27 February 2013 - London, United Kingdom – Games trade body Ukie will be holding a series of roadshows around the UK to help games business understand how the new legislation and the Cultural Test will work for them .

The Ukie Tax Relief Roadshows will include:

• A guide to how to apply for the relief and how much it could be worth to your business
• An explanation of the Cultural Test and how to pass it
• A chance to hear more about the scheme from our panel of experts from the games industry, HMRC and the BFI (who will be administering the Cultural test)
• A chance to get advice from legal and accountancy experts

Ukie’s roadshows will take place in the following areas:

• Scotland
• NW England
• NE England
• Yorkshire
• Birmingham
• Newport
• London
• Guildford
• Brighton
• SW England

Ukie will be working with regional networks and hooking into existing games events where possible to deliver the tax roadshow. One of the regional networks already confirmed is game business network Game Republic.

Games businesses can register interest in Ukie’s Tax Relief Roadshows here:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1173796/Ukie-Tax-Breaks-Roadshow

Ukie CEO, Dr Jo Twist said: “We want as many games businesses as possible, throughout the country, to be able to take advantage of tax relief as soon as it is formerly introduced, hopefully this Spring. Our nationwide roadshows will provide access to legal and accountancy experts and give games businesses the chance to speak directly to key people at HMRC and BFI who will be actually administering the new scheme, and most importantly, the Cultural Test. Games businesses should let us know now if they’re interested so that they don’t miss out on getting access to vital information.”

Jamie Sefton, MD of Game Republic said: "Game Republic is excited to be working with Ukie on delivering these essential tax roadshows. It's vital that the games developers in the north of England can take full advantage of the upcoming UK tax breaks to help their businesses in the global marketplace."

-ENDS -

Contacts:

For all press enquiries, please contact the Ukie press office on T: +44 (0)20 7534 0580 or E: press@ukie.org.uk

About Ukie

The Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment or Ukie (pronounced YOU-KEY) is a trade body that aims to support, grow and promote the whole of the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry. Founded in 2010 (although formerly known as ELSPA), Ukie’s membership includes all the major UK and global games publishers and the best of UK development talent - from promising start-ups to some of the biggest, most successful studios operating in the UK today.

We also have distributors, academic institutions, new publishers, and media outlets that are integral to the lifeblood of the industry as part of the family.

Ukie works with government to champion a range of issues including age ratings, education and skills, access to finance and protecting intellectual property rights. It also works with the media to ensure true and accurate representation of the sector by raising awareness of the industry’s positive economic contribution and the societal benefits of gaming to policy makers, regulators and consumers.

One of Ukie’s key roles is to support its members by providing them with key market information, promoting careers and offering the business support services, training and best-practice knowledge to enable them to operate most effectively.

We also offer a comprehensive events programme to give the games industry access to key information, leading industry figures and give everyone the chance to network. You can see our events programme here http://ukie.org.uk/events

In addition, Ukie compiles weekly, monthly and annual retail charts and sales reports for the UK market.

Twitter: @uk_ie

Facebook: Ukie