LIVERPOOL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES LIMITED

What LIVERPOOL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES LIMITED does

Liverpool Business Associates Limited (Liverpool BA) is a private membership-based organization headquartered at 54 St James Street, Liverpool, that supports small businesses across Liverpool and the wider North West of England. Founded in 2005 (with event operations dating to 2002), the company delivers a single-tier membership offering that bundles a Members Helpline, local information and support, a Members Trading Network, recruitment support, and access to a members-only website with an online business directory. Membership is sold through the company's WordPress-based website and is reinforced by an extensive event program comprising seven annual regional business fairs — the City of Liverpool Business Fair (since 2002), Merseyside Business Fair (since 2004), Wirral & Chester, Sefton & West Lancashire, Halton & Warrington, Manchester, and the Business & Technology Show North West — supplemented by seminars, workshops, and networking sessions.

The company's revenue model combines recurring annual membership fees (subscription) with one-time exhibition and sponsorship packages sold to businesses participating in fairs. Its go-to-market is event-driven: regional fairs serve as the primary acquisition channel for new members and as the platform for selling exhibition space and sponsorships to both members and non-members. The organization maintains a distributed ecosystem of minor partnerships with bodies such as the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool John Moores University, the Prince's Trust, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, ACAS, and Business Link, which extend the support resources available to members. In 2016, Liverpool BA extended its offering beyond events and membership services by partnering with Manchester-based research firm LOOKOUT! to launch the North West Business Monitor, a bi-annual survey tracking small business confidence in the region.

Liverpool BA operates with a small team (1-10 employees) and without external funding, venture capital, or private equity backing. The technology stack is intentionally lightweight — a WordPress site maintained by Edge Three Sixty, with email marketing via Constant Contact — reflecting a relationship-driven, community-led model rather than a technology-led platform business. The company's competitive positioning rests on personal member service, regional event ownership, and an established community of North West small businesses, with no disclosed plans for either technological differentiation or significant geographic expansion beyond the North West.

Name

LIVERPOOL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES LIMITED

Legal name

Liverpool Business Associates Ltd

Website

https://liverpoolba.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Liverpool Business Associates Limited is a Liverpool-based membership organization that provides business support services, networking, and B2B events for small businesses across the North West of England. Its six core services and seven regional business fairs are bundled into a single annual membership offering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees providing access to services including a Members Helpline, Local Information and Support, Members Trading Network, Recruitment Support, website access, and local/city-wide events.
2. Exhibition and Sponsorship Packages: Revenue generated from businesses purchasing exhibition space and sponsorship packages at business fairs and events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Liverpool Business Associates Limited operates a membership-based business support organisation for small companies across Liverpool and the North West of England. Its core offering is an annual membership that bundles a Members Helpline, Local Information and Support, a Members Trading Network, Recruitment Support, Local and City Wide Events, and access to a members-only website, together with a portfolio of regional business fair events that generate exhibition and sponsorship revenue.

Product overview

Liverpool Business Associates Limited operates as a membership-based business support organization offering a unified platform of services centered on networking, events, and member support. The core offering comprises six membership services: Events and Networking, Information and Support on Local Issues, Members Helpline, Members Trading Network, Recruitment Support, and Website Services. These are complemented by a portfolio of regional business fair events (City of Liverpool Business Fair, Merseyside Business Fair, Wirral & Chester Business Fair, and others) organized across the North West. The organization also partners with LOOKOUT! to deliver the North West Business Monitor research service and maintains a Membership Directory for member visibility. The service architecture is single-tier, with membership providing access to all services and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Membership

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LOOKOUT!coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2016LOOKOUT! is an independent research and insights organisation based in Manchester city centre. Liverpool BA has joined forces with LOOKOUT! to launch the North West Business Monitor for Small Businesses. The Monitor tracks confidence levels of North West Small Business Owners on various issues including economy, funding, legislation, and transport. The survey commenced at the Wirral & Chester Business Fair in September 2016 and takes place bi-annually.
• Liverpool Chamber Of Commerce and IndustryminorOthersListed as a partner link on Liverpool BA's website alongside other business support organisations including ACAS, Inland Revenue, Liverpool City Council, and others.
• Liverpool John Moores UniversityminorOthersListed as a partner link providing educational institution connection for Liverpool BA members.
• Princes TrustminorOthersListed as a partner link offering access to Prince's Trust programmes for young business owners.
• Northwest Regional Development AgencyminorOthersListed as a partner link providing access to regional development agency resources and funding information.
• The Merseyside Special Investment FundminorOthersListed as a partner link providing access to investment funding opportunities for Merseyside businesses.
• ACASminorOthersListed as a partner link providing access to ACAS employment advice and guidance services.
• Business Link For Greater ManchesterminorOthersListed as a partner link providing access to Business Link resources for Greater Manchester area.
• Business BridgeminorOthersListed as a partner link for business support services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Enterprise Nation: UK small business community offering membership, events, and content for SMB founders. Highly comparable to Liverpool BA's combination of paid membership, events and partner-supported advisory services.
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB): UK-wide membership organisation serving small businesses with local networking events, advice services and lobbying. Closest national-level comparable for the SMB membership-plus-events model Liverpool BA operates at regional scale.
• Startup Grind: Global SMB/founder community running recurring local chapter events, workshops and networking sessions funded by sponsorships and memberships. Directly comparable event-driven GTM model serving small businesses.
• BNI (Business Network International) UK: Global B2B networking organisation with UK chapters that monetise through membership fees and drive referral-based trading among member businesses. Mirrors Liverpool BA's Members Trading Network and networking-event value proposition.
• Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry: The principal business membership and support organisation for Liverpool and surrounding areas. Direct competitor for SMB membership, networking events, and B2B exhibition sponsorship in the same geography, and explicitly listed as a partner by Liverpool BA.

Regional players

• Manchester Chamber of Commerce: Greater Manchester's principal business chamber, operating in a neighbouring region where Liverpool BA also runs a fair. Comparable SMB membership and event offering but with different geographic reach.
• Northwest Business Leadership Team (NWBLT): NW England business leadership body engaging regional SMEs and larger employers through events and policy work. Shares geography and a B2B community-building remit with Liverpool BA, though focused more on leadership dialogue than SMB membership services.
• Lancashire Chamber of Commerce: Adjacent regional chamber offering SMB membership, networking events and advisory services in Lancashire. Geographic neighbour offering a comparable value proposition to Liverpool BA's NW footprint.

Others

• Eventbrite: Self-serve event ticketing and registration platform widely used by SMB event organisers. Not a direct competitor but an enabling technology that could be adopted by Liverpool BA to scale digital event distribution and attendee data capture.

Broad incumbents

• British Chambers of Commerce: National umbrella for the UK Chamber network, including the Liverpool Chamber. Operates broadly across accreditation, policy and events rather than competing directly in any single region, but defines the larger competitive context for Liverpool BA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liverpool-business-associations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LIVERPOOL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES LIMITED