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Liverpool has its mojo back - now turn it into growth, says Downtown in Business. Downtown in Business has called on Liverpool's civic and business leaders to seize the city's growing momentum and turn its cultural, sporting and visitor success into a new era of economic growth and private-sector investment. * 8 October 2026 Downtown in Business has called on Liverpool's civic and business leaders to seize the city's growing momentum and turn its cultural, sporting and visitor success into a new era of economic growth and private-sector investment. Following Prime Minister Andy Burnham's speech to Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last week, DIB group chair and chief executive Frank McKenna said there was a growing sense that the city had reached an important moment in its regeneration journey. With Labour already confirmed to return to Liverpool for its annual conference in 2027, and the major UK real estate and investment conference UKREiiF moving to the city from 2028, McKenna believes Liverpool has an opportunity to significantly strengthen its position as a national and international business destination. "Liverpool has spent the past twenty years rebuilding its reputation and confidence, largely through the phenomenal success of its visitor, cultural, hospitality and sporting sectors. "European Capital of Culture in 2008 was a hugely important moment for the city. Since then, Liverpool has become one of the UK's leading visitor destinations and has demonstrated time and again that it can successfully host major international events. "What we haven't done as successfully is convert that cultural renaissance into an economic renaissance. We have not attracted the volume of corporate investment, headquarters, professional services businesses and high-value jobs that a city with Liverpool's assets and global profile should be securing. "The encouraging thing is that there are now signs that this could be changing." McKenna pointed to Kyndryl's decision to establish a major technology hub in Liverpool, the development of new Grade A office accommodation at Pall Mall, ambitious investment proposals for the waterfront and the opportunities presented by the North Docks as evidence of increasing confidence in the city. He added that the decision to bring UKREiiF to Liverpool from 2028 could prove particularly significant. "For years Liverpool has travelled to events such as MIPIM and UKREiiF to sell the city to investors. From 2028, thousands of investors, developers, property professionals and political leaders will be coming here. "That gives us an extraordinary shop window, but simply hosting UKREiiF will not be enough. We need to start preparing now to ensure that when those investors arrive, Liverpool has a compelling proposition, investable projects and a public and private sector that speaks confidently about where the city is going." McKenna said Liverpool should learn from the economic transformation achieved by Manchester without attempting to replicate its model. "There has understandably been a lot of discussion about 'Manchesterism' since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. Liverpool can learn from Manchester's success, particularly its ability to create long-term collaboration between political and business leaders around a shared growth agenda. "But Liverpool doesn't need to become Manchester. We have our own extraordinary assets and our own international identity. "Our culture, sport, music, universities, hospitality, waterfront and visitor economy give Liverpool something that many cities would spend millions trying to manufacture. The challenge now is to combine those strengths with technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, property investment and a much stronger corporate economy. "Perhaps that is what 'Liverpoolism' should be about." McKenna also stressed that economic growth must translate into opportunities for local people, with Liverpool's universities and further education institutions, including the City of Liverpool College, playing an important role in connecting skills provision with emerging sectors and new investment. He concluded: "For too long the national conversation about Liverpool has focused on what happened to the city - industrial decline, political battles, injustice and controversy. "That story is changing. "Liverpool is attracting investment, major developments are moving forward, Labour Conference is coming back, UKREiiF is coming to the city and we even have a Scouse Prime Minister. "There will never be a perfect moment when all the stars align for Liverpool, but there are moments when opportunity, confidence and political attention come together. "This feels like one of them. "Liverpool has got its mojo back. Now our business and civic leaders need to turn that confidence into investment, jobs and growth - and make damn sure we don't waste the opportunity." Downtown in Business

Kyndryl opens first EU AI Innovation Lab in Luxembourg. Published on Friday, 02 Oct 2026 14:30 by EO Rate this item: On Friday 2 October 2026, technology services provider Kyndryl announced the opening of its first AI Innovation Lab in the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg, specialising in agentic artificial intelligence (AI) and expected to create up to 250 jobs by 2030. Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) will serve as the lab's founding client and partner. According to Kyndryl, the Luxembourg lab will allow clients from different sectors to work with its experts to identify areas where AI could be applied, develop working prototypes and move towards their implementation. The facility will focus particularly on regulated environments, including the financial sector and government, where the use of AI involves requirements concerning areas such as governance, security and data protection. Kyndryl has been directly supervised by Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), since 2004 under its support Professional of the Financial Sector (PSF) status. The company is also designated as a critical third-party information and communication technology (ICT) service provider under the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). BIL will use the lab to explore how agentic AI could contribute to modernising business processes while maintaining standards related to governance, security and regulatory compliance. Petra Goude, President of Strategic Markets at Kyndryl, said: "We look forward to bringing Kyndryl's Agentic AI Framework, consulting and engineering expertise to clients across regulated industries and beyond, helping them unlock AI's potential and achieve measurable outcomes." Jeffrey Dentzer, CEO of BIL, added: "The Kyndryl AI Innovation Lab is a valuable opportunity to bring together BIL's deep banking expertise and Kyndryl's technology capabilities to turn innovation into concrete and measurable benefits for our clients. It will help us deliver simpler, more responsive services and better tools for our employees, while maintaining the strong security, responsible governance and trusted human advice that define our client relationships. The recent transfer of BIL employees to Kyndryl further strengthens this partnership." The Luxembourg facility joins Kyndryl's existing AI Innovation Labs in Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK), and Dallas, United States (US). According to Kyndryl's recently published modernisation study, 37% of European organisations ranked AI among their three main reasons for modernisation, compared with a global average of 34%. However, around half of European organisations reported falling behind in their modernisation initiatives, while 18% said their projects had so far delivered little value. Kyndryl said its network of AI Innovation Labs aimed to help clients move AI projects from initial ideas towards implementation.