North West Business Leadership Team chief executive Geoffrey Piper will talk about the BOOM initiative in the 1980s at a networking lunch organised by Professional Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports.

Back in the mid-1980s Liverpool was in dire straits. Decades of economic decline, the Toxteth riots and political turmoil had brought the city almost to its knees.

However, a dedicated group of local professionals were adamant Liverpool did have a future.

BOOM (Business Opportunities On Merseyside) was started by the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants  and funded by by voluntary contributions from over 100 firms in the area.

Working alongside the Liverpool Chamber, the Merseyside Development Corporation and other established and professional bodies, BOOM started a national campaign to promote Merseyside as a place to do business.

At an event in Liverpool next month Geoffrey Piper, chief executive of the North West Business Leadership Team will talk about the “economic miracle” that local professionals helped to inspire 30 years ago.

He will speak about BOOM and what it did for the city at a networking lunch organised by Professional Liverpool in conjunction with Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants.

The even will take place at the offices of Tilney, in the Royal Liver Building, on Wednesday, February 22.

Mr Piper will explain how, with the support of the Prince of Wales, Lord Heseltine and, eventually, the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, BOOM helped to kickstart Liverpool’s economic renaissance.

The campaign became well-known nationally and internationally and ran for six years, before it joined forces with Merseyside’s local authorities to form The Mersey Partnership in 1993.

The event will start with an informal lunch and a chance for networking at 12.30pm with the presentation at 1pm and will finish by 2pm.

It is open to all Professional Liverpool and ICAEW members free of charge.