Jointly owned by Liverpool City Council, LJMU and the University of Liverpool, the company will work with investors to accelerate growth in the £2bn Knowledge Quarter. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool’s newly-formed Knowledge Quarter Development Company has named Colin Sinclair as its interim chief executive.
The former executive at property firm Bruntwood was appointed following a formal recruitment process. He will also remain in his existing role at chief executive of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool.
Jointly owned by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and the University of Liverpool, the new company will work with investors to accelerate growth in the £2bn Knowledge Quarter.
It will work to grow the city region’s offer in science and tech and build a world-leading innovation eco-system to increase the commercialisation of academic research, foster more spin-outs and start-ups and help innovation-led businesses to grow.
With an initial focus on Liverpool Science Park and Sensor City, the development company will look to enhance the existing facilities and will support the accelerator by creating a single point of contact for sales and marketing.
Once further private sector investment has been secured the company will look to develop and operate new science and tech facilities across the city region.
Mr Sinclair was formerly chief executive at Manchester Investment and Development Agency (MIDAS) and director at property developer Bruntwood and has been in post at KQ Liverpool for the last two years.
He said: “Liverpool has an increasingly strong international brand and is now, once again, seen globally as a place of opportunity.
“By working collaboratively and by focusing on health and education, science and technology we can make a real difference to the city, its region and the lives of the people that live, work and study here.”
Professor Nigel Weatherill, Vice Chancellor of LJMU, said: “As we seek to compete with other cities both nationally and internationally, it is vital that we build on what the Knowledge Quarter partners, Colin and the team have achieved over the last two years.”