A £10m fund for early stage businesses has been launched in Liverpool as Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram says he wants to close the funding gap on London and back local firms looking to go national.
The Liverpool City Region (LCR) Seed Fund aims to help “innovative early-stage businesses” to accelerate their growth. It will offer investments from £250,000 to £2m and will be managed by AXM Venture Capital Limited.
The fund is open to firms in all sectors but is encouraging applications from the region's key growth areas of advanced manufacturing, digital and creative industries, and health and life sciences.
Mayor Rotheram announced the fund at the LCR Talking Business Conference. He wants the project to help the city region reach its target of spending 5% of its economy on R&D by 2030 – that’s almost double the national target.
He said: “Small businesses are the bedrock of our economy – not just here in the Liverpool City Region, but across the country. They make up 99% of all companies in our area and are the engine of innovation, opportunity and job creation.
“But I hear all too often from local entrepreneurs that, when it comes to scaling up, the support just isn’t there – especially outside London. We’re stepping in with a £10m fund in an effort to help turn great local ideas into thriving national success stories.
“I want to back local talent, create high-quality jobs, and give people the chance to build something for themselves and their community. When local businesses grow, it’s not just good for our region but for the national economy too.”
AXM Venture Capital’s investment director, Rupert Wingate-Saul, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the mandate to manage the LCR Seed Fund and build on our success in investing in the Liverpool City Region from the North West Fund 4 Digital and Creative. We are excited by the applications we have already received and look forward to helping successfully grow innovative scale-ups across the region.”
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