A new report has shown that creative and digital firms based in Liverpool’s Baltic Creative centre are contributing more than £1.4m into the city region economy each year.
In a study commissioned to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the formation of Baltic Creative CIC within the city’s Baltic Triangle area, an independent economic review and survey, of its 65 tenants has revealed its level of economic output.
From gaming to design, architecture, music and publishing, Baltic Creative’s economic review, reveals tenants have achieved a turnover growth of 7% per year and employment growth of 7.6% per year, outstripping growth in the sector nationally.
Baltic Creative has generated 50 new jobs, assisted more than 60 businesses and supports 182 full-time roles.
The creative and digital sector in Liverpool accounts for 18,906 jobs (along with a sizeable freelance economy) and 3% of total employment (ONS, January 2014). Nationally, creative and digital is worth £70bn a year, employs 1.68m people and represents 5.2% of the UK economy.
As part of the economic review, Baltic Creative surveyed each tenant business and revealed that 24% of the businesses joined Baltic Creative from outside of the city and 10% of those were from wider Merseyside, suggesting businesses moved to the city because of developments associated to the area.
Mark Lawler, managing director of Baltic Creative, said:
“We were established to provide business space and be an advocate for creative and digital businesses within the area. We’ve also played a key role in regeneration. What we’ve achieved, what our businesses have achieved, in the last five years is phenomenal.”
“While commercial properties in Liverpool have struggled Baltic Creative is fully let and our tenants have grown their businesses and are out-performing many other sectors.”
The report is called ‘The Five Year Evaluation of Baltic Creative’ and was written by Robert Fleming from Inner City Solutions.
Source: Liverpool Echo
Words: Daniel Pearce