Exciting news: The Liverpool SSE has been launched, with the support of Liverpool City Council and Business Liverpool. We’re hopeful this will be done with nationally-renowned Blackburne House as the lead agency. It’s an exciting intiative, and we hope to complement existing provision and build on the great work already being done in a traditionally entrepreneurial area. The support from Councillor Flo Clucas has been instrumental in making it happen, something she has wanted to achieve since she met Michael Young back in 1998.

You can read a little more here in the Liverpool Echo:

"Nick Temple, Network Director for
London-based SSE, said since the project started eight years ago 85% of
the ventures created are still trading, which is double conventional
business rates.

We
know 91% of our fellows create jobs; on average 35 jobs to every 10
fellows and 70 voluntary positions. More than 60% report a 6% increase
in turnover and on top of that, they are delivering services to
beneficiaries in their communities. Sustainability is very strong.

The
SSE combines business and commerce with a strong social mission across
health, transport, environment, education and child care.

He
said Liverpool was chosen as the first north west SSE because of its
strong entrepreneurial pedigree, adding: “We are looking to add to or
complement what is already being done here.”

Just to correct a couple of those statistics (I’m impressed how many the journalist got down given the length/swiftness/garbledness of our conversation):

–  It is true that 85% of organisations established during the SSE programme are still in existence; it is only true to say that this is roughly double conventional business survival rates for our older cohorts (82% for our 1998 cohort, as opposed to 43% for conventional business, for example); on average, across all years, we beat conventioanl survival rates by at least 15%.

– Actually, 60% report an increase in turnover; on average this is a six-fold increase, rather than a six per cent one…which is slightly different…and much better.

All these figures our from our recent evaluation by the New Economics Foundation, of which more soon….anyway, all in all we’re delighted to be expanding the network in the north-west, and look forward to some great success stories up in Liverpool in the years to come.