City Spotlight: Liverpool

Ask the average person around the world what they associate with Liverpool and the chances are you’ll hear “The Beatles” or “football”. Of course the city’s most famous sons – John, Paul, George, Ringo, Stevie G, Wayne and Carra – have played a major part in raising its global profile, but there’s a lot more to the place than just its music and the footy.

A thriving port town, at the height of Britain’s empirical days, Liverpool was generally regarded as the ‘second city of the British Empire’. The Empire is of course long gone; but Liverpool remains second only to London in several key areas and remains an important centre for British business. Here’s what you need to know about business in Liverpool…

• The government is one of the city’s major employers, with several public administration offices based here including the Immigration Advice Service, HM Passport Office, HM Revenue and Customs and the Criminal Records Bureau.
• As it is immersed deep in history and culture, it’s no surprise that tourism and leisure is a major source of income for the city. In 2013 it was the fifth most popular destination in the UK for international visitors and fifth most popular for domestic visitors according to Visit Liverpool. The Grand National, Liverpool Tate, Cathedrals, The Beatles Story, football and The Albert Dock are just a few things that keep the visitors coming.

• A recent economy booster to the city…giant puppets. Yes, giant puppets. The commemoration of World War One saw these paraded around the city, attracting one million visitors and boosting the local economy by roughly £46 million reports the BBC.
• Film and TV is a thriving industry here. According to the Liverpool Echo, it’s second only to London in the UK for this. It’s home to Lime Pictures, the UK’s largest independent television production company which produces British TV success stories such as Hollyoaks, Geordie Shore and The Only Way Is Essex. Famous films shot in the city include The 51st State, The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and The Dark Knight. Not bad eh?
• Launched by David Cameron, 2014’s International Festival of Business (IFB) saw well over 400 events take place in the city over six weeks with around 75,000 visitors from 88 different countries according to Liverpool Vision. UK Trade and Investment, which partnered with the IFB, stated it was to be the largest concentration of business events globally in 2014.
• Liverpool Vision states that the city is the most productive outside of London with a GVA (Gross Value Added) of £9.15bn. There are 500,000 businesses within 1.5 hours of the city centre and 2014 saw 6,032 new start-up businesses established here according to Start Up Britain.
• British businesses based and founded in Liverpool include Lambrini, Shop Direct, Jacob’s and Princes.
• Who in Britain can forget that Liverpool was named the European Capital of Culture in 2008? This title helped to regenerate certain areas of the city and brought a lot of investment and job creation with it. Liverpool One, the city’s retail complex, was built around this time costing £500 million according to Grosvenor.

Did you know?

• The term ‘Scousers’, the widely accepted nickname for inhabitants of Merseyside, is believed to have been derived from the name of a meat stew called Scouse. Scouse is still a popular local dish, available across the city in many cafes and restaurants.
• The city is home to Europe’s oldest Chinese community, with the first Chinese people arriving in the mid-1830s.
• Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral is the largest in the UK and fifth largest in the world. ^[1]
• The world’s first public train journey took place from Liverpool to Manchester on the 15th September 1830.
• Outside of London, it has the most Grade II listed buildings (those considered to have historical, architectural and cultural significance) in the UK. There are over 2,500 of them.

If your business isn’t based in Liverpool, but you’d like a virtual presence there today by acquiring a local 0151 number, then let us know – we’re here to help.

^[1] Liverpool Cathedral, http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/about/cathedral.aspx