First Ark Social Investment have recently approved £150,000 of investment for Make Liverpool to help them redevelop their North Docks venue.
Paula Brown, investment manager at First Ark Social Investment, said: “Make has a fantastic track record in helping people thrive in the creative industries, with great stories of people growing out of the space to do things such as opening shops and employing staff. First Ark Social Investment is delighted to have agreed a total investment of £150,000 to enable Make to develop their exciting growth plans, improve the facilities and increase capacity at their site in Liverpool’s North Docks.”
With First Ark Social Investment’s assistance, Make successfully applied for the Reach Fund to prepare them for further funding. The grant amount of over £14,000 approved enabled Make to source support from professional advisors and develop policies and plans to guide the company and its staff through the period of the investment.
Make then applied to First Ark Social Investment’s Invest for Impact fund where £150,000 of grant and loan funding was approved to develop the site, create employment opportunities and expand their classes and events programme.
Councillor Wendy Simon, Liverpool’s deputy mayor and cabinet member for culture, tourism and events, said: “This is fantastic news for both Make and the wider creative community, which will really benefit from the redevelopment. Make’s dedication to becoming a creative hub for the whole city is really inspiring, and this next step will allow them to reach out to a wider range of people, encourage new initiatives in the North Docks and provide a much-needed events space which can only strengthen the cultural sector.”
Liam Kelly, chief executive officer of Make Liverpool, says that working with First Ark Social Investment has been a transformation for Make: “Using the Reach Fund before applying for investment, we were able to undertake supported work to get us ready to take vital next steps. Now we have the investment from Invest for Impact we can help transform the work lives of the creatives that use our facilities and make a positive social impact in North Liverpool.”