Having grown up in Liverpool, I share the pride people here feel for the city and its long history of enterprise. I have seen it change considerably during my lifetime, as industries have evolved and new opportunities in tourism, technology and life sciences have emerged.
That pace of change is continuing, with its universities, research base and ambitious businesses working in areas that will help shape the UK’s future.
At the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, for example, the new Liverpool Accelerate Laboratory is bringing together robotics, AI and world-leading research to help develop new drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases. It shows how expertise developed in Liverpool can address challenges felt far beyond the city, and it is part of a much wider opportunity for the local economy.
Liverpool City Region has set a clear target for investment in research and development to reach 5% of its economy by 2030. Meeting this target would help build on the expertise already here and support more innovative businesses to grow. At NatWest, we see that potential through our relationships with more than 20,000 business customers across Liverpool City Region.
Yesterday, I was in the city for Labour party conference, meeting businesses from across Merseyside at Baltic Ventures, a tech accelerator, to discuss their ambitions and the challenges they face.
That ambition was clear in businesses such as 92 Degrees, which has grown from a single Liverpool café into a recognised North West brand and is now supplying specialist coffee at Network Rail stations across the UK, with three locations open to date.
And in CleverSteam, who are succeeding in a very different sector, providing customer relationship management software from its Liverpool base to customers across the globe.
The Mid-Market Growth Council, of which I am the Chair, also met in Liverpool this week, bringing business leaders together to discuss how we can address barriers to investment and growth.
