Steve Rotheram has announced a new approach to attracting more investment and major business relocation into the Liverpool City Region, by establishing a single, initial point of access for people who want to do business here.

This “One Front Door” approach will create a single, complementary team to act as a place marketing and inward investment focal point for the whole of the Liverpool City Region, with the Combined Authority and the districts working in partnership with each other.

The team will help potential investors understand the City Region, provide high quality data and information and support the efforts of existing local authorities and major institutions. It will also commission the city region’s participation in trade fairs and events, marketing our unique assets across the whole region to a global audience.

The new agency will work by co-ordinating existing resources, engaging with local authority teams, as well as the private and third sectors, account managing the investment process, and commissioning place marketing activities.

The approach has been developed following a review by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Investment Team and the Local Enterprise Partnership. It will contribute to the Liverpool City Region’s wider growth targets of creating 5,000 new jobs, 800 new businesses, and growing the economy by £1 billion, every year.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“When I was elected, I promised to attract more investment and major business relocations through a single, properly resourced agency for the benefit of every borough, every community, every person in our city region. Today, I am delivering on that promise. We know that, when we work together as six boroughs, we are significantly more attractive to investors.

“This concept is part of a more collaborative approach that recognises that, for example, bringing jobs to Knowsley can benefit those in St Helens and Halton, and investing in skills in Sefton can benefit people in Wirral and Liverpool. This new agency will work with all of our partners to add co-ordination, capacity and expertise, to build on the existing good work, and ultimately benefit everyone in our city region, by helping to build a bigger and better economy that works for us all.”

Asif Hamid MBE, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“The LEP is about creating, driving and sustaining a dynamic regional economy. To do this we need to simplify the landscape for potential investors to the City Region and make it a competitive place for profitable business. The announcement of a ‘One Front Door’ approach is a fantastic opportunity to get the kind of joined-up services that businesses in the city region have been crying out for, enabling us to compete on the global stage more effectively and realise our full potential. Going forward the LEP will work with the Combined Authority on the development of the business plan to deliver this approach.”

Sue Grindrod, Chief Executive, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, said:

“Royal Albert Dock Liverpool welcomes over 6 million visitors each year, and the power of brand Liverpool plays a major part in our success. However, there is still work to be done and we must remain focused on building the city region’s profile through a public and private sector partnership in support of the One Front Door approach. It is vital we continue to work together to fuel new international markets as a key driver for the growth for the waterfront and the wider city region.”