Mayor Steve Rotheram explains how the new LCR Investment Fund will provide the spark to unlock much larger capital investment and get major developments moving faster – building on progress already made under devolution

Mayor Steve Rotheram announces the £2bn Liverpool City Region Investment Fund at MIPIM today

‘Anyone who has spent time in the Liverpool City Region knows we’re not short of ideas, talent and ambition. 

What we’ve sometimes been short of are the tools to turn these things into reality. 

For years we’ve had great businesses, brilliant universities and some of the most creative and hard-working people anywhere in the country. 

But too often the investment needed to unlock that potential has either arrived too slowly or gone somewhere else. 

That’s why the launch of the £2bn Liverpool City Region Investment Fund is such a big moment for our region. 

Put simply it gives us the financial firepower to get things moving. 

You can think of the fund a bit like the starter motor in a car. Private investors are the engine that ultimately drives economic growth. But engines need a spark to get going. This fund provides that spark. 

By putting public investments in the right place first, we can unlock much larger sums of capital investment and get major developments moving faster. That means new businesses opening their doors, companies expanding, and more good jobs for people across our region. 

And we’re not starting from scratch. 

Over the past few years, we’ve already shown what can happen when decision and investment can be made locally. 

We’ve built the most accessible train fleet anywhere in the country; rolled out 450km of ultra-fast digital network connecting thousands of businesses; and supported nearly a hundred thousand people into jobs, apprenticeships and training.

Mayor Steve Rotheram stands beside one of the new publicly owned trains at the opening of Headbolt Lane Station, Kirkby

The Investment Fund is about banking that progress, but then stepping things up another gear. 

One of the biggest challenges for any region trying to grow its economy is something surprisingly simple: space. Space for new companies to start up. Space for growing businesses to expand. Space for scientists and innovators to turn ideas into real-world breakthroughs. 

Right now, that space isn’t always available when businesses need it. 

Some of the first priorities for the fund will be creating more of it – high-quality office space in Liverpool city centre, new lab facilities for science and innovation, and modern industrial units across the wider region. These are the kind of places where new industries take root and where the jobs of the future are created. 

However, growth only really matters if people feel it in their everyday lives. 

That’s why the Investment Fund won’t just support business development. It will also unlock a £2bn housing pipeline expected to deliver around 64,000 new homes, building on the infrastructure we’ve already delivered – including new rail stations, bus depot improvements and the planning for a rapid transport system to better connect people with jobs and opportunities. 

For me, a strong economy isn’t just measured by what happens inside office buildings or laboratories. It’s also measured by whether people can find a decent home, breathe fresh air, get to work easily, enjoy cultural attractions and see a future for themselves and their families right here in the place they grew up. 

Our region already has real momentum. Global companies like Kyndryl and LogChain are choosing to invest here against stiff competition. Our universities are producing world-class research and talent. And more and more students are choosing to stay here after graduation because they can see the opportunities opening up. 

At the same time, we’re entering a new phase of devolution, with greater powers and a long-term financial settlement from government that gives us more control over our own future. That means we can think bigger, plan further ahead and move faster. 

The Liverpool City Region has always been a place that looks outward. For centuries our docks connected us to the world – bringing trade, ideas and opportunities to our shores. That spirit of innovation and openness still runs through the region today. 

This Investment Fund is about carrying that tradition forward. It’s about unlocking sites that have stood vacant for too long, backing the industries that will shape the future and create the kind of opportunities that mean young people growing up here today don’t feel they have to leave to get on in life. 

In short, it’s about making sure the next chapter in our region’s story is written right here – by the people who live and work in the Liverpool City Region. 

And if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s this: when our region gets the tools it needs, there’s very little we can’t achieve.’