A business minister has told MPs the UK’s science and technology sector is “not just OnlyFans”.
Nusrat Ghani, minister for industry and economic security, made the comparison to the London-based online content subscription service in the House of Commons this morning.
She said: “The UK is the number one tech ecosystem in Europe, raising more venture capital than France and Germany combined.
“And you know, science and tech is not just OnlyFans, but we have now mainstreamed it with the Office for Investment, which is reaching out to companies around the world to highlight advantages to investing in the UK, bringing in over £5bn of investment announced at the global investment summit just last year.”
The firm behind the platform, which predominantly features adult content, as well as music and comedy, reportedly posted £413m – or $525m – in pre-tax profits, in August last year.
While the company’s owner and sole shareholder Leonid Radvinsky received £267m – or $338m – in dividends in 2022-23.
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There were 3.2m creators on the site in 2022, a 47 per cent rise on the year before, compared to 238.8m users, or ‘fans’, who subscribe to receive exclusive material.
Former science minister George Freeman said: “There is a wall of money out there globally to invest in UK science and tech, in life science, quantum fusion, agri-tech, and we are beginning finally to begin to attract that money.
“Could I ask what plans the department has to make it easier for global investors to deploy money at scale in UK clusters?”
Ghani responded: “He will know more than most having had the brief previously, and of course we are out there being able to source investment into the UK.
“As I have mentioned we are already beating France and Germany, and further afield the UK is the third country behind the US and China to reach one trillion dollars in value landmark.”
OnlyFans has been contacted for comment.