Abertay lobbying Commons for Scottish games support
Biz development boss petitions for private sector incentives as well as tax relief
Paul Durrant, business development director at Abertay University, is to attend a parliamentary inquiry into the state the of Scottish games industry.
Durrant plans to discuss the importance of the games industry for the Dundee area, and for the Scottish economy as a whole.
While he is still pushing for tax credit for games firms, his main tack is now the pursuit of incentives designed to attract private investment.
Said Durrant in a statement, "One of the things that we are looking at is the cost of development. Companies need significant working capital because of the long lead-in time to commercialisation.
"It would be unjustifiable for that to come from public funds but they can make sure there are the right economic conditions for growth and encourage investors to put money into games."
He added that "We continue to strongly support the industry's calls for games tax relief, but we also recognise the important role of other support mechanisms, including ways to incentivise private sector project finance.
"At Abertay we incubate start-up companies, link talented students with companies seeking new staff and new ideas and are managing a £5 million project to invest directly in new games prototypes."
The inquiry was launched by the Scottish Affairs Committee in order to seek new forms of government assistance for the games industry.