The Liverpool City Region is made up of 6 Local Authority areas (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral).

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP) has been awarded funds by Dept for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to establish a Growth Hub for the City Region. The purpose of the Liverpool City Region Growth Hub is to support pre-start, new and existing businesses in the City Region to grow through diagnosing their needs and signposting them into the most appropriate assistance available from the extensive range of commercial and publicly funded services available. In doing so it aims to simplify, coordinate and commercialise the business support landscape and increase the take up of business support services that add value to businesses and directly support their establishment, survival and growth.

It seeks to do this through engaging 'Brokerage Partners' in each Local Authority area who will be promoted as the 'go to' broker for business support. Each brokerage partner will be required to work to Growth Hub protocols provided by the LEP to diagnose the needs of businesses and individuals who contact them and then work with them to objectively identify and signpost the most appropriate sources of advice and support for them, including UK Government Business Growth Services where relevant to business needs. The responsibility for selecting the service, through evaluation and procurement as appropriate will remain with the business.

A more detailed guide to the role and purpose of the Liverpool City Region Growth Hub is provided for guidance on the LEP website at www.liverpoollep.org

Bidding organisations will need to demonstrate their commercial experience and expertise in determining business needs and signposting them successfully to appropriate services.

The LEP is seeking to secure a Framework of brokerage partners, from which to subsequently contract according to available budgets on a periodic basis. Initial contracting will be based on BIS Growth Hub funding with subsequent contracting utilising ERDF and other funds as they may become available.