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LIVERPOOL CITY REGION CHESTER MANCHESTER

May-June 2011

MOVE COMMERCIAL The north-west’s guide to property and business

SuperPort From the mouth of the Mersey to the heart of Manchester INTERVIEW Stephen Carr, Peel Ports

Issue 23

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You really should take a look @ our office space at centrix@newton Professional serviced offices, that are located in a local community with excellent access to all major road networks.

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BREEAM EXCELLENT OFFICES ON LIVERPOOL’S ICONIC WATERFRONT 3,500-43,584 SQFT (338-4,049 SQM) Like the last piece of your favourite jigsaw, No 1 Mann Island completes the dramatic transformation of one of the world’s best recognised waterfronts. This is a development that offers a package that’s not just complete, it’s excellent in every aspect.

Call Mark Worthington of CBRE on 0151 471 4971 or email mark.worthington@cbre.com for further enquiries.

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LIVERPOOL CITY OFFICES FROM 200-100,000 SQFT

WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THE FLEXIBILITY OF EASY-IN-EASY-OUT MONTHLY TERMS OR A LONGER LEASE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU. FIND OUT WHY WE’RE BETTER, CONTACT ROBIN ELLIS ON

OFFICES@DOWNING.COM

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Issue twenty-three Move Commercial

Contents News 06 Enterprise Zone for Mersey Waters 07 North West's multimillion investment 08 Innovative Liverpool halls of residence approved 09 Cronton colliery regeneration 10 The Capital refurbishment 11 Whitechapel new store planned 15 Wirral landmark for sale 16 NWDA sells assets 17 Leisure Park for Speke 18 Re-launched company storms ahead 19 Liverpool wins prestigious conference

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Welcome to Move Commercial In a very special maritime edition, Move Commercial explores every aspect of Liverpool’s biggest natural asset: its waterfront. With the Peel Ports masterplan about to be launched in June, we look at the future of the Port of Liverpool and Port Salford, as well as the current import and export industry of the Port of Liverpool. Each interview has been carefully selected with the nautical theme in mind, from

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Steve Potter of Bibby Line Group’s outlook on the shipping line, to Peel Ports’ head of development Stephen Carr discussing Liverpool’s rebirth as a key maritime city. Leading entrepreneur and president of the Liverpool Conservative Party Tony Caldeira talks to us about his global textiles business and Cammell Laird’s young star Sam Musgrave demonstrates the positive result of apprenticeships.

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Features 13 Bitesize Thinking Food for thought 24 Entrepreneur Tony Caldeira of Caldeira UK 28 Rising Star Sam Musgrave of Cammel Laird 30 Mover and Shaker Stephen Carr of Peel Ports 33 Lunch Debate Liverpool Cruise Terminal 36 Project Update SuperPort: From Port of Liverpool to Manchester Ship canal 40 Focus The Port of Liverpool 42 Founding Business Steve Potter of Bibby Line Group 46 Ask the panel North West’s transport connectivity

Key Events 21 V7 Launch Breakfast launch at the stunning V7 23 Liverpool Innovation Park New £4m business gateway

move publishing ltd Advertising Director Fiona Barnet Tel 0151 709 3871 Account Manager Jo Tait Tel 0151 709 3871 Editorial Team Dina Karim. Email: dina@movepublishing.co.uk Tel: 0151 709 3871 Emma Pinch. Email: emma@movepublishing.co.uk Tel: 0151 709 3871

Designer Rob Whyte. Email: rob@movepublishing.co.uk Published by Move Publishing Ltd Directors David O’Brien, Kim O’Brien, Fiona Barnet Printed by Precision Colour Printers Ltd Distribution Liaison Manager Barbara Troughton Tel: 0151 733 5492 Mobile: 077148 14662

Careers 44 Appointments Property movers and shakers

Copyright Move Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced copied or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the publishers written permission.

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, Move Publishing can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by advertisers.

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News Move Commercial

Enterprise Zone for Mersey Waters MERSEYSIDE is set to get a number of incentives attracting investment following the announcement that the government has chosen “Mersey Waters” as an Enterprise Zone.

The Mersey Waters Enterprise Zone will straddle both sides of the River Mersey and cover the area of two major regeneration projects focused on either side - Wirral Waters and Liverpool Waters.

They are being developed by The Peel Group, under the brand name Peel Waters.

The benefits that come with the Enterprise Zone status includes 100 per cent business rates discount for five years. This means that each business will receive discounts for five years from the start of its occupancy in the Zone, providing it enters the Zone by April 2015, subject to a maximum cap of £275,000.

A simplified and improved planning regime replaces the old legislation and superfast broadband will be installed and paid for by the Government in these zones which is in addition to the £13 million investment by Wirral Government to improve existing Broadband facility.

Wirral Waters is centred on the left bank of the river at the Birkenhead Docks and Liverpool Waters is focused towards the north of Liverpool city centre into the derelict dock areas adjacent to Princes Dock.

Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Jeff Green, commented: “The announcement by Government represents a fantastic additional vote of confidence from the Government in the future of Wirral’s economy. It is the culmination of discussions that I began in January with the Prime Minister and hard work carried out by Wirral, Peel Holdings and Liverpool City Council to deliver this announcement.

“Wirral Waters is already an attractive investment opportunity but its designation as an Enterprise Zone will allow us to offer tax incentives in the first years of occupancy which will give businesses locating on the site a great head start. This is particularly important

Richard Mawdsley, Development Manager for Peel, Cllr Jeff Green Leader of Wirral Council and Cllr Joe Anderson Leader of Liverpool City Council at the Wirral Waters site.

for SMEs who have the potential to grow, help to rebalance our economy and deliver jobs for local people.

“The joint Waters sites were seen as the Liverpool City Region LEP’s best area of ‘maximum opportunity’ and the simplified Planning regulations that go

with it will act as a catalyst for investment both sides of the river.

This announcement is another significant step in our efforts to put Wirral and the Liverpool City Region on the map as an area of significant opportunity and enterprise.”

LIVERPOOL INNOVATION PARK

Liverpool Innovation Park

LIVERPOOL Innovation Park’s new state-of-the-art reception and networking area has been officially launched this month.

The £4M scheme provides an impressive new business gateway to the prominent Edge Lane site and a 6

MOVE COMMERCIAL

5,000 sq ft WiFi-enabled networking facility where like-minded entrepreneurs can collaborate, exhibit products and services and access professional business support.

It is the product of a £2.5M investment from Liverpool Innovation

Park operator Space North West, and has been supported with a further £1.42M from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Park is operated by Space North West, a joint venture between Ashtenne Industrial Fund and the Northwest Regional

Development Agency.

