New fund set to help City Region businesses expand
Wirral Council’s Leader has urged eligible businesses in the borough to take advantage of a major new funding opportunity to help them scale up and expand.
The new £10m Seed Fund is designed to accelerate the growth of innovative early-stage businesses across the Liverpool City Region (LCR).
The LCR Seed Fund will support businesses with high-growth potential, offering a vital alternative to traditional grant and debt financing.
Open to businesses across all sectors, the fund particularly encourages applications from companies operating in the region’s key growth areas: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Creative Industries, and Health and Life Sciences.
Cllr Paula Basnett, Leader of Wirral Council, said:
I would urge Wirral businesses looking to scale up their operations to see if they can benefit from this new seed fund set up by the Liverpool City Region.
Wirral is home to so many incredibly talented entrepreneurs but getting funding to expand businesses, especially at an early stage in their development, can be difficult. This new funding source could be the crucial difference for some smaller companies seeking to take that next step.
Small and medium sized businesses are such an important part of our local economy that it is great see this seed fund being set up and I hope it can not only help Wirral businesses but also attract additional inward investment and boost business growth in our borough and create new high quality jobs for the people of Wirral.
Open to businesses across all sectors, the fund particularly encourages applications from companies operating in the region’s key growth areas: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Creative Industries, and Health and Life Sciences.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram announced the fund at the LCR Talking Business Conference, the region’s annual summit for business leaders and entrepreneurs. Launching the fund, the Mayor said:
Small businesses are the bedrock of our economy – not just here in the Liverpool City Region, but across the country. They make up 99% of all companies in our area and are the engine of innovation, opportunity and job creation.
But I hear all too often from local entrepreneurs that, when it comes to scaling up, the support just isn’t there – especially outside London. We’re stepping in with a £10m fund in an effort to help turn great local ideas into thriving national success stories.
I want to back local talent, create high-quality jobs, and give people the chance to build something for themselves and their community. When local businesses grow, it’s not just good for our region but for the national economy too.
With investment opportunities ranging from £250,000 to £2m, the fund will target businesses that can demonstrate innovative products or services, a clear route to market, and strong potential to scale.
The initiative is expected to not only improve the success rate of scale-ups but also attract inward investment and enhance the broader business support ecosystem across the city region.
The LCR Seed Fund is a key part of the Mayor’s wider strategy to fuel business growth and generate high-quality jobs. This comprehensive support network, much of it supported through the city region’s UKSPF funding, is accessed through Growth Platform, the Combined Authority’s dedicated business support service.
It includes funds such as the £53m Chrysalis Fund, the £25m LCR Urban Development Fund, the £20 million Flexible Growth Fund, and specialist support including that provided by the Race Equality Hub and local authority teams. Wirral Council’s Business Support Service, delivered through Wirral Chamber of Commerce, has helped over 1,800 local businesses since 2022 – to find out how the Business Support Service could help your business, contact Wirral Chamber.
The LCR Seed Fund fund will be managed by AXM Venture Capital Limited. Rupert Wingate-Saul, Investment Director at AXM Venture Capital Limited, added:
We are delighted to have been awarded the mandate to manage the LCR Seed Fund and build on our success in investing in the Liverpool City Region from the North West Fund 4 Digital and Creative. We are excited by the applications we have already received and look forward to helping successfully grow innovative scale-ups across the region.
Applications for the LCR Seed Fund are now open.
The fund is designed to help the city region reach its target of spending 5% of its economy on research and development (R&D) by 2030 – nearly double the national target.
By working closely with key partners such as Form, Lyva Labs, and Kindred, the Mayor is making it easier for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and businesses across all sectors to unlock their full growth potential.
