The facts

The creative industries account for 8.2 per cent of UK GDP and are growing at twice the rate of the economy as a whole – averaging 5 per cent a year between 1997 and 2004. Exports grew even faster, averaging 11 per cent, to contribute 4.3 per cent of the country’s overseas sales.

London contributed £21 billion to the total creative industries output of £85 billion (2000). According to the Mayor’s Office, creative industries account for 525,000 jobs (one in five) in the capital, with a growth rate of 9 per cent a year, compared with 5 per cent for financial services.

The sector is largely fragmented and dominated by SMEs, many of which are micro or sole-trader businesses.

The creative sector in Hackney and the City Fringe is healthy and growing. The creative industry is over represented in the City Fringe compared to the London average, although this varies by sub sector and Crafts, Jewelry and Designer Fashion are particularly strong. Hackney also has a particularly high concentration of artist studio space. These run at close to full occupancy and the combined waiting lists for these spaces run in to the thousands.