Wayne Locke, Ashtenne’s regional director leading the LIP project, said: “The new reception area provides the perfect setting for like-minded entrepreneurs to innovate and collaborate, and it is a tremendous asset not only for the Park community, but the wider Merseyside knowledge sector also. It is just one of a number of ways in which we are working together to nurture and support Liverpool’s thriving Knowledge Sector.”

The new facility includes two meeting rooms, exhibition space, and a cafe, which all overlooks attractive landscaped gardens.

As part of the refurbishment works two ground floor Grade A office suites, comprised of 5,500 sq ft and 9,500 sq ft respectively, have been created adjacent to the reception, and are now available for rent.

Liverpool Innovation Park, which includes Wavertree Technology Park, is situated on one of the main arterial routes into Liverpool and is a key component of Merseyside’s knowledge economy.

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Move Commercial News

North West's multimillion investment

Mersey Multimodal Gateway CGI

OVER 100,000 new jobs will be created and safeguarded under Government plans announced by the Deputy Prime Minister to invest £450m in businesses across England.

The first round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) will see an expanded amount of public investment support nine Merseyside bids by companies and partnerships who demonstrated how they would create jobs and a high level of private sector-led sustainable economic growth in their local communities over the coming years.

The biggest winner of the bid is the Mersey Multimodal Gateway (3MG) who secured £9 million.

The partnership is made up of Stobart Group, Prologis and Halton borough Council to help with the development of the much-needed rail infrastructure and land remediation to bring brownfield land back to use. They plan to expand the freight park reclaiming acres of contaminated

land - creating 5,000 new jobs and attracting more blue chip retailers to the borough and making the movement of freight more sustainable.

Simon Jenkins, Senior Vice President at ProLogis said: “Rail freight has an important role to play in the distribution of goods to, from and within the UK, so we are delighted to see that the Government is actively supporting the principle of moving freight from road to rail.”

Other projects to win funding included: Kirkby-based Ames Goldsmith for a new industrial facility, Manchester’s former Royal Eye Hospital is set to become a new centre of excellence, St Helens glass manufacturers Pilkington for equipment to create a more efficient production technique, newspaper Liverpool ECHO will create a fund for small businesses and Muse Developments.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg commented: “This is a step towards rebalancing our economy

away from an unhealthy overreliance on a small number of industries and a few areas. We need to spread opportunity across the whole country, drawing on our many talents. I know that with the right support these businesses can work with their communities and together play their part in leading the country back into prosperity.”

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) in 2010 launched the Regional Growth Fund, and the first round of bidding ended on January this year. The Fund will provide a mixture of direct support for private sector investments and for some basic infrastructure to remove the barriers that trigger private sector led economic growth as part of a wider investment. Successful bids have demonstrated that they will create long term growth by levering private sector investment and jobs.

Ellesmere Port’s bright future ELLESMERE PORT has even more opportunities on offer for investment and development on a diverse range of available land across the town.

The recently established Ellesmere Port Development Board, a partnership of public and private sector expertise which compromises key stakeholders from the area’s biggest employers, is working to carve out a bright future for the town. Current activity is focused on establishing a framework for the future of the town which will set out economic, social and physical improvements over the next ten years.

A number of exciting projects are currently underway within the area including neighbourhood working as well as the building of a new school academy and West Cheshire College campus. There are plans for a significant number of new homes and the largest Marks and Spencer flagship store outside of London will be arriving soon. Ellesmere Port will also see a community motocross park and designs for the redevelopment of the waterfront.

Ellesmere Port

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News Development

Innovative Liverpool halls of residence approved ILIAD’S latest planning application for a 262-bedroom student accommodation scheme in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool has been approved. The plans include onsite management facilities, 28 parking spaces and communal student facilities such as a common room and launderette. The block was designed by award winning architect Tim Groom, of Formroom.

“This project sets a new standard in student accommodation,” said Formroom’s managing director, Tim Groom. “The creative design of the scheme offers a new type of better quality accommodation for students.

“We also wanted to incorporate the inherent confidence and personality of the City of Liverpool, so there’s a real playful element to

CGI of new Liverpool student accommodation

the building that will make it the talking point of the area.”

Moving away from conventional student accommodation design, 36 of the rooms will be individual studios which include their own

kitchen.

Combining personality with longevity, the street facing elevations at East Village will be constructed from black brick with traditional Georgian proportioned

windows that contain elements of contemporary detailing. Each block will also feature a coloured light around the parapet which allows the building to take on a different persona at night time.

Ellesmere Port rail head opens after 20 years

Ellesmere Port rail head

The re-opening of the Ellesmere Port rail head is the result of substantial investment by Peel Ports and Quality Freight in a receiving area and rail sidings.

The first train to use the new facility will bring a load of sand from Sibelco of King's Lynn destined for Quinn Glass of Elton, Cheshire. This will be a regular 8

MOVE COMMERCIAL

twice-weekly service, running every Wednesday and Friday.

Manchester Ship Canal general manager Dean Hammond said: "The rail head creates a truly multimodal facility at Ellesmere Port.

Our strategy is to promote choice for our customers, and hence it is vital that the necessary infrastructure is available to effect

modal shift where required.

"The Green agenda and increasing fuel costs have made rail attractive, removing congestion from the roads, with the Sibelco load now only having to travel the final five miles to its destination by road."

Quality Freight Group managing director Sebastian Gardiner, said: "This is a hugely exciting and

historic development for Ellesmere Port and one which we know from the trials we have conducted is going to benefit customers enormously over the coming months and years."

Gardiner said that talks were already underway with more potential users, with a car option being trialled.

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Development News

GREEN LIGHT FOR NEW PARK AT FORMER CRONTON COLLIERY

Euan Hall

PLANS for a new informal country park on the site of the former Cronton colliery, in Knowsley, have been given the green light to proceed.

The former colliery is among the first sites released by the Government accelerated approach to surplus land disposal. Ownership of the site has now been transferred over to the Land Trust who will oversee restoration, the sustainable development and management of the open space. The transfer also includes a financial endowment to cover all future management and provide some capital improvements.

“At long last, the Land Trust is proud to be able to start working towards opening up the former Cronton colliery which has cast a shadow over the local community for some time,” says Euan Hall, chief executive of the Land Trust.

“There is a lot of public support for the establishment of an informal country park at the colliery which has been agonisingly close to opening for a few years now.”

The Trust initially secured a grant to aid the colliery’s restoration, however plans for restoration and development into an informal

country park were mothballed after losing the funding during the economic crisis.

