Sansation

Large companies like Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, of course, have a major presence in Liverpool, but equally as significant are the clusters of other digital and creative businesses dotted across the city region.

The North West Fund for Digital & Creative has a £15m pot to invest in promising companies in the region or those wanting to relocate here.

In almost 18 months since the fund launched, I have been really excited by the businesses we have come across, and in particular the passion and expertise of the entrepreneurs.

In April, we backed Survival Media, based in Liverpool’s Elevator Studios.

The business, which publishes the Student Survival Guide and Student Property Guide, was founded by Mike Clarke and young entrepreneur Jonathan Saunders, who is just 18.

Also in Elevator Studios is Sentric Music, which we backed and which is helping independent bands commercialise their music by providing an online royalty management service.

And just last month we invested in Setgo, which makes analytic software that can track a player’s behaviour in games, an invaluable tool for developers.

These three businesses have huge potential to increase sales and create jobs.

So we have been very active and we are encouraged by a number of other opportunities that we are currently looking at.

It is inspiring to see a new generation of digital and creative entrepreneurs coming to the fore.