Guests were welcomed by minister for cities Greg Clark, and heard speeches from Lord Green, minister for trade and investment; Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s enterprise adviser; Lord Heseltine; Joe Anderson, mayor of Liverpool; and Max Steinberg, chairman of IFB 2014.
Leading UK entrepreneurs in attendance included Sara Murray, founder of Confused.com and Buddi; Ed Wray, co-founder of Betfair; Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen; Will King, founder of King of Shaves; and Lord Bilimoria, chairman of Cobra Beer.
IFB 2014, which will take place throughout Liverpool next June and July, aims to accelerate UK economic growth with a programme of 100 global business events. By connecting entrepreneurs and global business opportunities, it hopes to deliver £100m of direct investment and double UK exports by 2020.
Speaking at the reception, Lord Green said IFB will be a great opportunity to showcase British business and investment opportunities.
"From a trade point of view it [IFB] is particularly exciting. We have a good track record in this country in welcoming inward investment," he said.
Lord Young said the festival will "redefine the great North-South divide".
He was joined by Lord Heseltine, who said: "There is a wind of change blowing. Liverpool is the symbol of that change. It is symptomatic of the dramatic decision by government to give back much of the power to the local economies."
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson described Britain’s cities as vitally important and highlighted the UK-wide focus of IFB. "The UK needs to showcase and be confident about what it’s doing and that’s what the festival aims to do."
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