Cautious of the previous hurdle, the Trust warned that although there was enough money secured to make the necessary improvements for the park to be open long term.

Euan added: “We will be coming back to the community to liaise over plans for restoration and to a secure long-term future for the Cronton site as ecologically valuable open space which will greatly benefit both people and nature.”

The Home and Communities Agency, who was previously responsible for the land, accelerated disposal in order to push forward local delivery for developing sites.

Pat Ritchie, chief executive of the HCA, said: “We are leading the way by making more land available for development through a range of options that will help developers get on site more quickly and help communities access the homes, amenities and public space needed in their local area.”

Chester uni plans new student halls CHESTER University is planning a multi-million pound proposal for student accommodation on the University of Chester’s main campus, on the outskirts of the city centre.

The university will be submitting the planning application to Cheshire West & Chester Council in the next few months. If planning officers approve the scheme for self-contained units and enhanced sports facilities opposite the University’s Seaborne Library, construction work would start in late summer 2011, with the aim of completing the project the following year.

The scheme includes three blocks

CGI of new Chester halls

with self-contained units for 203 students, comprising a bedroom and study space, en-suite bathroom and galley kitchen. A new multi-use artificial pitch, new floodlit tarmac tennis courts and a new 100m athletics track are also planned.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Wheeler, said: “It was extremely encouraging to witness the almost universally positive reaction to the University’s modest plans for new facilities, which would address students’ needs and enable us to

remain competitive within a challenging market.

“The information sessions enabled us to clarify once again that this is the only accommodation proposal in which the University currently has an interest and to re-emphasise that the building would be within the existing campus boundaries.

“Our visitors told us that they appreciated the chance to hear at first-hand what the University had to say about its immediate accommodation needs.”

Award for employment law team

Sponsors David Sorensen, of DX and Martin Edwards

WEIGHTMANS has more than one reason to celebrate its merger with Mace & Jones, after its employment team was crowned ‘Employment Team of the Year’ at the Liverpool Law Society Awards. The Employment Team of the Year award was a highly contested accolade with competition from DWF and Hill Dickinson.

The victory comes as another member of the employment team, Laura Kearsley, has been shortlisted for Assistant Solicitor of the Year at The Lawyer Awards.

Martin Edwards who is now an employment partner at Weightmans collected the award on Saturday evening.

He said: “Everyone was delighted to take home ‘Employment Team of the Year’. For those formerly with Mace & Jones it was recognition of what they have brought to Weightmans: outstanding employment law expertise.”

Patrick Gaul, managing partner of Weightmans said: “This is great news for our employment team which is establishing Weightmans as one of the leading firms for employment law advice in the country.”

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News Lettings

Capital Refurb Marches On From London to Liverpool

Office suite in The Capital

THE LATEST phase of the multimillion pound refurbishment at The Capital has been unveiled by Downing.

The property group has put a 24,197 sq ft suite of Grade A equivalent office space on the market for let.

Active Profile Moves to Science Park NORTH WEST public relations and strategic marketing agency Active Profile has expanded into new premises at Liverpool Science Park.

Thanks to a strong business performance and new contract wins the agency, headed by entrepreneur Anna Heyes has moved from its first floor offices in Rodney Street into the Park’s Innovation Centre 1, off Mount

Pleasant. The new premises give the company around a third more space, plus access to the Park’s meeting rooms and shared facilities.

Managing director Anna Heyes said: “Liverpool Science Park is one of the fastest growing science parks in the UK and we are looking forward to becoming a part of the science park community.”

Anna Heyes (2nd from left) and team

10 MOVE COMMERCIAL

A new hub has been established in the building with tenants including supermarket giant Tesco, Cinnamon café and florist

Flowery Hazel, and Downing is in negotiations with other operators to add to its retail mix.

The company also recently unveiled a new entrance to its car park, located on Old Hall Street, to improve its accessibility into the commercial district.

Ann Lodge, chief executive of Downing, said: “This is the last chance for businesses to move into Liverpool’s best office building in the heart of the Commercial District and the suite offers occupiers unrivalled efficiency, quality and value for money.”

“We will continue investing in The Capital to ensure it has the highest quality space and offers facilities that tenants and the wider commercial district, can benefit from.”

For more information on the available space at The Capital please visit www.downing.com or call 0151 707 2666.

NEW AGENTS FOR FEDERATION HOUSE Federation House

KNIGHT FRANK and Mason Owen have been appointed by property group Downing to market 5,650 sq ft of office space at Federation House on Hope Street.

Set in the heart of the city’s cultural quarter Federation House is a fully refurbished, five floor, mixed use building with a uniquely designed, sculptured concrete façade and a secure off-street car park. Current tenants include Liverpool Philharmonic, charity Mencap

and restaurant chain, Ego. The space to let is located across three floors with suites of 3,150 sq ft, which can be split, and further suites of 600. 850 and 1,050 sq ft on the 4th and 5th floors.

Andrew Owen, head of office agency at Mason Owen, said:”The suites are already generating good levels of enquiries and we’re anticipating that this will continue over the coming weeks.”

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News Retail

WHITECHAPEL NEW STORE PLANNED Forever 21 CGI

LIVERPOOL city centre could soon welcome a large retail store if planning is approved.

Royal London Asset Management

has submitted the planning application to construct Forever 21’s flagship new store in the key city retail site on the corner of Whitechapel and Church

Street. US-founded Forever 21 has 480 stores worldwide and has recently been described in a British national newspaper as ‘the retailer of

the moment’, and ‘a fast fashion phenomenon’. Currently there is only one branch of Forever 21 in the UK which opened earlier this year in Birmingham. The retailer has plans to open further stores in London and Glasgow.

If successful, the building in central Liverpool will be demolished and a 46,000 sq ft store, over five floors. The project will create 200 jobs as well creating extra footfall for the retail heart of the city. Designed by Architects DLG in conjunction with Forever 21’s in-house architects based in San Francisco, Liverpool store could be open for trading by November next year if planning permission is granted in July and vacant possession achieved by September.

Larry Meyer, Executive Vice President, Forever 21 said: “This location in Liverpool is another strong step of our expansion within the UK and Europe.

We are extremely excited to have found a great store space in a location where our customers will appreciate our brand.

The size of this store will allow us to offer a great range of products at great value to fashion conscious and trend driven shoppers in the area.”

Observatory Attraction Opens A NEW science discovery centre at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire has opened to the public.

The £3m project, which was managed by Capita Symonds and designed by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, includes a new entrance building, the Planet Pavilion, and a new Space Pavilion for exhibitions and events.

The 10,000 sq ft centre also includes a glass-walled café with views of the 76-metre Lovell telescope, an education space and landscaping of the gardens.

The Jodrell Bank Observatory is part of The University of Manchester, which said the main

The Jodrell Bank Observatory

aim of the discovery centre is to inspire young scientists and connect them to "cutting-edge research" as it happens.

The project was made possible

by an investment of £1.9m by the North West Development Agency and £1m by the European Regional Development Fund, plus £600,000 from the university.

Teresa Anderson, the centre's director, said: "We're really looking forward to welcoming lots of new people to Jodrell Bank in the next few months and years.”

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Move Commercial Bitesize thinking

EMILY D’AMBROSIO

Vital statistics

Regional manager of Ashtenne Space Northwest, which runs Liverpool Innovation Park.

Is the current student population in Liverpool. According to UCAS the number of student applications to Liverpool for the academic year 2011-12 is up by 2.5 per cent. Experts say the increase will put pressure on the existing volume of student accommodation – which might spell good news for property investors.

In my crystal ball…

I see both the physical and digital infrastructure offered by commercial landlords really stepping up a gear in the next couple of years. It’s widely recognised that knowledge-based businesses have a key role to play in the future growth of the region’s economy, and these companies need 21st century infrastructure; such as superfast broadband and easily adaptable premises.

The exciting £1m FibreNet project currently underway to bring 10Gbps broadband connection to businesses in Liverpool is one such example of the digital developments in store, as is the arrival of further data centres on Edge Lane in 2011 to accommodate future demand for cloud services across the Northwest.

&

Home Away FAVOURITE BUILDINGS

Mark Coulthurst, Mason Owen Mark Coulthurst, associate in business premises department at property agent Mason Owen, was tasked with choosing his favourite building in the UK and abroad to share with Move Commercial readers.

‘Turn Key Solutions’ Buzzword Meaning: A product or service supplied, installed or purchased ready for immediate use. Often used in the same breath as innovative, bespoke and holistic thinking.

Especially popular with commercial property developers, who actually have more claim than most to use of the term, providing as they do, a product arrived at via a key, which is

indeed, turned.

However, thanks to widespread overuse from recruitment types to IT repair persons, this phrase is in danger of entering into annoying jargon territory. While we’re on the subject - “solution”.

What exactly is it you’re solving?

A crossword clue? Disappearance of the dinosaurs? How about a solution for swapping lazy jargon for exactly what you mean?

Photo credit VisitCornwall

If only I’d known….

That the property market downturn would last this long and the difficulties this would pose to landlords. As a proactive landlord it is extremely important to have a positive relationship with your tenants, and now more so than ever.

By opening up good channels of communication, taking the time to really understand a tenant’s needs, and being as flexible and accomodating as possible, it lets tenants know they are a valued client in your business.

53,000

Lanhydrock House

Sydney Opera House

He said: “My favourite building in Britain is Lanhydrock House in Bodmin, Cornwall. It is the perfect country house and estate, set at the bottom of a long driveway. It is particularly atmospheric and you can almost feel the presence of the family that once lived there. I’ve visited the house on numerous occasions and what makes it particularly poignant is that the life the family had there was cruelly wiped out in World War 1, as it was in homes across the country.”

Abroad Mark’s favourite building is Sydney Opera House. “It is such an iconic and outlandish building that you can’t miss it when you arrive in Sydney Harbour,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to visit Sydney a couple of times and have had a great experience visiting the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

They are memories I will never forget and I hope to repeat them again soon.”

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Switch House, Netherton. L30 7PT

TO LET

Offering the best small office suites in North Liverpool.

785 sqft to 3,434 sqft

58 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BZ

SELF-CONTAINED OFFICES TO LET

2,120 SQFT (197 SQM) Hope Street is acknowledged for its commercial, educational and cultural diversity whilst nearby Rodney Street is home to many of the city’s professionals.

Excellent restaurants and cafe bars are just a couple of minutes’ walk away.

ANDREW OWEN

0151 242 3120

andrew.owen@masonowen.com PAUL THORNE

0151 242 3152

paul.thorne@masonowen.com

14 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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Commercial News

Historical Wirral landmark for sale LOCAL property expert Mason Owen has been instructed to market the Bidston Observatory complex.

The complex contains three plots, each of which is for sale separately and includes the Grade II listed Victorian observatory and surrounding land, the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory and surrounding land and the site of the former Braehead Cottages, which lie outside the listed wall on the main access road.

Set in an open space atop the Bidston Ridge, the three plots extend to approximately 45,000 sq ft.

The former Bidston Observatory plot measures 14,500 sq ft, and is set in mature landscaped gardens and include offices, residential accommodation and car parking.

The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory’s site extends to approximately 29,100 sq ft. It includes a four-storey laboratory and office facility. It is held on a 99year round lease dated June 1 1973 from Wirral Borough Council, at a current rent of £1,800 per annum.

The former Braehead cottages plot is a potential residential development site to the east of the

Bidston Observatory

observatory measuring 0.17 acres.

Situated in heathland designated as open space in the local development plan, it is suitable for hotel, leisure or residential use.

Andrew Owen, head of business space at Mason Owen, said: “This is

a unique opportunity to buy a piece of local history.

“These lots are available individually and each one offers a prime development opportunity for residential, leisure and hotel. We are confident that this complex will

Helping hand for graduate entrepreneurs THREE leading North West centres for innovation have joined forces to help

Liverpool Science Park

young entrepreneurs expand their wings across the region.

Graduate i-pass is a new initiative created by Liverpool Science Park, Manchester Metropolitan University’s business incubator Innospace and the University of Chester’s new Riverside Innovation Centre. It allows graduates and start-up tenants to access facilities across the three sites. The facilities offer guest day passes, free wireless connection, use of communal facilities and the option to book meeting rooms.

In September 2010 Liverpool Science Park opened a Graduate Enterprise Centre exclusively for new and recent graduates starting out in science and knowledge-based sectors. The 24-hour facility provides tenants with all the of the necessary ingredients they need to build a business, including low cost, short term lease options.

attract a lot of attention from interested parties.”

This iconic landmark and occupies a central position on the Wirral, easily accessible by road and rail, and five miles from Liverpool city centre and 23 miles from Chester.

CBRE advises on £10.45m office investment THE NORTH WEST Capital Markets team at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has advised Kenyan-based Sammer Group on the £10.45m purchase of the Barclays call centre in Wavertree, Liverpool.

The 94,000 sq ft office has 12 years remaining on its lease and is home to Barclays personal telephone banking and Barclaycard operations with over 1,200 employees. The bank has occupied the premises since 1988 and is one of the largest call centres in Barclays’ portfolio.

Robin Jones, senior surveyor in the Capital Markets team, commented: “Although the UK is feeling the effects of the recession and Government cut-backs, this deal highlights that the UK, and the North West in particular, are still attractive targets for international investors.”

King Sturge advised the vendor on the sale.

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News Commercial

NEW PRESCOT PUBLIC SERVICES SECTOR KNOWSLEY Council has agreed to fund a £1.2m programme to create a new public services centre in Prescot.

The proposals will see the town’s one stop shop, library and museum brought together into the current one stop shop building in Prescot Town Centre.

Major refurbishment work will be carried out to improve the current building and make it suitable to accommodate the library and museum services.

The proposal is expected to support the regeneration of Prescot Town Centre by increasing footfall in the shopping centre to help revitalise the town centre and surrounding areas.

The refurbishment will provide modern, fit-for-purpose facilities for the one stop shop, library and museum services. The council will conduct a competitive tender exercise in the near future to appoint a contractor to carry out the works.

It is anticipated that construction work will begin in October and the new facilities will open early in 2012.

Mike Harden, Knowsley Council deputy chief executive, said: “In the current financial climate with the severe budget pressures we face, the savings we can make with this programme will help to protect these key services for people who live in Prescot, along with those who work in or visit the town.”

In addition to the new public services centre, the council is also investing heavily in new leisure facilities for Prescot and the development of a strategic framework to shape the future shape and prosperity of the town.

16 MOVE COMMERCIAL

NWDA sells assets

The Transport and General Workers’ Union Building

AHEAD of the planned closure of the North West Development Agency in March 2012, the NWDA is planning to sell seven substantial sites it owns on the open market.

The sales are part of the Government announcement to dispose of the property and land assets owned by

Regional Development Agencies. In an NWDA plan looking at assets it identified the key eight sites that would go on the open market, stating that these sites had been identified because of their less strategic nature to the NWDA. The sites about to be disposed of include the Speke Freeholds in

Merseyside,which are strips of land located along Speke Boulevard and Wirral International Business Park on Ferry View. This development land is under a two phase scheme. Phase one will include five new industrial units ranging from 6,000 sq ft to 45,000 sq ft.

Lea Green Industrial Estate in St Helens is also on the list as well as Hooton Business Park at Ellesmere Port, which is a site of 23 acres of development land near the Vauxhall plant. The NWDA is also disposing of two and a half acres of development land at Rossmore Road, Ellesmere Port.

The list is completed by Station Road in Silloth, Cumbria and Borders Business Park, Cumbria. The Transport and General Workers’ Union Building in Liverpool city centre is also on the list, but was sold last year to Unite and is now occupied by the Unite union.

NWDA has a large, varied and complex portfolio of assets and liabilities. The broad thrust of their proposed approach is to divest themselves of assets and liabilities prior to closure.

South Liverpool NHS Treatment Centre opens its doors THE BRAND new South Liverpool NHS Treatment Centre has opened and is offering a wide range of NHS services.

The Treatment Centre, located on the site of the former Sir Alfred Jones Memorial Hospital on Church Road, in Garston, includes an NHS Walk-in Centre, providing treatment for minor injuries and illnesses without the need for an appointment.

Gideon Ben-Tovim, Chair of Liverpool PCT, said: “It is a fantastic facility that will serve not only the people of South Liverpool but the whole city. Having so many services under one roof is a real opportunity for us to drive health improvement and ensure services previously only housed within hospitals, are now available in the local community, making them much more accessible to patients.”

The site will also house a drop-in

sexual health service, offering advice and counselling. The centre will host a wide range of community clinics and specialist treatment, including Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), gynaecology, dermatology, urology, dietics (food and nutrition advice), mental

health, and IV therapy. A pharmacy and community cafe are also on site.

Some of the services offered at the Treatment Centre were previously provided from temporary accommodation on Banks Road, Garston.

Garston NHS Treatment Centre

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Commercial News

Royal Mail set to sell Liverpool asset

LEISURE PARK FOR SPEKE

Royal Mail workshop

ROYAL MAIL has put a substantial road transport workshop situated in the iconic Cains Brewery in Liverpool on the market at £795,000.

Mason Owen has been instructed to sell the 34,000 sq ft industrial premises including two storey offices, concertinal loading doors, seven metre eaves, HGV inspection pits and overhead crane. In addition there is an enclosed yard and car park set within the total site area of 1.68 acres.

Paul Thorne, of Mason Owen’s business space team, said: “We are delighted to represent Royal Mail as sole agents on this property which offers a rare opportunity to own good quality freehold industrial accommodation close to the Liverpool city centre.”

Mersey Leisure CGI

PLANS have been submitted for the first phase of a multimillion pound development which would transform a key gateway into Liverpool and create hundreds of jobs in one of the city's most deprived areas.

The leisure and entertainment development, which is being backed by the Liverpool City Council leader Joe Anderson, would be on a 15-acre brownfield site adjacent to New Mersey Retail Park in Speke. The scheme, to be called Mersey Leisure, would see the creation of a mixed-used development including hotels, a multi-screen cinema, gym, hotels and restaurants.

The first phase of the development,

costing about £30m, would lead to the creation of about 325 permanent jobs and could be open by the end of 2012. It is expected that a further 400 people would be employed during the construction phase and that the first phase, would contribute about £5.5m to the local economy.

The development site is a key arrival and departure gateway for visitors arriving in Liverpool from the airport and the M56 from Cheshire and North Wales. The plans were submitted by UK property developer Benmore Group, which already has a a cinema operator and restaurant and hotel operators lined up.

David Burrows, chief executive at Benmore, said: “This development is wholly positive for the ongoing renaissance of the Speke/Garston area and will complement existing developments and bring activity to the area during the evenings.”

Nick Kavanagh, director of regeneration at Liverpool City Council, said: “Our focus is to work with the private sector to ensure the continued renaissance in spite of difficult economic circumstances so it’s very encouraging to see schemes like this, funded entirely by the private sector, coming to fruition.”

Designs revealed for Ellesmere Port academy

University Church of England Academy

KIER has been announced preferred bidder for the new £20m University Church of England Academy complex in Ellesmere Port. The designs for the 1,350-pupil school in Whitby Road, which will see the existing

north and south campuses merging into a single facility, were revealed, and include eight sports pitches, a theatre and state-ofthe-art science laboratories.

Kier Northern will build the new academy building, which is

scheduled for completion by Christmas 2012, on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council, and will consult the academy and community to fully develop the detail of the designs.

