Liverpool City Region: Rate of business start-ups set to grow

BUSINESS and city leaders agree that while the economy of the Liverpool City Region has made progress, more start ups are needed.

According to the Centre for Cities think tank Liverpool has one of the lowest concentrations of businesses in the country with 210 per 10,000 people in 2012, compared with 463.3 in London. That year there were 30 start-ups per
10,000 people, well below the national average of 42.

There are signs of improvement though – the number of jobs in private firms increased by 12,800 or 5.8% to 234,200 from 2010-12.

Click here to download for freeTheBusinessDesk.com’s annual Liverpool City Region economic supplement, sponsored by Baker Tilly, Bruntwood and the North West Fund.

Gary Guest, who manages The North West Fund for Loans Plus, which has been set up to help boost investment in SMEs in the North West and Liverpool city region in particular, said: “There seems to be a big disparity in terms of the types of businesses we have in Liverpool. The city is good at attracting the major multi-nationals but what happens beneath that?

“We lend to SMEs  and we’re keen to find Liverpool-based businesses to lend to. The industrial parks on the Wirral and in Knowsley and are mostly full of multi-nationals we can’t lend to and we’re keen to speak to the smaller, local companies that make up their supply chain.

“I think there are questions about training and inspiring young people to get out there and have a go for themselves.”

Dr Pete Jackson, chairman of one of the city region’s stand-out success stories of the last three years, Redx Pharma, believes the improving economy will be a spur to new business growth, along with better lending conditions.

He said: “It’s a lot easier to set up in business when there are plenty of customers, and the economy has been in the doldrums in the last few years. There are something like 2.5 million people working in micro businesses in this country with one or two people and there is an awful lot of stuff that can be done with organisations like that.

“If we can get them to become businesses with three or four employees then there’s an another two million jobs for the economy.”

Liverpool’s Mayor Joe Anderson says the city is up for the challenge of business creation, and hopes staging events like Accelerate and the International Festival for Business can inspire more people to start businesses.

He said: “We’ve got to grow the private sector and create jobs and opportunities. That’s what it’s all about. Liverpool is a unique city with many strengths and its best days lie ahead. We’re a global city and we’re open for business.

“That’s the ambition, to get more business growth and more jobs.”

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