Adobe invests £64m into UK's creative industries amid Downing Street roundtable event

US-based software giant Adobe has boosted its UK operations with £63.5m worth of investment.

Adobe is currently aiming to grow its workforce by over 20 per cent over the next three years.

Minsters from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and Department for International Trade, have hosted a Creative Investor Roundtable today (November 29) to discuss what the UK can offer creative sectors.

Hosted at 10 Downing Street, the event is the fifth in a series of investment roundtables promoting UK industry sector opportunities to a global audience, and driving foreign direct investment into the country.

Newly released figures from the DCMS show the value of the creative industries to the UK has gone from £94.8bn in 2016 to £101.5bn now.

This investment from Adobe could benefit the number of creatives, small businesses and enterprises in the UK who currently use the company’s software.

The company has grown its workforce in the UK by 30 per cent in last two years and has offices in Shoreditch, Maidenhead and Edinburgh.

Companies who attended the event included Discovery, EA Games, Sony Film and Viacom.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright, said: “The UK is home to world-leading creative and digital industries and our latest statistics show these booming sectors are now worth more than £230bn to the economy.

“We are already Europe’s leading tech hub, with the talent, environment and entrepreneurship that businesses want, so it is great to see Adobe creating even more high-skilled jobs and investing here.

“Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are committed to making Britain the best place in the world to do business.”

As part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, nine new Creative Clusters across the UK have received £80m funding to boost innovation by part-funding research partnerships between universities and industry.

Gavin Mee, vice president for Northern Europe and UK MD of Adobe, added: “Adobe is the global leader in creativity, providing the creative platform for all, and the UK is a critical market for our business growth and innovation.

“Recently, we’ve grown our workforce, opened a new office in Shoreditch, and we are committed to furthering our investment in the UK and the impact it will drive across the economy.”

More than 2.1 million people are said to be employed in the digital and tech economy. The UK has more than 800,000 professional software developers, adding more than £116.5bn to the UK economy.

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