West London business leaders assembled in Chiswick Park yesterday morning to promote the Creative Industries Hub at an event organised by local MP Mary Macleod. Much like London’s digital hub in the east, Tech City, West London’s Creative Industries Hub is all about delivering growth and jobs for the capital.

Hosted by Discovery Europe, the launch was attended by the Culture Secretary, Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP, the Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise, Kit Malthouse AM, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Creative Industries Champion, Ian Livingstone CBE.

The UK’s Creative Industries, which include film, television, media and gaming, are worth £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy – over £8 million every hour.  West London is home to hundreds of businesses within the Creative sector, including 95% of the UK’s Pay-TV sector which is based in the ‘TV Triangle’ with Chiswick at its centre. Businesses range from big multi-national names like Sky, Virgin Media and Discovery, to hundreds of smaller companies focused on areas like app development and cloud computing.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP, said:

“The UK’s Creative Industries are celebrated across the world and are growing 5 times faster than any other business sector. They have no better home than here in West London. It was fantastic to see many of those business leaders coming together today to talk so passionately about the industry. I want to commend Mary for her efforts to get West London recognised as the ‘go-to’ zone for Creative Industries.”

Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise, Kit Malthouse AM, said:

“Over 1.6 million people work in the UK Creative Industries, many of whom are here, in West London. City Hall is committed to the robust health of the sector and we will do what we can to make sure we have the right infrastructure, support our skills in place to ensure an even brighter future.”

Mary said:

“The message from this morning’s event was clear – if you are a Creative Industry looking for the best place to do business, come to West London. We want to give this hub the recognition it deserves. Collaboration is key. We know from the experience of East London that creating business clusters helps share ideas, accelerate development, promote success and build future skills. I want to ensure the West London Creative Industries Hub continues to be the envy of the world.”