Held over three weeks at the 80,000 square foot Exhibition Centre Liverpool, the event aims to attract small and medium sized businesses – from across the Liverpool city region and beyond. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool’s third global business festival in 2018 will aim to deliver £400m in new business deals for local and UK firms,

The International Festival for Business first took place in the city in 2014 and then again in 2016.

Next year’s event has been renamed the International Business Festival and will take place in June.

Export opportunities

Held over three weeks at the 80,000 square foot Exhibition Centre Liverpool, the event aims to attract small and medium sized businesses – from across the Liverpool city region and beyond – who are looking to grow and explore export opportunities.

If the festival was to hit its £400m target this would take the total value of trade and investment since the event started to £1bn.

Organisers aim to build on the success of last year’s event, which attracted buyers and investors from 98 countries around the world and saw 500 UK companies secure exports of more than £87m.

Research revealed that around third of festival delegates in 2016 had been actively encouraged by the event to begin exporting, or to explore opportunities in new overseas markets.

Core sectors

For 2018, the festival will focus on nine core sectors which will drive the economy of the future – from health and life sciences to sustainable energy to creative industries – with specially curated theme days dedicated to each one.

Festival chair Max Steinberg said: “With its vibrant entrepreneurial culture and historic standing as a gateway to the world, Liverpool is the natural home for the International Business Festival.

“The event consistently delivers enormous benefit to the city region. To date the International Business festival has delivered £600m of additional trade and investment to the UK economy, a good proportion of that within Merseyside.

“My message to companies is clear: whether you’re based in Bangalore or Birkenhead, if you want to be part of with the Festival then let’s do business.”

The International Business Festival will be held between June 12 and 28 and you can register for tickets by clicking here.