Liverpool City Region unveils investment strategy and advances first projects under £2bn fund

Liverpool City Region has unveiled a new long-term investment strategy and identified the first projects to be supported by its £2bn Investment Fund, in a move aimed at boosting productivity, attracting private capital and delivering thousands of jobs.

Launched at UKREiiF, the new strategy marks a shift away from what city leaders describe as a fragmented, grant-based approach towards a more integrated, finance-led model designed to support a decade-long pipeline of opportunities. The strategy is expected to help increase the region’s £43.3bn economy by £10bn over the next decade and create tens of thousands of jobs.

The strategy will guide the deployment of the Liverpool City Region’s £2bn Investment Fund, which was launched earlier this year and is intended to provide long-term certainty for investors while unlocking additional private and institutional capital.

At the same time, fund managers have selected the first projects to move forward under the initiative. The initial tranche is expected to deliver more than 520,000 square feet of office, laboratory and light industrial space and support over 2,800 jobs.

More than £1bn worth of schemes were submitted following the launch of the fund at MIPIM in March. Six priority projects, with a combined value exceeding £200m, have now been identified to progress to the next stage, while two additional projects are already at a more advanced phase.

Initial investments will focus on the delivery of commercial office space in Liverpool city centre, alongside new laboratory facilities and industrial units across the wider city region. The projects are expected to support high-growth sectors including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and digital technology.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said the fund would allow the region to take a longer-term approach to economic development.

“For too long, regions like ours have been expected to transform local economies with short-term funding and one hand tied behind our back. This £2bn Investment Fund is about changing that, giving us the ability to think long-term and invest in the projects that can genuinely change people’s lives,” he said.

The investment strategy forms part of the city region’s broader 10-year growth plan, which focuses on increasing productivity and strengthening sectors including health and life sciences, digital technologies and advanced manufacturing. It is also intended to reinforce Liverpool City Region’s efforts to attract international investment and position itself as one of the UK’s leading growth locations.

The city region has already highlighted an £11bn pipeline of opportunities and is pursuing major initiatives including the Life Sciences Innovation Zone and the Liverpool City Region Freeport. The latest measures are designed to provide investors with greater certainty while accelerating the delivery of infrastructure and commercial space needed to support future growth.