LYVA Labs celebrates third birthday with visit from Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram

It is LYVA Labs’ third birthday, and we invited Liverpool City Region’s Mayor, Steve Rotheram, to celebrate with us at The Spine, where he learned about our achievements and plans.

LYVA Labs was established in December 2021 with £10.5M in investment from the Combined Authority to help deliver the Mayor's ambition to invest 5% of regional GVA into research and development (R&D) by 2030 – nearly double the government’s national target. After meeting the LYVA Labs team at the event and learning about what the company has achieved, the mayor hailed the business as an ‘outstanding success.' 

On his visit to LYVA Labs, the Mayor hailed LYVA Labs' ‘outstanding success’ adding, 'three years in, it’s clear that LYVA Labs is not just supporting start-ups, but transforming the region’s economy.” The team's achievements include:

• Turning great ideas into high-growth businesses and good-quality jobs
• Investing in 18 companies so far: nine in health and life sciences and nine developing deep-tech innovation
• Creating over 60 jobs - 47 local jobs, with another 15 people employed at LYVA Labs 
• Attracting a further £30m in funding: £28m into the local economy - grant funding of £16.5m for LCR SMEs, and £6.7m in private investment for early-stage companies
• Supporting over 100 SMEs to develop and commercialise innovative technologies across key growth sectors, including advanced manufacturing
• Supporting city region businesses to access grant funding, explore R&D opportunities, and find expert partners
• Ten companies awarded grants up to £15,000, matched by their own contributions, for commercialising products and services
• Using LYVA Labs’ early impact, securing two contracts with the government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK
• Investing in diversity:  80% of LYVA Labs’ investment has gone to ten founders/CEOs from under-represented groups. Only 2% of national venture capital investment goes to women-led businesses and less than 2% to people from ethnic minority groups

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:

“LYVA Labs has been an outstanding success story for the Liverpool City Region. It’s demonstrated exactly how targeted investment can drive innovation, create high-quality jobs, and foster the next generation of ground-breaking businesses.

“Three years in, it’s clear that LYVA Labs is not just supporting start-ups, but transforming the region’s economy by nurturing talent, creating new opportunities, and attracting significant investment.

“This is just the beginning, and I’m incredibly proud of the work that Lorna Green and the LYVA Labs team are doing to put the Liverpool City Region at the forefront of innovation.”

Lorna Green, LYVA Labs’ CEO, said:

“LYVA Labs was established to increase investment in innovation across Liverpool City Region, by providing expert consultancy and investment. We were frustrated by the lack of public and private funding available in the region, and the limited support for innovative founders to access the resources and mentorship they needed to succeed. We also have a wealth of research and innovation assets that we could exploit much more, through partnership and collaboration, to help drive economic growth.

“With the backing of the Mayor and Combined Authority, we have started to address these challenges and in our first three years have built a fantastic team that is making a real difference. The new government has promised more devolved funding for regions and a stronger emphasis on place-based innovation, so we are excited to see what the next three years will bring for the future of innovation in Liverpool City Region.”