Liverpool City Region Innovation Investment Summit highlights regional scale-up potential

Unlocking regional growth through innovation and scale-up

This year’s Liverpool City Region Innovation Investment Summit took place at Sci-Tech Daresbury, bringing together a selection of business leaders, investors, policymakers, and advisers from across the region and beyond, all focused on helping scaling businesses overcome growth challenges and unlock new opportunities.

Developed by Innovate UK Business Growth and LYVA Labs, in conjunction with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the event marked the fourth edition of the summit and the first time it has been hosted at Sci-Tech Daresbury. The venue offered the ideal backdrop for a day centred on innovation-led growth, with a long-term ambition to help the region invest 5% of its Gross Value Added (GVA) in Research and Development (R&D) each year by 2030.

To kick off a day full of insights and opportunities, attendees took part in one of three behind-the-scenes site tours of Sci-Tech Daresbury. These covered a range of cutting-edge facilities including the Hartree Centre, Life Science incubation and grow-on lab space (ITAC Bio and Techspace One), and the Campus Technology Hub – a rapid prototyping centre.

Building a supportive ecosystem for scale-ups

John Leake welcomed attendees to the campus, introducing its role as a national science and innovation destination. He later added:

“What a pleasure to host the 2025 Liverpool City Region (LCR) Innovation Investment Summit at Sci-Tech Daresbury, a national science and innovation campus and a strategic site in the Liverpool City Region’s Life Sciences and Healthcare Innovation Zone.”

“Over the past 20 years, Sci-Tech Daresbury has supported hundreds of high-tech start-ups and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with business failure rates as low as 7% on campus and consistent sales growth rates of 25% per year or more.”

“We absolutely want to be at the heart of an event focusing on what needs to be done to support and accelerate the growing scale up community in the Liverpool City Region and to play our part in achieving this.”

Opening remarks were delivered by Steve Stuart, Chair of LYVA Labs, and David Petrie, Head of the Corporate Finance Faculty at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), setting the stage for a day focused on practical insight and regional collaboration.

Steve Stuart said:

“This is the fourth Innovation Investment Summit and the first to be held outside the Liverpool City centre.”

“I am delighted the relationship with the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty is going from strength to strength and this bodes well to securing the future Innovation strategy for the City Region, for years to come.”

“My personal thanks go to Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCR CA) without whose support this event would not be taking place. Plans are now in motion for the October Innovation Summit, which aims to showcase more of Liverpool’s future plans.”

National assets driving regional impact

This was followed by Massimo Noro of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), who introduced the national research focus of Daresbury and its role in the wider innovation ecosystem. Massimo Noro added:

“We are proud to host the 2025 LCR Innovation Investment Summit at Sci-Tech Daresbury. This vibrant Campus, built around the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) National Laboratory of the North of England, has attracted over 150 businesses to site.”

“We support a number of high-tech companies and entrepreneurs in the region and beyond, with a fantastic track record of business incubation showing a 25x return on investment. The event, today, focusses on scaling-up through engagement with the region’s leading innovators and funders. For SMEs, this is probably the most important event across the Innovation Investment Fortnight 2025!”

Dr Susanne Coles, representing Innovate UK, shared a national perspective on the future of innovation funding and the increasing importance of scale-up activity in driving sustainable economic growth.

Alex Pilkington, Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth, who has played a pivotal role in the organisation of each annual summit to date, commented:

“Scale up success is a critical component of economic growth and I’m delighted that we have been able to work with our partners at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, LYVA Labs, Sci-Tech Daresbury and STFC to deliver another outstanding Innovation Investment Summit today.”

“It has been fantastic to have the opportunity to showcase the world-leading R&D assets that we have in the region and even better to see so much scale up potential in the room today.”

Josh Robson, Head of Public Affairs and External Relations at the ScaleUp Institute, followed with a data-driven look at regional growth opportunities, highlighting how targeted support and improved access to finance can unlock greater potential for scaling businesses in the Liverpool City Region.

Addressing investment barriers for growing businesses

Following lunch, the afternoon sessions began with a panel discussion on the challenges of scale-up funding, chaired by David Petrie. Panellists included Cassie Doherty (Northern Gritstone), Marc d’Abbadie (River Capital), and Camilla Greenwood (Praetura). The conversation offered valuable insights into the changing investment landscape and what scaling companies need to demonstrate to secure backing.

This was followed by a detailed presentation by Professor Simon Bolton of Edge Hill University, exploring what it takes to unlock business growth. The session touched on innovation culture, leadership, adaptability and how to embed scale-up thinking across all areas of operations.

Sector-specific innovation and the road ahead

The summit closed with sector-specific breakout sessions, exploring the challenges and opportunities within:

• Advanced Manufacturing – led by Kevin Smith from Made Smarter
• Health and Life Sciences – hosted by Geoff Davison (Bionow) and Graham Bond (RSM)
• Digital and Tech – facilitated by Jonny Clark from Capital Enterprise

These final sessions rounded off a packed and purposeful day, giving delegates the tools, connections and confidence to take their next step toward scaling successfully.

As the Liverpool City Region continues to champion innovation-led development, the Innovation Investment Summit remains a key date in the calendar, supporting high-potential businesses to grow, thrive, and shape the future economy. An additional Innovation Investment Summit with a unique international focus will take place in the Liverpool City Region on 15 October.