£2bn investment fund to help create over 2,800 jobs across Liverpool

The Liverpool City Region’s £2bn Investment Fund is set to unlock over 520,000 square feet of premium commercial space.

This initial phase will deliver a mix of high-quality offices, cutting-edge labs, and light industrial facilities, supporting more than 2,800 local jobs and driving significant economic growth across the region.

Several projects worth more than £1 billion responded to a call for investable schemes following the launch of the largest investment fund at MIPIM in March in the Liverpool City Region.

Led by a new Investment Strategy launched yesterday at UKREiiF, Fund managers have honed in on six priority projects worth more than £200m that are now ready to move to the next stage.

In Liverpool’s Central Business District, two major developments are set to deliver nearly 250,000 square feet of premium Grade A office space and support over 2,000 jobs. Both projects hold full planning consent. The first features the city’s first new-build Grade A offices in 15 years, designed to act as a catalyst for wider regeneration. The second involves transforming a prominent, long-vacant Grade II listed building into 140,000 square feet of high-quality workspace.

These projects also include two industrial developments in St Helens, a lab development in Runcorn and a light industrial development in Liverpool.

Adding further to the redevelopments, a further two projects are more advanced – with funding already approved for Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Project Violet Phase 2, which, once open, will create around 250 jobs across two state-of-the-art buildings.

Additionally, the high-tech lab and office development Hemisphere ONE, located in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, is positioned for Investment Fund backing, subject to full business case approval.

The project addresses an urgent local demand for premium research and innovation space, and is expected to support nearly 300 construction jobs alongside over 500 operational roles. Altogether, these eight regional projects will deliver 520,000 square feet of commercial space and support more than 2,800 jobs.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:

“For too long, regions like ours have been expected to transform local economies with short-term funding and one hand tied behind our back. This £2bn Investment Fund is about changing that, giving us the ability to really back ourselves, think long-term and invest in the projects that can genuinely change people’s lives. We’ll use it to unlock new opportunities, bring private investment into our communities and support the homes, jobs and inclusive growth that our region needs.”

The £2bn Investment Fund represents a powerful collaboration between the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, government bodies, and public-private partners, all aimed at accelerating economic growth and job creation. By streamlining public funding streams into a single strategic pot, the fund will boost regeneration, unlock stalled projects, and attract billions in additional private and institutional capital.

Soon after the launch, the £2bn fund was bolstered by £95m from the Government’s City Investment Funds (CIF), which aims to strengthen investor confidence in Liverpool and lift the city centre’s regeneration pipeline.

CIF funding will help support some of the first tranche projects, identified following a competitive call for schemes to deliver city centre office space, along with labs and light industrial units across the City Region.

Announcing the projects at UKREiiF today, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

“Liverpool is ready to take its city centre to the next level, and we’re backing it. These new projects will bring historic buildings back into use while backing the growth sectors driving jobs in the city.”

Looking ahead, a second funding round targeting the digital and creative sectors is expected later this year.

Allocation decisions will be driven by the freshly launched LCR Investment Strategy, a framework that underpins the Combined Authority’s decade-long Growth Plan.

Rooted in innovation and collaboration, the Growth Plan is a roadmap to increase wages, drive investment, raise living standards and provide better services for the region’s 1.6 million residents. Over the next decade, the plan is projected to expand the Liverpool City Region’s £43.3bn economy by an additional £10 billion and generate tens of thousands of jobs. To drive this productivity, the framework emphasises the vital importance of investing in skills, public transport, housing, health, and infrastructure.

Investments will also support major transport improvements and regeneration projects, including four new rail stations, a rapid transit system and transport-linked development across the region. They will also help speed up housebuilding across the City Region, encouraging a £2bn development pipeline expected to deliver up to 64,000 new homes.

Beyond immediate workspace delivery, the Investment Fund will support major regeneration opportunities across the region. A primary focus is Liverpool’s North Docks—the strategic zone connecting the city centre to Everton FC’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium—where a newly established Mayoral Development Corporation will work to accelerate incoming investment and development.

Recent international investments further highlight growing global confidence in the region’s economy. A key example includes a major commitment from US technology firm Kyndryl, which is poised to generate up to 1,000 jobs at its newly established Liverpool city centre hub.