Why HS2 matters now!

HS2

Despite the fact that the project is one of the most important infrastructure schemes ever proposed for the north of England, there remains a huge amount of apathy from business leaders to the much discussed and debated High Speed 2.

This is largely because the new fast tracks from London to the North are not likely to be laid anytime before 2026, with full completion not due until 2032. Add to that timescale the inevitable delays that seem to accompany every major British infrastructure project, and we’re more likely looking at 2035, by which time many of us will be eligible for a senior citizens rail card – if we’re still here at all.

However, this is to miss the point of how the North and its great cities and regions can market, promote and attract investment.

Speaking to several overseas visitors and potential investors over the past few weeks at the International Festival for Business in Liverpool, and it is interesting to note that they are vaguely curious about the past ten years; certainly interested about the next ten; but most quizzical about what strategies and plans are in place for the next twenty five years.

If you are representing a company that is looking to relocate or establish a major brand in a new city, then it is not unreasonable for you to want to be confident that your investment is being made in a place that has a sustainable, long term future.

This is why the winning of the argument about HS2 is so crucial. And then HS3 on the back of it, to better connect northern cities together.

Getting to London thirty minutes quicker may or may not be a killer HS2 argument for many, but HS3, the ability to then connect Manchester to Leeds on modern, high speed trains and tracks must surely win the approval of any serious business leader in the north.

Whilst London continues to plough hundreds of millions of pounds improving its infrastructure, and is squabbling not about ‘if’ a new airport but ‘where’, there is not a whisper of discontent from the Capitals chattering classes or the Westminster political fixers. Money spent in the south, it seems, is unquestionably well spent.

The nonsense spoken of in terms of the costs surrounding HS2 must be seen as what they are – an antiquated vision of a dilapidated, slow moving north, grateful to be kept afloat by the crumbs from an ever growing, indeed overflowing, South East table.

Of course the renaissance of our big cities in modern times, Leeds, Liverpool and particularly Manchester, has been remarkable. But for us to continue and indeed accelerate the progress of our region, then investment not only in rail, but on our road networks too, is absolutely essential.

HS2 and HS3 may not be here in your lifetime – but those international companies and investors want to be confident that it will be here at some point. And that is why HS2 is important now, and why we must fight enthusiastically for it to be delivered.

What about Lancashire?

George Osborne

The chancellor announced plans for city region mayors for Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool at an event earlier this week.

His proclamation that economic growth in these three great northern cities is the way to rebalance an economy that is so badly skewered towards London and the South East was welcome in many ways, if only because there appears to be a genuine recognition that power needs to be devolved from Westminster to the regions and we need to be allowed to take control of our own destiny.

But if cities are the future, rather than garlic bread, then where does that leave counties such as Lancashire?

With no city hub, no recognised figurehead for the entire region, and no mention from George Osborne in his speech on Monday, will Lancashire begin to see resources reduced and transferred to the big urban conurbations?

How Lancashire reacts to this new political agenda was the subject of much discussion and debate throughout Downtown’s Lancashire Business Week, which we hosted this week.

Though there was inevitably some concern about the possibility of the cities winning more resources in the future, there was also an acknowledgement that Lancashire had to react in a positive way, demonstrate its own key strengths that can significantly contribute to the economic growth of the North and come up with a positive vision that the county’s private and public sectors can share and articulate.

Cities do not have a monopoly on good ideas, as our not too distant past proves.

It was Lancashire, not Manchester, which established the first arms length local authority managed economic development company. Lancashire Enterprises went on to become a blueprint for council’s up and down the country.

It was Lancashire, not Leeds, which established an office in the heart of Brussels to influence European policy and win significant financial support for a whole range of initiatives for the county. Lancashire House, as it was named, ended up renting space to other local authorities, and made money from what was seen by some as a risky project.

It was Lancashire, not Liverpool, which pioneered the idea of a Northwest Partnership, consisting of the top 20 businesses in the region and the leaders of all the Northwest’s council leaders. This was the forerunner to the Northwest Regional Assembly, a body that was led for a number of years not by the leader of Manchester or Liverpool – but by the Deputy Leader of Lancashire.

When the county is confident, bold and takes calculated risks it is at its strongest. For too long we have lacked the necessary confidence, and indeed collective ambition and unity of purpose, to put the county on any government’s economic growth agenda.

I got the sense this week that the confidence and desire, from the business community at least, is returning. We must now press our politicians to join us, and create a vision that George Osborne & co cannot ignore.

Growing a business is bloody tough

Growing Business

Downtown celebrated its tenth anniversary in May. It is a fact I am proud of, because not many people backed us to last ten minutes, never mind ten years.

During the past decade the company has established the brand in four locations, adding Lancashire, Manchester and Leeds to the original Liverpool offer, and we have done so ‘organically’ – or put another way, slowly!

The biggest challenge throughout my entire time in business has been finding the right staff. My experience is that through economic good times, and bad, that challenge gets no easier.

In my business plan for this year, we should by now have a team of fifteen. That we haven’t is down to a mix poor recruitment, natural churn of staff, a lack of great people being available and downright bad luck.

Our marketing guy, who has done a fabulous job in his short time with us, has just announced that he is off to fulfil a lifetime ambition and live in Barcelona. Good luck to him, but it adds another pressure to a business that is trying its best to grow.

