Major productions support 500 Welsh businesses and launch careers for local creatives

NETFLIX has revealed that its productions in Wales have generated more than £200 million for the UK economy since 2020, cementing Wales as a vital hub for the global streaming giant.

The announcement, made in partnership with Creative Wales, highlights the scale of Netflix’s investment in the region and celebrates the impact of its latest project — Havoc — the largest feature film ever shot entirely in Wales.

Directed by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans and starring Tom Hardy, Havoc was filmed across a range of Welsh locations. The action-thriller follows a bruised detective as he navigates a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son following a botched drug deal.

Wales has steadily become a filming powerhouse for Netflix, with previous productions including Sex Education, The Crown and The Witcher. A newly published report showcases the scale of investment and its ripple effect across sectors. For every £1 spent by Netflix in Wales:

• 58p is spent in TV and film production
• 7p in rental and leasing
• 5p in the creative arts
• 3p in food and hospitality
• 27p across other sectors of the economy

In addition, each £1 spent has created an extra 80p in supply chain spending, boosting industries indirectly connected to filming.

Supporting local talent

Netflix has not only brought blockbuster productions to Wales, but also helped launch careers in the creative industries. Over 60 trainee and apprenticeship roles were created during the filming of Sex Education, many of which led to full-time work.

In another initiative, Netflix partnered with the National Youth Theatre to deliver its IGNITE Your Creativity programme, reaching over 350 young people in Newport, Cardiff, Port Talbot, Torfaen and Bridgend with workshops aimed at building skills and confidence.

Championing the Welsh language

As part of its ongoing commitment to Welsh culture, Havoc will be available with Welsh-language subtitles. Previous Netflix hits including The Adam Project and Red Notice also featured Welsh subtitles, and in 2023 the platform licensed Dal y Mellt, its first Welsh-language drama.

Praise from industry and government

Anna Mallett, Vice President of Production for Netflix UK, said: “From Sex Education to The Crown, and now Havoc, some of our most beloved titles were filmed or produced in Wales. Blessed with incredible creative talent and beautiful landscapes, Wales is an amazing place to make entertainment. We’re proud our productions here continue to offer enduring cultural and economic benefits.”

Welsh Culture Minister Jack Sargeant added: “We are immensely proud of our creative industries, which employ over 35,000 people and benefit from world-class infrastructure. As this report shows, welcoming high-profile Netflix productions has delivered significant economic and reputational gains for Wales.”

Joedi Langley, Interim Head of Creative Wales, said: “Collaborating with Netflix brings jobs, training, and major economic benefits to our communities. We look forward to continuing this relationship and building Wales’s profile as a go-to destination for major productions.”

Director Gareth Evans said: “Filming Havoc in Wales was a thrilling experience. The impact of a production of this scale on local businesses and creatives has been incredible. I hope this paves the way for even more filmmakers to choose Wales to tell their stories.”

Local voices: Training and trade

Johnny Gurnett, a former Netflix trainee, credited the company with launching his career: “Getting your foot in the door can be really tough, and this was my first job in the industry. Since then, I’ve worked on Disney’s Willow, BBC’s Lost Boys and Fairies, and HBO’s Rain Dogs. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the experience and connections I made on Sex Education.”

Adam Charles, Head Chef at The Healthy Hangout, shared his business’s role in the production: “We provided meals for some of the stars, which was brilliant for business. But beyond that, there’s a sense of pride in knowing our food was part of something this big.”

A CALL to change a mixed-use therapy centre to a children’s care home classification has been submitted to Pembrokeshire planners.

Skybound Therapies Ltd, through agent Carl Bentley Architectural Services, seeks permission for the change of use of the Skybound Care Farm & Therapy Centre, Campbell Farm, Wiston, near Haverfordwest.

