really afford to take but it’s where the game switched for me.
By Rob Kelly
“This isn’t a bit of Sunday League football and I needed to learn it and master it. I did and we’re probably one of the biggest HMO developers in the country.
“HMOs solve a big problem in this country as you look at the supply and demand of property and we cannot keep up.
“They’re great assets and are very much needed. With the cost-of-living crisis people just can’t afford homes, especially young people starting out in the workforce.”
Liv says that her business journey evolved from her sporting career. She is a former freestyle football world champion, a world record holder, a BBC sports presenter and global ambassador for UEFA.
LIV’S WINNING GOALS
From being a football world champion to setting new goals in property, Leyland’s Liv Cooke is redefining winning in life.
The former top level freestyle footballer has swapped sport for real estate - and this year, she’ll be stepping onto a new pitch as an Angel Investor on the Amazon TV programme Property Elevator.
The show hits our screens in the autumn and Liv will be offering aspiring property entrepreneurs the opportunity to get their deals funded. Despite some initial nerves about appearing, it was too good an opportunity to turn down.
She says: “I said no at first, and that’s because I saw the panel and I understood the magnitude of the show, and my instinct was. ‘Oh, my gosh, I don’t feel qualified enough.’
“They convinced me and gave me the confidence I needed to tell me, ‘No, you are absolutely qualified. Look at what you’ve built’ and now I’m so excited.”
Liv adds: “I’m only 26. I’m a young woman in this industry but when I look at the metrics going from zero to £75m in a few years, that’s probably better than these developers that I’m sitting next to.
“When I step back, I do deserve to be on this panel and I’ll let my work do the talking.”
Liv’s path in property saw her losing £80,000 in her first house of multiple occupation (HMO) and was part of her learning curve which propelled her to success.
She says: “Back then that was a loss I couldn’t Frankly Speaking
WHY THE COUNTY NEEDS A CAPITAL By Frank McKenna,
Downtown Lancashire in Business
Lancashire has always been a county of economic substance, industrial heritage, advanced manufacturing, energy, aerospace, and a growing professional services base. But what it lacks, and what increasingly holds it back, is a clear, confident economic centre of gravity.
Compare Lancashire to its neighbours. Greater Manchester has Manchester. The West Midlands has Birmingham; in West Yorkshire it’s Leeds. These places don’t just benefit from scale; they benefit from focus. Investment, policy attention, infrastructure, and talent all have somewhere to land. Lancashire, by contrast, too often feels like a
collection of competing towns rather than a single economic proposition.
If the county is serious about levelling up its performance, attracting inward investment, and speaking with a stronger voice to government, it needs to fix that. It needs a hub. And the obvious answer is Preston.
This isn’t about civic pride or parochial lobbying – it’s about practicality. Preston already functions as Lancashire’s administrative and civic capital. It has strong transport connectivity, sitting on the West Coast Main Line. It hosts a major university, a growing city centre economy, and – crucially – the capacity for further development.
She says of her sporting life: “I really learned discipline and handling pressure and the importance of repetition. But sport has a shelf life and I think that’s the bit no one really prepares athletes for.
“I was also making some decent money in the social media world, and I thought this isn’t going to last forever. My body, my asset, will not be able to do this my whole life.
“I needed to start securing my financial future and I thought ‘what better way than getting into property’, as everyone needs a house.”
She adds: “Being a young woman in property hasn’t always been easy as you’re often underestimated before you even speak and you soon learn to let your work do the talking.”
Liv says times are changing for women trying to reach top roles in business and has some advice for them. “Do it now. You’ve got to stop thinking and just take action. Nothing happens unless you take action.”
What Preston lacks is not potential, but designation.
By formally positioning Preston as Lancashire’s economic hub, public and private sector leaders can begin to align strategy. That means concentrating major office development, strengthening the professional services cluster, and ensuring transport investment prioritises connectivity into the city. It means using Preston as the focal point for engagement with Whitehall, investors, and international partners.
None of this diminishes the importance of places like Burnley, Blackburn, Lancaster, or Blackpool. On the contrary, a strong hub amplifies their prospects. Businesses in those towns benefit from proximity to a recognised centre, just as Bolton and Wigan benefit from Manchester’s gravitational pull.
The risk of doing nothing is clear: Lancashire continues to underperform, overshadowed by more coherent regional economies.
The opportunity, however, is equally clear. With the right leadership and a bit of collective discipline, Preston can become the engine room Lancashire has long needed.
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