Steinberg tells business leaders to maintain impetus

Date: 04 March 2011

Liverpool Vision chief executive, Max Steinberg, has told an audience of business leaders that the city has “huge international capital” among foreign investors and should be less shy about lauding its assets.

Speaking exclusively at a Downtown Liverpool In Business event, the regeneration chief also called upon the city’s politicians to maintain a cordial relationship with central government as they endeavour to manage the fallout of national spending cuts.

Delegates at the Frank Discussions event, held at the Novotel hotel yesterday, were told that Liverpool’s civic and business leaders must redouble their efforts to project a positive image of the city in the eyes of potential investors.

During the Q&A session with DLIB chairman Frank McKenna, Steinberg commented: “Our counterparts in places such as Shanghai and the United States tell us that Liverpool is a product they know a lot and which has huge international capital overseas.

“In many ways, the city sells itself, but there remain some negative perceptions on a domestic level, particularly in the south of England, and it is up to us to educate those people about our renaissance, while not being complacent about our own natural assets, such as The Beatles or football.

“The London Embassy has proven itself a wise decision and, after a predictably slow start, the diary is now looking increasingly full and we would like to extend the initiative beyond the initial three months.

“We must also be ready to do business with government and I would prefer to have seen somewhere else going into bat first against the Big Society. On the whole, the city council remained very statesmanlike in its approach to managing the spending cuts and I hope this continues to be the case.

Steinberg also spoke about the One Plan, his agency’s latest approach to building the profile of the city region by placing Liverpool at the very heart of discussions with potential investors.

Explaining the initiative, he said: “Liverpool is part of a wider homogenous economy but the One Plan recognises that it is also the most standout location and must therefore be our attack brand as we approach new markets.

“While areas such as Southport, Knowsley and Wirral undoubtedly have their own special characteristics, their names do resonate in the same way as Liverpool. We shouldn’t apologise for that, it is simply a reality and we must exploit it to the benefit of the entire city region.”

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