A supporting statement says: “Situated in a discrete rural setting in Pembrokeshire, the Therapy Centre is at the heart of a family-owned Care Farm. It is a working beef and forestry farm, providing a unique and tranquil environment for their services,” adding: “Skybound Care Farm offers a variety of services for both children and young adults. From young adult day opportunities to week-long intensive programmes. The forestry fields provide an ideal setting for practicing walks. Visitors can interact with animals, learn about water safety near their ponds, and immerse themselves in the peaceful beauty of the working farm. Vegetable growing and harvesting is a recent addition to the Care Farm.

“Skybound welcome clients from the local area as well as those travelling from all over the UK and abroad. There is a variety of accommodation types close to the farm and centre, including a holiday village, caravan parks, holiday cottages and log cabins. Many clients like to combine visits to the care farm / therapy centre with exploring local beaches, amenities and attractions.

“The Care Farm HQ and Therapy Centre are in Southwest Wales, but they also cover many locations across the UK, including Cardiff, Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Yorkshire and Norfolk. Skybound are taking on new locations all of the time.”

It says the original Therapy Centre which was constructed in 2012/13 when it “began its journey as a leading national and international therapy centre providing behaviour analysis, positive behaviour support, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy for children and young adults with special needs and behavioural issues”.

In August 2022 planning permission was granted to extend the therapy centre, completed in 2024; the business currently employs 45 staff on a full time and part time basis, a small number of staff are located at the Care Farm & Therapy Centre and at other locations across Wales and the UK.

“Whilst the centre has been running since February 2024 the applicant and business has found that the use of the centre is changing from previously planned and consented usage,” the statement says.

It says that since then discussions have taken place with council planners to clarify the centre’s current planning use class, along with “other opportunities and ideas for the expansion of the business and services to potentially use other existing buildings at the site are currently being investigated, which will no doubt take further time to consider”.

“There is a long-term plan to expand the Care Farm & Therapy Centre activities within the whole of the site and this full planning application is the third stage of the plan. The long-term plan is to provide more ‘settings’ to provide more training, utilising more of the farm setting for example with further interactions with small farm animals and to perhaps house some therapy sessions within other existing farm buildings to provide different types of training settings.”

Late last year, the site was granted permission to extend staff facilities through a temporary building.

The current application will be considered by planners at a later date.

JOB vacancies in the UK have fallen to their lowest level in nearly four years, indicating weakening demand for workers amid rising employment costs.

The number of vacancies dropped to 781,000 in the first quarter of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). At the same time, the number of people on company payrolls fell by 78,000 in March, with figures for February also revised down.

While average pay continued to grow—up 5.9% over the year—analysts warn that recent increases in National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage, introduced this month, could put pressure on future wage growth.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The looming hike in employers’ taxes in April is very likely to have persuaded employers to hold back on hiring. Pausing recruitment is the simplest lever for businesses to pull when they want to slow things down. It’s far cheaper and less damaging than redundancies.”

Employment Minister Alison McGovern welcomed the continued rise in real wages, saying April’s changes would “boost people’s payslips and improve living standards.”

However, the UK employment rate for 16 to 64-year-olds remains at 75.1%, still below Labour’s target of 80%. The unemployment rate stood unchanged at 4.4%.

The ONS cautioned that its jobs data should be treated carefully due to low response rates to its labour market survey.

According to historical data, UK job vacancies had climbed steadily from 730,000 in early 2015 to a peak of 1.3 million in mid-2022. The latest figures mark the first time vacancies have fallen below pre-pandemic levels since mid-2021.

Despite strong wage growth, some economists believe the trend may not last. Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, warned: “The short-term impact of the rise in labour costs, which came into effect in April, will likely put downward pressure on pay in the coming months.”

Recruitment firm Manpower said wider market challenges are also having an impact. “We’re seeing much broader scale cutbacks than we’d previously anticipated, as higher costs coincide with Trump-led tariffs and British Steel negotiations,” said Anna Spaul, market intelligence director at ManpowerGroup. “It’s all adding to a greater sense of uncertainty for businesses.”

The Bank of England now faces a dilemma ahead of its May interest rate-setting meeting. Wage growth could delay cuts to interest rates, which currently stand at 4.5%. However, global tariffs and slowing employment may push the Bank to consider action to stimulate the economy.