Liverpool Vision missed investment target
LIVERPOOL’S economic development company Liverpool Vision missed its targets for private sector investment last year by 47%.
According to newly-filed accounts for the public sector body, it helped attract £30m in the year to March 31, down on its target of £56.9m.
However, it did exceed job creation and business creation targets, which it publicised in July following the publication of its annual review.
It said it helped to create 616 jobs against a target of 531 and 135 businesses, ahead of a target of 120.
The accounts also show that the organisation, which is funded by Liverpool City Council, spent £8.7m during the year, up on £7.3m in 2011-12. It went £350,000 over budget, down from a £596,000 overspend the previous year.
It said its engagement in the “key markets” of London, the US, China, India, and Germany has “progressed substantially, helping develop a pipeline of 86 foreign direct investment project representing a total of more than 7,000 potential jobs”.
It added: “Handling these cases is a major priority for the team. Liverpool in London generated £20m im investment and £2.8m of sales for Liverpool companies.”
A breakdown of costs shows the agency spent £5.6m on its various programmes, up from £4.2m, and £2.4m on staff, up from £2m. The increase was associated with staff hired for specific programmes. Vision, based at The Capital building in Old Hall Street, spent £282,000 on premises, down from £323,000.
Liverpool Vision chief executive Max Steinberg said: “Liverpool Vision set ourselves an ambitious target of generating £56m in private sector investment for 2012-13. We achieved more than £30m and exceeded our targets for jobs created and businesses started in the same period.
“Vision has set an even more ambitious target for inward investment in the current financial year, at £120m. This reflects the growing momentum the city is achieving in key markets, partly relating to our work on the International Festival of Business 2014 and we are confident that we will perform well against all our targets for the year.”
