Merseyside politicians join Chrysalis as £35m fund prepares for new investments

Two Merseyside politicians have joined Chrysalis, a £35m revolving fund that has supported over £100m of investment in the Liverpool City Region.

Liverpool deputy mayor Cllr Ann O’Byrne and Wirral Council leader Cllr Phil Davies joined the fund’s General Partner Board as it prepares for a number of new investments.

The fund said it is currently looking at six “major opportunities” in the logistics, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors and expects to announce loans that will allow deals to proceed over the coming months.

Chrysalis, originally formed as part of the EU’s JESSICA programme, funds its investments by recycling receipts from previous loans.

In June, the fund received £2.3m from the disposal of db symmetry and Barwood Capital’s 120,000 sq ft Aquila manufacturing facility in Knowsley to LondonMetric Property. The seven-figure sum will now be recycled to back other similar investments.

Chrysalis Fund chairman Jim Gill said of the appointments: “Anne’s and Phil’s appointments confirm the strength of the working relationship between Chrysalis and the local authorities in the city region and provide the opportunity to strengthen that further through work with the Combined Authority.”

Mark Bousfield of igloo Regeneration, which leads the fund’s management consortium, commented: “Our specialism is in funding viable projects and making projects viable. By definition, we need to get into the guts of a project to ensure that our money is put to work in the most effective way and the governance function offers a critical oversight to that work.

“I’m looking forward to working for Phil and Ann as the fund supports the Liverpool region’s continued resurgence.”

Chrysalis funds land and building acquisition, site preparation and infrastructure, property development, redevelopment and refurbishment projects, in addition to capital investments relating to energy efficiency and low carbon schemes.