Liverpool FC deal boosts Boston trade links
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) may be the most high-profile Boston business to invest in Liverpool, but it looks as though it won’t be the last.
Liverpool has a long history of trade with the US, and has long celebrated its links to New York.
But the city now boasts a new transatlantic connection thanks to Boston Red Sox owner Fenway, which bought Liverpool FC in October.
That connection inspired the UK’s consulate in Boston, Massachusetts, to organise a trade mission to Liverpool last week – a mission which will be reciprocated later this year.
With Liverpool’s profile in Boston on the up, UK Trade and Investment believes the time is right for businesses in New England and Merseyside to reach out to each other. Last week’s small trade mission was, it hopes, just the start.
The six-strong delegation included Mike Cavaretta, a video games industry lawyer, Rick McKenna, president and chief executive of Boston marketing agency WCM Partners, Panos Panay, founder of music industry website SonicBids, and two academics from Boston’s Northeastern University.
Their visit included trips to Liverpool Science Park, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, a networking event at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and a creative industries seminar at law firm DWF.
The Boston delegates also saw how Liverpool can play as well as work. As soon as they arrived in the city, they were whisked to the Grand National at Aintree. They were also given a tour of the city and went to Anfield to watch Liverpool FC take on Manchester City.
Sports fan Mr Cavaretta agreed that the timing of the trade mission was impeccable.
He said: “With FSG’s investment in Liverpool FC, we’re going to see a lot more Bostonians coming to Liverpool and Liverpudlians coming to Boston just because of that.
“FSG has a TV network in Boston – the New England Sports Network. They’ve started showing Liverpool FC games there.
“My prediction is that we’re going to have a lot more Liverpool FC fans in the Boston area in the next few years. That’s going to create opportunities.
“Tourism is very big here. You’re going to get a bunch of Bostonians coming here to see Liverpool games. As a natural consequence of that, more business will be transacted between the two cities.”
Mr Cavaretta, game developer attorney at law firm Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton, founded video games trade body New England Games Special Interest Group.
He said the visit opened his eyes to potential opportunities for his clients and friends in the New England video gaming sector.
“It was exciting, incredibly useful and eye-opening,” he said. “I have met a lot of contacts that I think will be very useful to some of my clients back home.
“I have made some relationships that would be useful in perhaps bringing some Liverpool-based people to Boston.
“I work with lots of early-stage technology companies, especially in interactive entertainment and gaming.
“I can see a lot of opportunities for games companies here to work with games companies over there.”
Mr Cavaretta believes that Liverpool and Boston, both proud port cities, are “closely aligned” culturally.
He said: “There’s a strong heritage here based on the city’s working-class roots, which people here are very proud of and which put them in a really good position for future success. We have the same feeling in Boston as well.
“At the same time, like Boston, there’s a very strong history here of international trade and finance.
“There’s a lot of cultural similarities between the two.
“I can see there being a lot of cross-pollination between the two cities in the future.”
Mr Cavaretta said he was impressed by Liverpool Science Park, and said the building could be an ideal home for New England investors.
“It’s very exciting seeing the things they’re doing there,” he said.
“They had some incentives there for international companies to come and establish a presence there.
“I have a couple of clients particularly who I know will be interested in that – gaming clients. They’re expanding in areas that would be of particular interest to English and Continental European folks.
“It would really make sense for them to establish a presence here, to take advantage of the proximity and the local talent to help them properly address these markets. I plan to tell them about the opportunities there.
“It’s similar to what we have in Boston at the Cambridge Innovation Centre – it’s in the same building as UKTI. That could be a good resource for Liverpool-based companies looking to establish a presence in Boston.”
Jane Ollerhead, of the British consulate in Boston, said the visit had been “action-packed”.
The Liverpool trade mission was organised, she said, following Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick’s visit to the UK in March.
“We were inspired by the announcement of the Fenway Sports investment in Liverpool FC,” she said.
“Also, Boston and Liverpool have such a lot in common.
“We were really encouraged by the announcement that Liverpool had become one of 21 Enterprise Zones named by the Government.
“We were really keen to find opportunities for Boston businesses to invest in Liverpool.
“The pillars that drive Liverpool are similar to Boston. Technology, healthcare, the creative industries – it’s the same as Massachusetts.
“The governor came here last month – we’re hot on the heels of that.
“It’s been a first, exploratory mission. The good news is that our delegates had some great conversations, and met some really good business partners.
“The people of Liverpool exceeded our expectations. It was a really vibrant place to show our delegation.”
Liverpool Chamber is now working with the British consulate in Boston, as well as with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, to plan a return visit to Boston later this year.
Jenny Stewart, the chamber’s head of client services, said the mission had opened the Bostonians’ eyes to the opportunities available in the North West.
She said: “A number of them had a certain view about Liverpool, that it was a tired city. They got the shock of their lives when they got here and found it was alive and buzzing.
“The city looked wonderful. It was a pleasure to meet people who wanted to do business. They left with the impression that they could do business here.
“One of the most important contacts we made was WCM Partners, a marketing agency from the States that wants to open a Liverpool office.
“They don’t necessarily want to be a full-service agency in Liverpool, but they want to think about how they can help businesses work in the States.”
Mike Taylor, deputy chief executive of regeneration agency Liverpool Vision, said Liverpool had been working with Boston since 2005, when a Mersey delegation visited Massachusetts. But the FSG deal, he said, could only help to further cement links between the cities.
He said: “Our guests from Boston left with a very positive impression of Liverpool, both of its look and feel and its business landscape.
“There was a strong interest from them in our creative, digital and music sectors, key growth areas in Liverpool.
“We were also able to impress upon them where trading and investment opportunities lie, and where we can learn from each other, and this trip was just the latest for a relationship that will continue to grow and flourish, especially with the arrival of FSG in Liverpool.”
For more news from Liverpool's Daily Post visit www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk
‹
Back
The Capital, 39 Old Hall Street, Liverpool
L3 9PP
Telephone: +44(0)151 600 2900
Email:
info@liverpoolvision.co.uk