Member Article

Liverpool business club mark 8th anniversary

“The business club with attitude” Downtown Liverpool in Business (DLIB) will be celebrating its eighth birthday this week.

The club was formed in 2004 by Frank McKenna, with the aim of providing leadership to Liverpool’s private sector by articulating the views of its members to the public sector agencies that govern the city.

As well as holding off-the-wall events such as ‘sexy networking nights’ and the ‘Livercool’ awards, the club has played an important role in stimulating debate and shaping the business agendas that affect the city.

Mr McKenna said: “It’s absolutely brilliant to look back at what we’ve achieved over the past eight years.

“When we first started out, I don’t think any of us had any idea of just how much this network would grow or how successful it would be, but it met a real need in the business community.”

“As an organisation I think we’ve excelled beyond anyone’s expectations, particularly in our role as a lobbying voice for the private sector.

“Over the years we’ve invited numerous senior Government Ministers such as George Osborne, Gordon Brown, Michael Heseltine and Ed Balls to take part in debates in the city, and have helped to shape and influence decisions at a national policy level.”

The introduction of a business champion on the council’s cabinet, the scrapping of the idea to introduce a ‘tall buildings policy’, the streamlining of regeneration agencies and a Mayor for Liverpool, are some of the issues that DLIB has successfully campaigned on over the years.

Mr McKenna added: “It’s a happy coincidence that our eighth birthday falls on the day of the first ever mayoral elections in Liverpool.

“Kick starting the debate about the need for an elected mayor for Liverpool was one of the real driving forces behind us setting up DLIB, and it’s something we have lobbied hard for ever since, so it’s incredibly fitting to watch this becoming a reality on our anniversary!”

“It’s probably no secret that when we were first starting out, I would have considered putting myself forward for the role. But the political landscape in Liverpool has changed dramatically since then.

“I think under Joe Anderson’s administration, we now have the strength of leadership and level of public sector engagement with the business sector that is needed, so my personal priorities have changed.

“My passion is the business community, and I want to continue to build on all we are doing to support the private sector.

“The economy remains tough for businesses at the moment, especially businesses in the North West, so we still have lots more work ahead of us.”

Now employing twelve people across the region, the Downtown brand is also established in Manchester and Lancashire, and a branch will launch in Leeds in September.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .