He has become comms director at Liverpool Culture Company (LCC), which this week put two £150,000 accounts – for PR and public affairs –  up for tender.

The LCC is responsible for preparing the city for its culture status and is funded largely by Liverpool City Council, with extra backing from government and commercial partners.

Newman, who was most recently consultant director at Benchmark Sport, reports to LCC chief operating officer Jason Harborow. The
culture company's PR was previously managed by the council's press office.

The PR agency will be briefed with raising the profile of the European Capital of Culture 2008 and positioning Liverpool as a good place in which to invest, live and work. The PA brief concerns support from MPs and opportunities for extra funding.

This summer, LCC took on Weber Shandwick for PR and LLM Communications for PA, both of which are retained until January. It expects to draw up a five-strong shortlist for the fresh contracts in the new year.