Liverpool has one of the most powerful brands in the world

Throughout the week TheBusinessDesk.com will be running a series of articles focussing on the great city of Liverpool.

We have been the series in partnership with Deloitte, Professional Liverpool and Investec Wealth and Investment.

And as part of the week we held a special business seminar which involved some of the most prominent business leaders from the city.

The debate involved:

• Sue Grindrod, chair and director of Liverpool Waterfront Business Partnership
• Bill Addy, chief executive of Liverpool BID Company
• Sean Beech, partner at Deloitte
• Joanne Phoenix, interim executive director of Sensor City
• David Owen, senior investment director of Investec
• John Hall, chief executive of Professional Liverpool

The discussion looked at a number of issues and topics including devolution, transport and education.

The debate took place in front of a packed audience of business leaders and professional from the city.

The business seminar took place just days after Liverpool Football Club were crowned Champions League winners and the debate opened on the subject of the city’s brand around the world.

David Owen

The international brand of Liverpool is vital and we cannot underestimate the importance of what happened in Madrid in terms of where it places the city as a brand.

The heritage and history of the city means its future will be international. I believe with thought, passion and commitment this city can only grow even more over the next ten years.

Bill Addy

Bill Addy

I am old enough to remember what life in Liverpool was like in the 1980s. A mark of how far this city has changed is what is on offer in terms of restaurants and venues. The breadth on what is on offer is enormous.

Ten years ago we had a visitor economy that was worth about £2.5bn, we have moved that on by another £2bn.

This city has shifted immeasurably and there is no doubt it will do so again.

Grosvenor and Liverpool One didn’t happen by chance, it happened because Liverpool city council said we need to do something about the retail sector.

We are so thankful for Grosvenor’s arrival In 2008 when the rest of the world was closing Liverpool was opening.

We are sitting on a lot of investment in the city, there are brands coming out of London and into Liverpool.

Joanne Phoenix

What is really important is creating the right eco-system, it should be there to support people locally.

Liverpool recently came out top in a survey ranking city’s in terms of attractiveness to entrepreneurs.

The benefit of this area is the quality of life and reasonably low rents in contrast to the South East.

The more we can do support our network of early stage businesses the better.

There is a real drive for people to support the entrepreneurs and tech start-ups.

John Hall

People have been amazed at the transformation in Liverpool and from a professional point of view there is definitely a sense of renewed confidence.

There is about half a dozen law firms who have come to Liverpool and I have not heard a single lawyer complain about the new arrivals, in fact it has been the complete opposite.

Liverpool is a good place to be and there is enough work here for everyone.

One of the big issues is creating the jobs that will make the students who come here to study want to stay.

Sean Beech

The confidence in the city has changed and with that new people have come into the city.

The talk about Manchester has stopped in recent years. People are now looking at Liverpool as somewhere to have a base outside of London.

When you are overseas people only really know three UK cities, that’s London, Liverpool and Manchester.

We need to use that international brand to sell the city. The result in Madrid was massive for the city and we need to capitalise on that.

The mood has shifted in the city, the confidence that political stability and improved infrastructure has brought is immense.

Bill Addy

Devolution is a game changer for this region. We are now a city region which makes a huge difference.

We are starting to get the politics right but Government is still not doing enough to support the regions.

Central Government is working and we need more powers, particularly in the areas of education and health. We have to be forcing government to give us more power.

John Hall

What disappoints me is that the Northern Powerhouse was George Osborne’s idea. And he has gone off to London to edit the London Standard. His job is now promoting London.

I am concerned that the Northern Powerhouse is a brand or a name rather than a reality.

We have been held back over the years because we have never had a focal point, but it is getting better.

Joanne Phoenix

One of the areas that is important for this city is advanced manufacturing. There is a need to bring back manufacturing locally and that is a great opportunity for us.

John Hall

We live in an ideas driven economy, there is an entrepreneurial spirit that is being borne out of the technology.

The way the city is moving forward is giving me a lot of confidence.

We can’t rely on one sector or brand but if someone had told me 30 years ago that Liverpool was going to be a tourist destination, I would not have believed them.

This is a city that is hugely well-know and hopefully we can use that to bring more jobs into the city. We need a fully integrated city.

Sue Grindrod

Sue Grindrod

We can’t buy the sort of coverage we have had in recent months and that was the communities coming forward and celebrating.

It should be remembered we still have very deprived wards and communities and we need to work harder to include everyone.

We need to think how we engage everyone in make sure everyone gets involved.

There is a complex mix of business, tourism and trade that make the city what it is, but you cannot get away from the passion of the people.

Bill Addy

This is a city that is a living city and we are just a part of that journey.

We are a city on a journey, we started building on the Mersey because we had trade.

We still need to ask ourselves if we are giving our young people enough opportunities.

There are lots and lots challenges we need to take on. The days of the public sector have gone it is the private sector which is going to have to take on those challenges and deal with them.

Sean Beech

Sean Beech

We need to make sure that the growth is more inclusive, the jobs should be created for people who come from the city. We need to try and get rid of the have and have not divide that probably created Brexit and the state we are in now.

Transport is still a big issue, particularly for the east-west connection. Cutting travel times across the country would make a massive difference for businesses.