LYVA Labs - Annual Report 2025-2026

Our impact in 2025-2026

We focus on delivering measurable outcomes for businesses and Liverpool City Region.
In 2025-2026 that included:

£1.6m investment in 17 LCR start-ups

£5.55m co-investment secured for our portfolio

£7.3m grant funded R&D projects to LCR SMEs

5 innovation programmes delivered to 64 founders

+375 LCR students engaged in innovation

Full Annual Report

CEO Report,

Lorna Green

The past year brought the launch of our Innovation Zone Incubator and Accelerate programmes, enabling LYVA Labs to provide tailored support alongside pre-seed investment to over 20 SMEs based in Liverpool City Region. We also delivered the national Future Medicines Accelerator for Innovate UK in partnership with leaders in the Health and Life Sciences sector from across the UK.

During the year we invested over £1.6m, taking our portfolio to 30 SMEs in the health and life sciences and deep tech sectors, and co-investment in the portfolio reached £8m. Supporting SMEs to secure R&D grants is central to the success of early stage SMEs and to date we have helped to bring over £20m in R&D grants into the region.

Our talent programme continues to expand, we created 40 learning placements and internships for graduates and starters and delivered 13 workshops on innovation and entrepreneurship, reaching 278 students. LYVA Labs has a diverse team and we continue to invest >50% of our Challenge Fund into SMEs led by underrepresented founders.

Our ecosystem work has highlighted significant regional opportunities in biomanufacturing and multiple stakeholders across both public and private sectors are now involved in taking this forward. We published our Microbiome Discovery to Commercialisation report exploring how microbiome science is shaping the future of health, sustainability, and economic growth – and showcasing the world leading strengths that exist in Liverpool City Region.

We became a partner on theiiCON programme, cementing four years of collaboration with Prof Janet Hemingway and the iiCON team, and have partnered with LSTM to deliver the Research England funded BRITE programme to deliver a pre-spinout incubator for the translation of biologics. Our strategic partnerships with Liverpool Health Partners and Health Innovation Network NWC to develop an open innovation ecosystem for health have led to several exciting collaborations with the pharma industry to bring innovations to address health inequalities and improve care.

We ended the year with more good news, having been approved as a provider to the renewed Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst Accelerator programme.

Over the coming year we will continue to work to deliver our mission to increase investment in innovation across the region to build on these successful collaborations and deliver impact for the region.

We’re extremely grateful to the partners and collaborators who help deliver our programmes, our funders Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Research England and Innovate UK, and our board and investment committee members who continue to support us with their knowledge, experience, and expertise.

I would also like to thank the amazing founders and entrepreneurs who inspire us, challenge us and encourage us to keep building. We look forward to supporting their continued success.

Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram

"From the very beginning, we wanted LYVA Labs to help turn brilliant ideas and research into businesses, jobs and investment here in the Liverpool City Region.

Five years on, it’s clear that ambition is becoming a reality.

LYVA Labs is backing some of the most exciting businesses and innovations coming out of our region, helping them access the finance, expertise and connections they need to grow. Just as importantly, it is helping us build an innovation-led economy that creates good, high-value jobs and keeps more of the benefits of our world-class research right here in the Liverpool City Region.

We backed LYVA Labs because we knew that investing in innovation was an investment in our future. It’s decisions like this that have made us the UK’s innovation capital.

There is a huge amount more we can achieve, and I’m looking forward to seeing ambitious businesses grow, attract investment and put the Liverpool City Region firmly on the map as a place where the ideas of tomorrow can become the success stories of today.”

Steve Rotheram
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region

A message from our Chairman,Steve Stuart

As LYVA Labs moves into its fifth year, the impact of focused investment across Liverpool City Region is becoming increasingly clear. By backing high-potential ideas with investment, specialist support and strong partnerships, we are helping innovators turn early promise into practical progress, economic opportunity and long-term benefit for the region.

This year has shown what becomes possible when funding is targeted around shared priorities and matched with the right expertise. Through the Innovation Zone Incubator and Accelerate programmes, we now have a stronger route to help high-potential SMEs access guidance and support at a crucial stage.

Our work with Innovate UK, iiCON, LSTM, Liverpool Health Partners, Health Innovation Network NWC, and partners across the wider ecosystem is also helping Liverpool City Region grow as a place where health, life sciences and deep tech innovation can thrive. Just as importantly, this connected approach is helping companies scale, attract more R&D funding into the region, significantly increase the amount of co-invested capital from new partners, create new routes into innovation and support more inclusive growth.

I am especially proud of how the entire LYVA Labs team has risen to every challenge. Their dedication is delivering meaningful impact across LYVA Labs and the wider innovation ecosystem. Looking ahead, we want to keep this momentum going and support more ambitious innovators. That means continuing to build the resources, partnerships and funding routes that help early-stage companies take their next steps with confidence.

I’m excited about what lies ahead and confident that, together, we can keep opening new opportunities within Liverpool City Region and further afield.

LYVA Labs Annual Report 2025-2026