Level Up Your Business: Navigating Debt Financing and Tax Credit Strategies in the Games Industry
summary
HH5 lends against contracted payments and UK tax credits using an accountant’s opinion letter as primary collateral, typically advancing 80–90% of expected credits after deducting an interest reserve and legal fees. Example: a £500k VGTR claim can net a £391,125 advance once interest and fees are taken off up front. Fees include 1–5% arrangement, ~1.25%/month interest (default ~3%/month). New VJ rules give a 34% headline rate (capped to 27.2% for UK‑centric projects) and a 6.8% notional tax deduction that can be monetised for ~10% extra cash in specific structures.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Debt financing in gaming
- 3:59Preserving business ownership
- 11:02Tax credit loan costs
- 15:19Nick Johnson: tax credit strategies
- 17:05VGTR to Video Game Expenditure Credit
- 25:33Optimizing tax credits with groups
- 29:04Summary: debt and tax credits
- 30:08Q&A: interest reserves
- 31:31Q&A: VGTR and VJ claims
- 32:36Q&A: cash flow modeling
- 35:05Q&A: debt for new businesses
- 36:10Q&A: security and recovery
- 37:34Q&A: shortening accounting periods
- 40:02Q&A: opinion letters
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