The striking modern facility will

have drama and performance areas, a creative learning centre, media centre and 550-seat theatre, as well as fully integrated special needs provision, multi-level reflection space, internal gardens and a courtyard. Sports facilities will include two full-size football pitches, six multi-sports courts and outdoor fitness areas. Open landscaped areas, allotments and a pond complete the grounds.

Academy principal Kevin McDermott said: “The new building will be more than a school, it will be an icon for our community; it will enable our students to live their dreams and it will ensure our talented staff can best support outstanding teaching and learning. Our students, staff and community deserve this.”

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News Property

Relaunched company storms ahead From London to Liverpool

Jeanette Jones

WELL-ESTABLISHED commercial finance firm Mcgiveron Associates has re-launched under the new guise of Complete Commercial Finance, taking independent financial advice to new levels.

With over 30 years experience Jeanette Jones, director of the rebranded business, is taking advantage of the floundering economic climate using the wealth of contacts and knowledge she has to get the best deals for customers. The company can assist with everything from corporate and commercial finance to bridging finance.

Jeanette has managed to create a relatively unrivalled panel of lenders, striking up a rapport with both high street lenders and bespoke finance groups. By developing a close working relationship with relevant commercial bank managers, she maintains accurate knowledge of the current lending criteria; ensuring all applications are presented and considered efficiently. This along with her access to private investors and being a member of the NACFB (National Associates of Commercial

Brokers) makes it difficult to imagine a financial query outside of her capability. She offers assistance to obtain the right commercial finance package for all types of businesses, whether they are established trading business or new start ups or even a business looking to obtain finance for franchises.

Jeanette said: “We are fully aware that many trading businesses are suffering with the age old problem of cash flow. These situations normally arise due to waiting for payment on invoices as every tier of business is feeling the squeeze in the current economic climate, keeping costs down for firms is a fundamental part of their everyday business; there are various ways that Complete Commercial Finance can look to assist with tackling this continuing problem.”

As well as trading businesses, Complete Commercial Finance can assist property developers and Landlords by providing portfolio finance as well as buy-to-let mortgages for investment properties across the whole of market.

CBRE's innovative marketing CB RICHARD ELLIS, in conjunction with Joint agents Hitchcock Wright, is offering a no-nonsense marketing approach at Wellington Building, located on Liverpool’s prestigious waterfront.

Tim Garnett, North West office agent at CB Richard Ellis, commented: “We have begun a no-nonsense marketing approach at Wellington Building. There’s no negotiation needed – for a three-year lease it’s £1 per sq ft in year one, and £7 per sq ft per annum in years two and three. Alternatively, suites can be taken on licence offered on a flat rate, which is 18 MOVE COMMERCIAL

simple to understand.

Initial response from the market has been very positive, appreciating the simplicity and flexibility of the deals on offer.”

Wellington Building is a prime business location, which benefits from

Wellington Building

excellent views over the River Mersey.

A range of space is available, from

small offices of 150 sq ft to larger offerings in excess of 10,000 sq ft.

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Awards News New judges for RICS awards SIX property experts have taken on the tough task of joining the judging panel for the 2011 RICS North West Awards.

The annual awards scheme is organised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and recognises the North West’s most innovative and inspirational initiatives and developments in land, property, construction and the environment.

They are Will Rees MRICS a partner at Liverpool-based chartered surveyors Rees Straw, Hannah Thorne MRICS, assistant director at Drivers Jonas Deloitte and Neil Bailey, of Morgan Ashurst, the construction arm of multimillion pound property group Morgan Sindall. Jane Thompson MRICS, Managing Director of North West property consultancy Miller Metcalfe Commercial, also joins the panels, as well as Janet Richmond, Head of Learning, Development & Special Projects at Harvest Housing Group, and Richard Heap, of leading construction company Mansell.

Notable projects include the restoration of a historic church, a new boutique hotel set in a Victorian industrial building, a refurbished castle, brand new highly sustainable city centre office and retail buildings, community-led projects and a number of innovative housing schemes.

The RICS North West Awards winners will be revealed on 12 May.

Liverpool wins prestigious conference THE PRESTIGIOUS Global Entrepreneurship Congress, run by US-based Kauffman Foundation, is set to come to Liverpool next year.

The bid, written by Liverpool Vision, the city’s economic development company, whose executive underwent a competitive interview, beat off strong competition from the United Arab Emirates, Chile and Denmark.

Liverpool now becomes the first UK and European city to hold an event which attracts hundreds of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, thought leaders and economists from more than 100 countries.

Previous host cities are Kansas City in 2008, Dubai in 2009 and Shanghai, the host city for this year’s Congress.

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, who led the bid team, said: “We want to create the conditions in which innovators and entrepreneurs can thrive and that has never been more important than now.

Liverpool is improving economically but we need to do so more quickly by encouraging enterprise and having the private and public sectors working

Liverpool Echo Arena

more closely together.”

Delegates will hear from world leaders, economists and other experts regarding programs, policies and research aimed at advancing entrepreneurship.

The Kauffman Foundation is a nonprofit foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri, US, working to understand further the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and advance entrepreneurship education and training efforts.

Carl Schramm, president and CEO of

the Kauffman Foundation, said: “The power of the message put forward by Liverpool Vision about Liverpool's interest—and the many expansions of entrepreneurship that were pointed out in the application that characterized modern Liverpool as a city truly committed to entrepreneurship—were very decisive.”

The Congress will take place at the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool in March 2012 with a number of fringe events taking part across throughout the week.

CHRIS CONNOR WINS 'OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION'

Mason Owen collect award

DIRECTOR of Mason Owen Chris Connor was named as the inaugural winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Merseyside Property award at Insider’s Merseyside Property Dinner. Connor was recognised by his peers as an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to property and regeneration in the Liverpool area.

Chris Connor said: “I am absolutely delighted but shocked to have won this award. It is great to be recognised, especially as it is

voted by my peers and I was up against so many other well-known figures in property.”

During his speech, he paid tribute to working for a great company, Mason Owen, and with a fantastic team. Connor is a key figure in the city’s professional networks; he previously chaired the Merseyside Property Forum before it merged with Professional Liverpool and is the driving force behind the Liverpool Cannes Do event at the end of MIPIM week.