During the past week, 600 people have attended Downtown events, and the positivity and buzz that has been around has been real and in stark contrast to where the business community was a year ago.

However, when successful entrepreneurs who have made their millions tell us at various forums ‘surround yourself with people who are better than you’ the reply back is overwhelmingly ‘I’d love to, but where are they?’

This may sound like a moan, but actually it is simply a reminder to myself and other ambitious business owners out there that there are no short cuts, no easy wins, and still huge obstacles for those of us who are looking to build a bigger business.

Access to finance is a problem that businesses are slowly but surely getting to grips with, finding alternative sources of funding, or experiencing a little more support from the banks. Recruitment, on the other hand, remains the absolute pain in the arse that it always has been!

The big consolation for me is that the team that I do have, and who have helped to deliver a fantastic series of events this week, are absolutely brilliant. I thank them for their wonderful efforts, and for keeping me sane.

IFB could be Liverpool’s MIPIM

IFB Mipim

Week two of the International Festival for Business and from hoteliers and taxi drivers to property developers and professionals, the city’s business community has embraced the jamboree of events, networking and deal making in positive fashion.

Of course the scale of this ambitious project means that mistakes will be made and lessons learnt. However, the overall opinion from Liverpool’s business leaders about IFB so far is a huge ‘thumbs up’.

Already there is a growing appetite, among Downtown members at least, for the city to seize the opportunity of hosting an IFB Festival if not annually, then certainly biennially.

Seven weeks may be a tad too long for a regularly hosted festival, but organising something throughout the month of June every other year seems eminently sensible and achievable.

Downtown will be hosting a series of ‘IFB Legacy events’ with Liverpool Vision from July, and no doubt there will be much to discuss and debate. But my initial thoughts are, it’s great for the city; Liverpool puts on a good show; and although the £5m from central government towards the cost of the programme was gratefully received, and would be again, there is no reason why we should be awaiting permission from BIS, UKTI and Ministers, before announcing that Liverpool is up for hosting IFB 2016. Aside from anything else, with a more generous run up to that potential Festival, I am sure we could pull in at least that amount of cash in private sector sponsorship.

There is much to be done before all of that of course, but as always Downtown is happy to put the marker down and kick start the debate.

For our part, we hosted the Downtown Liverpool Business week this week, with ten events in five days that attracted big numbers of delegates and stimulated entertaining and informative discussion.

Several action points have emerged from the programme that I will share will you in future week’s, but among the highlights from this week was the chief executives of Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs announcing to the 150 plus guests at the ‘Future of Football’ forum on Wednesday morning the fixtures for the 2014/15 season. If that wasn’t an exclusive, I don’t know what is!

A special review of the whole Business Week will be available from Tuesday, so keep a look out for that, whilst Downtown will be taking its ‘Sexy Networking’ brand to the ‘pub in the hub’ on Thursday 26th June. I hope to see you there.

We Are Ten…

We Are TEN

Next week Downtown celebrates its tenth anniversary. We will be doing a lot over the next seven days, hosting a birthday party for 300 people, launching a new website and introducing an APP.

It’s all exciting stuff, and part of what I would describe as a growing movement rather than a growing business.

We have come a long way in the last decade, and much of what we have been involved with and achieved has been covered in the latest edition of our quarterly magazine DQ – in the printers now, and on your desks in about a week.

For me personally it has been, and continues to be, an incredible journey. When I set Downtown Liverpool in Business up in 2004 I would not have imagined having a presence in Lancashire, Manchester and Leeds. Indeed, I was told by a senior official of Liverpool City Council that ‘Downtown won’t last five minutes’.

I thought it would work in Liverpool, but I doubted if the brand was ‘exportable’. Four cities and 800 member companies later, and I am beginning to think it is.

Reflecting and reminiscing is not something we tend to do very often at Downtown Towers. We spend most of our time thinking of what we can do next, rather than what we have achieved in the past. This is the main reason why we maintain vibrancy, dynamism and a spirit that no other organisation in our space can match in my opinion.

However, on this occasion I hope you forgive me for some self indulgence. Here are my personal highlights of Downtown life over the last ten years.

  • Interviewing Lord Michael Heseltine in 2010.
  • Tony Wilson interviewing James Barton at the very first Downtown event at the Racquets Club, Liverpool in 2004.
  • The making of our ‘Relax’ video for the 2008 ‘Livercool’ Awards.
  • Steve Broomhead, then chief executive of the Northwest Development Agency, proclaiming that Downtown was ‘the business club with attitude’ at the City of Liverpool Business Awards in 2006.
  • The launch of Downtown Manchester at Cloud 23 with Sir Howard Bernstein and 200 Manchester business leaders in 2009.
  • The inaugural 2013 Lancashire Business Growth Conference, one of the most dynamic business events I have ever attended – and it was ours!
  • John Bishop, who performed at three awards dinners for Downtown before he made his fame and fortune (it’s all down to us).
  • The launch of Downtown Leeds in 2012 at a very noisy and challenging Corn Exhange with shadow minister and Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, and 200 business leaders.
  • Manchester’s singing icon Rowetta and her performance at our ’24 Hour Party People’ inaugural ‘City of Manchester Business Awards’ at the spectacular Cathedral in 2011.
  • Sexy Networking 2004 onwards, and upwards!

I hope you remember some of these too, have many more of your own, but most importantly work with us to create new memories in the future. Here’s to the next ten years!