Chadwick to close LCR

MARK Chadwick is set to close the Liverpool City Region lobbying and networking group he set up in competition with his former employer Professional Liverpool last year.

Mr Chadwick said that the closure of Liverpool City Region, which he launched in May last year, might be disappointing for the firms which invested in it but was “the most appropriate course of action”

He said that he felt launching the body had been “absolutely the right thing to do at the time” but admitted that the ongoing uncertainty and division it had caused within Liverpool’s professional community was neither constructive or sustainable.

“Inevitably, therefore someone has to step aside and after lengthy deliberations we have concluded that we should do so in the best interests of the city.”

Mr Chadwick was made redundant from Professional Liverpool in 2010 after the organisation had most of its budget cut due to the closure of the North West Development Agency. Since he left, the chief executive’s role has been undertaken on a part-time basis by the former managing partner of law firm Bermans, John Hall.

He told TheBusinessDesk.com last week that its membership numbers had grown significantly following the introduction of a number of new initiatives.

Guy Wallis, founder of law firm DWF one of LCR’s larger members said: “I’m enormously disappointed that LCR, as the only truly strategic body for the sector, will not continue.

“It has done excellent work in promoting the sector and the city and by building our relationships with London it has re-established our business credentials.

“The city-region will be very much the poorer without Mark Chadwick, his team and LCR’s invaluable contribution and input.”

Mr Chadwick is said to have become disillused with a lack of progres across the city-region such as the failure to merge organisations like TMP and Liverpool Vision.

He said there had been “a number of disappointments for Liverpool” at a strategic level during the past 12 months, such as the cancellation of the Boat Show.

“Manchester’s City Deal announced last week is valued at £1.2bn whilst ours is only £130m. I think we need to get a lot better at making critical decisions quickly and delivering against them immediately but in order to do that you must have a clearly defined strategy.

He added, hopwever, that he would “rather look forward and focus on the positives”.

“There have been great successes, like the recent GEC which received global media coverage and more will follow.

“I remain 100% confident that Liverpool has a great future.”