MOVE COMMERCIAL 19

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FOR SALE/TO LET V7, KINGS BUSINESS PARK, KNOWSLEY PRESTIGIOUS GRADE A OFFICE BUILDING

FROM UP TO 7,000 SQ FT 34,055 SQ FT

188 CAR PARKING SPACES

Further details are available through the joint agents:Mark Worthington CBRE E: mark.worthington@cbre.com T: 0151 471 4971

20 MOVE COMMERCIAL

Andrew Owen Mason Owen E: andrew.owen@masonowen.com T: 0151 242 3120

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V7 Launch Key events

By Dina Karim dina@movepublishing.co.uk

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V7 guests receive Kings Breakfast Guests attended the breakfast launch at the stunning V7 on King’s Business Park, Knowsley, hosted by agents CBRE and Mason Owen, on behalf of Maghull Developments Ltd. The grade ‘A’ office building comprises 34,055 sq ft and is available over two floors. All guests had their cars washed and dried and received a bottle of wine. There was also a prize draw, which was won by Liz Durrant from Property Week, the prize being a round of golf at the prestigious Formby Hall Golf Resort with dinner and an overnight stay for four people.

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1. Mike Hanlon (Maghull Developments Ltd), Lesley Martin Wright (Knowsley Chamber of Commerce), Andrew Ferguson (Investment and Development Manager, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley). 2. Andrew Owen (Mason Owen). 3. James Worthington (BNP Paribas Real Estate), Steve Manifold (Nolan Redshaw), Steve Brittle (BNP Paribas Real Estate). 4. Mark Parker (Maghull Developments Ltd), John Brown (Knight Frank), Adam Carter (Maghull Developments Ltd). 5. Helen Moss (King Sturge Commercial), Steven Gleane (Dixon Webb). 6. Mark Worthington (CBRE), Mike Hanlon (Maghull Developments Ltd), Mark Parker (Maghull Developments), Andrew Owen (Mason Owen). 7. Tony Reed (Keppie Massie), Robin Evans (Matthews & Goodman), Jon Swain (Mason & Partners), Robert Diggle (Edward Symmons). 8. The V7 building. 9. Neil Kirkham (Hitchcock Wright & Partners), Mark Worthington (CBRE), Phil Meakin (P3 Property Consultants). 10. Vince Sandwell and Joss Baxendale (BE Property Group), Stephen Gleave (Dixon Webb), Matthew Pochin (Lamont). 11. Paula Hanlon (Maghull Developments Ltd), Gary Anderson (Maghull Developments Ltd), Lesley Martin Wright (Knowsley Chamber of Commerce), Liz Durrant (Property Week). 12. John Brown (Knight Frank), Jon Swain (Mason & Partners), Stuart Keppie (Keppie Massie).

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GRADE GRA DE A REFU URBISH HED REFURBISHED OFFI ICE SPACE SP PACE OFFICE

THE RECE RECEPTION EPTION @ LIVERPOOL LIVERP POOL INNOVATION INNOVATTIO ON PARK PARK A // // // // // // //

5,500 sq ftt & 9,500 sq ft of office fice spa space ace TTraining raining i i fa ffacilities acilities iliti High spee speed ed connectivity Exhibition space Meeting pods pods Onsite carr parking A Available vvailable on flexible lease terms

Liverpool Innovation Liverpool Innova ation Park Park 360 Edge Lane Liverpool Liv erpool L7 9NW W

22 MOVE COMMERCIAL

NOW N OW AVAILABLE AVAILABLE

ALL A LL ENQUIRIES ENQUIRIES CONTACT: CONTACT:

0151 261 46655

Tel: Teel: 0151 2611 4665 info@ @liverpoolinnovationpark.coo.uk Email: info@liverpoolinnovationpark.co.uk Website: Website: www.liverpoolinnovationpark.co.uk ww ww.liverpoolinnovationpark.co.uk

0151 258 1995

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21st Century Innovation Key events

Liverpool Innovation Park unveils new £4m business gateway More than 70 leading business figures, entrepreneurs and academics turned out for the VIP launch of Liverpool Innovation Park’s new £4m reception, networking hub and grade A offices in April.

Special guests, including some of the park’s award-winning tenants, enjoyed a champagne reception before the networking and presentations, compered by Liverpool Vision’s Chief Executive Max Steinberg.

Addressing the audience, Liverpool City Council’s deputy leader Cllr Paul Brant described the site as a “beacon of innovation in Liverpool and the Northwest region.”

New facilities include WiFi-enabled training and meeting rooms, exhibition space, semi-private meeting pods, a café/bistro area, and two Grade A office suites comprised of 5,500 sq ft and 9,500 sq ft respectively.

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1. All the speakers: Prof Dennis Kehoe of AIMES, Cllr Paul Brant of Liverpool City Council, Sarah Lindsay of Ashtenne, Max Steinberg of Liverpool Vision. 2. Sarah Norris, Andy Barton, (e-blueprint), Garry Bain (sdesign1), Martin Dobson (Easy-Web-Page Ltd), Eve Labeque (Easy Read Online). 3. Dennis Kehoe (AIMES Grid Services CIC), Sarah Lindsay (Ashtenne Space Northwest), Stuart Keppie (Keppie Massie). 4. Chris McGough (Ashtenne), Stephen Sykes (emansys). 5. Graham Knott (Eastern Approaches Business Leaders), Emily D’Ambrosio (Ashtenne Space Northwest). 6. Dr Mark Tock (Liverpool Innovation Park), Chris Musson (Liverpool Science Park), John Heawood (Ashtenne Space Northwest). 7. Gareth Price, (Liverpool John Moores University), Karl Bamford (NHS Innovations), Nick Taylor (e-blueprint), Louise Baldock, (Local Marketing Liverpool).

8. Andrew Price (Mansell), Phil Simpson (WYG Engineering Ltd), Keith Beckett (Todd & Ledson LLP) 9. Natalie Frankland (Claremont), Tony Reed (Keppie Massie), David Sayer (GVA). 10. Elizabeth Halliday (Science Gen), Dr Andy Round (SPARK Impact). 11. Ken Bishop (DTZ), Sarah Lindsay (Ashtenne Space Northwest), Chris Lloyd (DTZ).

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By Dina Karim dina@movepublishing.co.uk

Liverpool businessman Tony Caldeira is what legends are made of. In a modern retelling of rags to riches, from a market stall to a multi-million business, he’s leading the way in the global textiles market with Caldeira UK, and heading up the Liverpool Conservative Party.

Cushion King

24 MOVE COMMERCIAL

warehouses and set up in the market stall.

“It was a step by step process, when we first started we had the stall at the back of the house where we made the cushions. Then when I left university we took up a small starter unit in St Helens, and we had half a dozen staff there, but we outgrew that and eventually ended up in Knowsley.”

