According to a new report, community businesses can help transform our Mersey neighbourhoods.
Community businesses can play a vital role in revitalising the neighbourhoods across Liverpool’s city region, so a new report is calling for the setting up of a new leadership programme.
Published today by the University of Liverpool’s Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place, the report says that the city region is home to at least 84 community businesses, with an annual turnover of £22m, net assets of £38m and more than 600 paid staff.
This is great news for the region’s enterprise – Liverpool Business News covers the news in more detail here
The Heseltine Institute’s Dr Alan Southern was grant-funded by Power to Change. They are an independent charitable trust which supports and develops community businesses in England.
Their role is to assess the role of community businesses across Merseyside and encourage ways in which their influence could be strengthened. The report looked into the Growth, sustainability and purpose in the community business market in the Liverpool City Region.
Two of the key conclusions from the report were that asset ownership is essential for financial sustainability and that the region would also benefit hugely from a new community business leadership programme which should be piloted to cultivate the next generation of community leaders.
The report found that finance-based community businesses play a vital role in the region with 11 credit unions in operation, providing an essential function for residents in some of the country’s poorest areas.
This is heartwarming news as we like to think that we’re aiding the growth and sustainability of the city’s businesses too. Renting serviced offices which can grow with your business needs, allows you to scale your business proportionately rather than worrying about the need for relocation as you expand.
With plenty of parking and other businesses surrounding you, it’s a great community in itself. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we can help you with your short and medium term Liverpool office space needs.