THE Hidden Honchos scheme which paired entrepreneurs with social enterprises is helping to lay firm foundations for a £1.5m creative hub scheme in Sefton.
Hidden Honcho, an initiative run by Business in the Community, placed the managing director of PR and marketing firm Paver Smith, Dougal Paver, with Safe Productions.
Safe Productions creates public artworks with the community and also manages a creative cluster, which is based in the St Mary’s Complex, an old school building in Bootle.
Managing director Brian Dawe, who founded the company in 2000, has plans to move to a purpose-built location next to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal less than half-a-mile away.
He said: “Our big ambition – and what Dougal has been helping us with – is to build a purpose-built artists’ village on the Liverpool-Leeds Canal. It’s a £1.5m scheme.
“Through Dougal, I have been introduced to some of the biggest companies in Liverpool and, nationally, he has been instrumental.”
Mr Paver said: “Brian has an opportunity to take his business forward, based in part around a quite complex property transaction.
“We have got a lot of contacts and I have been able to call on friends in the network and get him a lot of valuable advice.”
Mr Paver’s willingness to be involved in Hidden Honcho was a result of the assistance he received early in his own business career.
He said: “I started my business when I was 29 and lots of people gave me advice and help, so it’s incumbent on us to help people out now.
“What’s lovely is Brian’s enthusiasm, he’s articulate and very bright, he gets people caught up in his enthusiasm, which he has got in spades – and he cares about it. You can see the value of it to the community groups.”
Safe Productions has been involved with the creation and installation of more than 70 artworks.
Mr Dawe added: “We create public artworks with the community.
“We work across a number of sectors – including housing, regeneration, health and education.
“It can be used as a tool to build self-esteem and pride in an area and be used to motivate people.”
TO FIND out how the other partnerships in the Hidden Honchos scheme got on, follow our coverage, continuing in next Tuesday’s Liverpool Daily Post.
