 33% of respondents being able to easily access operating funds required in the last six months. It was also interesting to see that more than half of businesses have more debt now than six months ago, highlighting the challenges facing scaling businesses in the industry.

Understandably, the businesses we surveyed are heavily focused on growth and how best to fund this in the year ahead. Although there is almost a 50:50 split between those who will look towards equity funding rounds, and those who choose debt to achieve their objectives. 

As well as exploring the above areas in more detail, our industry outlook, based on primary research also covers the topics below: