Does Liverpool have a good economy for business upscale?

Does Liverpool have a good economy for business upscale?

As any major British City, Liverpool has had it's ups and downs, has weathered economic crisis and COVID. However, there has been much optimism within the Liverpool city region post COVID with some industries thriving, inward investment and the creation of the Liverpool City Region Freeport.

Are you a business in the Liverpool city region or are you looking to start a business in Liverpool? To understand if Liverpool has a good economy for business upscale, you need to look at opportunities, regional development, funding and employment to start up or upscale a Liverpool business.

In this blog, we explore some of the statistics that back up this optimism for the Liverpool city region economy and why it's a great city for business investment and upscale.

How does Liverpool's growing economy impact business growth?

Liverpool, alongside Manchester is one of the major British cities. There is no doubt that Liverpool's economic growth benefits businesses in the city.

At Haines Watts chartered accountants Liverpool, we have supported many businesses and helped them thrive, grow and succeed across a wide range of sectors. As the Liverpool business economy has grown, we've seen first-hand how our clients businesses and our own business have grown and benefited from the local economy growing.

Latest figures and forecasts by Avison Young state that Liverpool's economy is forecast to grow by nearly 6% during 2022.

The outlook for employment is also positive with 6,000 jobs expected to be added during 2022. Over 1,800 of these roles are forecast to be office jobs and another 1,800 is predicted in the accommodation and food services sectors.

Rising economic activity increasing investment

With the economic growth of the city region, there are a number of funding streams that are supporting economic growth and encouraging inward investment in the region.

There is a wide range of local and national funding programmes and support if you're looking to start and grow a business in the Liverpool city region.

Liverpool City Region Freeport

The Liverpool City Region (LCR) Freeport will cover 300 hectares of land and is 45km in diameter, encompassing Wirral Waters in the west to Port Salford in the east. The area will include three tax sites and strategically located customs zones across all modes of transport, linking to the primary customs zone at the Port of Liverpool.

The tax zones include:

• 3MG in Widnes

• Parkside in St Helens

• Wirral Waters

There are a number of benefits for businesses operating in a Freeport with regard to VAT, Capital Allowances, Stamp Duty Land Tax, National Insurance and Customs duties.

What industries is Liverpool known for?

With work ongoing in the Knowledge Quarter, the city's global leading strengths in health and life sciences looks to continue to thrive.

HEMISPHERE, the first net zero carbon office building in the city will compliment its iconic neighbour, The Spine. The building will feature 116,000 sq ft of grade A office space for health, education, science and tech occupiers.

The transport and storage sector is also expected to grow during 2022 by circa 9%, the highest growth it will have seen for 20 years. Liverpool's Freeport status will continue to drive new sources of business in this sector and organisations such as Mersey Maritime continue to drive and support the sector also.

Manufacturing is a vital asset to the local economy, supporting nearly 50,000 staff in 3,000 companies and directly contributing £3.2bn to the overall economy.

Professional and Business Services (PBS) generates more than £4.3billion per annum in gross value added. With over 12,000 businesses employing 93,000 people; PBS constitutes 14.4% of all jobs in LCR. PBS plays an important enabling role in Liverpool City Region growth.

The area has an exceptional array of nationally and internationally significant Digital and Creative businesses within it's boundaries that continue to thrive and grow.

The visitor and tourist economy, worth £4.9bn and supporting over 55,500 jobs (2019 figures). Tourism continues to develop as a major growth sector bringing both economic benefits and reputational advantage to the City Region.

With Liverpool and its neighbour Chester both seen as excellent shopping destinations, the retail sector in the city is bearing up well compared to other cities.

However, there will no doubt be significant repurposing of retail space now and in coming years. It is likely that the hospitality and leisure sector will benefit from this repurposing with plans to repurpose significant elements of retail space into restaurants, hotels and other hospitality & leisure facilities in the city.

For landlords and residential property owners, the city saw exceptionally strong house price growth in 2021 at 17.9%, ahead of the national average. There is a large amount of build to rent activity as regeneration continues, giving good investment opportunities within the residential property sector in the city region.

*Source Liverpool LEP

Growing the Liverpool City Region Economy

The city region has excellent support for businesses through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Mersey Maritime and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

How can Haines Watts advise you?

Local

We've been supporting Liverpool city region businesses for over 30 years. Our Liverpool office is owned and managed by its local partners, which gives them a great understanding and knowledge of what it means to build and run a successful business in Liverpool.

Our partners have fantastic relationships with other business providers across the city and the North West region, offering you local and regional help and advice on areas such as commercial property, funding and a huge array of other business services.

Regional & National

Being part of Haines Watts nationally, we have access to both a much larger regional network of offices in the North West and over 50 offices across the UK to support your business growth.

International

If you are a Liverpool business that is considering exporting or expanding abroad into other international markets, then we have a team who can help you achieve your ambitions. Our international services include international tax planning expertise combined with commercial solutions and global links enable us to deliver the support you need whenever and wherever in the world you need it.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Liverpool is in an excellent location for local, regional, national and international business to invest.

It offers fantastic road and motorway links, a thriving airport, and a bustling seaport and freeports status.

Whether you're looking to start a business in the city or simply expand and grow your business in Liverpool, there is plenty of opportunity and support available.

If you need help and advice in starting, expanding into or growing a business in Liverpool, then contact us today.