Fast-forward nearly twenty years and Caldeira UK is Britain’s market leader in the supply of cushions, throws and seat pads to volume retailers. The multi award winning

monster; it’s a quarter of a million sq ft building, about the same size as a football ground. We’ve been hugely successful with the Chinese commercial property, although in the UK the market is very depressed, in China the commercial property market is booming; the factory has doubled in price in the last two years. We’ve also got a currency gain, so from a commercial aspect investing in China has been a very good thing.

“In China, the Chinese authorities don't want the Chinese to invest in the residential property market at

“

We’ve got British and Liverpool inspired products that we make either in Liverpool or China and sell them all over the world.

“

When I meet with cushion king Tony Caldeira at Lunya, in Liverpool ONE, for breakfast, I count my blessings this talented entrepreneur was able to meet me between jet setting to New York or China - or leafleting on the streets of Everton.

Over a Catalan breakfast, we talk about all things Caldeira, from a market stall to a multi-million pound textiles business, and his political ambitions as president of the Liverpool Conservative party.

A local lad at heart, both his home and business are based in Liverpool, but he shrugs off the celebrity status his political leanings and millionaire position might bring him, instead praising his “superstar mother.” In fact the story of Caldeira is now legendary in Liverpool.

The textiles business started on a stall at Great Homer Street market, in Liverpool, growing very quickly from there, at 50 per cent a year every year for nearly 15 years.

“A friend of the family had a market stall selling fabrics, and at Christmas time he used to turn his offcuts into cushions. He knew my mother had a sewing machine, as she worked in the factory, so he asked her to make the cushions.

However, after Christmas the work ran out so we decided to pool all our resources together - my mother was a bit of a superstar as she raised myself and both my sisters up by herself in a council house in St Helens. We pooled all our money together and bought a couple of sewing machines and started buying offcuts from curtain

company has become successful due to its customer focus and its continued commitment to product development.

Not content with supplying over 20 countries around the world, Caldeira UK now has a factory in China and a showroom on Fifth Avenue, New York. In late 2008 they also acquired Fabric Warehouse, a 14-store retail chain which sells fabrics, textiles and home furnishings.

“The Chinese factory is a

the moment, they're only allowed to have two properties (because of the boom in house prices), so a lot of the money is going to the commercial side. The beauty of the Chinese operation is that it made us competitive globally, so what we would do is design products here in Liverpool and then we could get them made either in the factory in Knowsley depending on where the fabric comes from, or in China. So we’ve got British and Liverpool inspired products that we make

either in Liverpool or China and sell them all over the world.

“Our products are split into two different types, you’ve got our high quality end where the fabrics are produced in Europe and brought into Liverpool. By having a local factory it helps us turn around products quickly and by keeping the factory in Knowsley, it has given us a competitive edge over rivals because as well as being more flexible and having our top range, we can combine the best of East and West. And China is becoming more expensive; the Chinese people are looking for a better standard of living, and they don’t want to work in a factory all day for buttons.”

Caldeira UK also exhibits in global fairs, their latest client is Mexico’s biggest department store, ironically called Liverpool, where they will be selling Liverpool-inspired cushions - most likely Beatles-themed.

It’s the man behind the legend, behind the multi-million business that I want to learn about, so as we finish the delicious Catalan breakfast, over a warming coffee in the comfortable surroundings of this little eatery we discuss Tony’s drive and ambitions.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial, having the upbringing I’ve had - I’ve still got the attitude that if you haven't got anything to lose then go for it. I still enjoy running a business, and building it, it’s great fun being a boss, I only answer to my customers.”

What, you may not know though, is that Tony Caldeira also happens to be a political bigwig in Conservative party circles, and is

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Tony Caldeira Entrepreneur

Caldeira file HQ: Caldeira UK, Villiers Road, Knowsley Business Park, Liverpool; Caldeira China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; Caldeira USA, 5th Avenue, New York; The Fabric Warehouse, Villiers Road, Knowsley Business Park.

Sales Figures: £22 million (2009), £25 million (2010 estimate) Awards: Richard Branson, Sunday Times/ Virgin Atlantic, Fast Track 100; Cathay Pacific - Rising Star Award 2007p; Liverpool Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2007 Downtown Liverpool in Business; North West Business in China award – 2006; National Business Awards - SME of the Year 2006; Ernst and Young - Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004; Best of British Industry Awards Next Generation Award 2006

the president of the Liverpool Conservative Party.

“The Conservative Party in Liverpool for a long time was in the doldrums, and I was asked by the then shadow chancellor George Osbourne (who I’ve done work with in China) if I could help

revitalise the party. So for the last four years I’ve been helping improve the fortunes of the Conservative Party in the city, were we hadn’t had the best of reputations. Although we still have no representation in the city, in the last general election the

conservative vote increased by 50 per cent.

“I believe in free markets, that individuals may know better than government in some ways. It’s business that creates opportunities in jobs and it was business that created this

beautiful city we’re in today.

David Cameron is very positive to the city, he has been to Liverpool four times in the last 12 months, and is very excited to see some of the development and regeneration to the city. With the enterprise zone just set up it’s going to have a huge significance to the city especially to the property sector.

Over the next year or two it will be quite difficult in the country with everything going on but once the country is in a more balanced position then Britain's got a bright future. Caldeira UK will continue growing around the world, we’re not going to be put off by a global recession.”

Developing a business from scratch, from a stall to a business with a £20 million annual turnover is no easy feat. However, the global textile business may soon take more of a backseat for Tony, with the Conservative Party obviously keeping an eye on him, waiting for him to stand for MP. Finishing off, I ask him whether a political career is on the cards for Tony? “I’m enjoying being an entrepreneur but I’ve done it for 20 years, so maybe if the right opportunity came up in the future I might be interested.”

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N E P O

up to business success.

Talk to our local business experts Whether you are opening a business or are already up and running, talk to Barclays about how we can help make your business a success.

For more information please contact Nigel Cooper, Area Manager for Barclays Business in Merseyside, on 07917 200668, or visit www.barclays.co.uk/business

Barclays Business is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Bank PLC is registered in England and authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered No.1026167.

Registered Office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays Bank PLC subscribes to the Lending Code which is monitored and enforced by the Lending Standards Board.

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consumers within one hour’s drive

For more information about commercial and investment opportunities contact:

0151 356 6609 or visit www.investinellesmereport.co.uk 26 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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By Dina Karim dina@movepublishing.co.uk

Being considered a rising star by shipbuilder Cammell Laird is an achievement in itself, but bright engineer Sam Musgrave has also just been declared top in his field in the UK at the age of only 20.

Cammell Laird’s star

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large workshops housed in the college. MECNW boasts a stunning 6500m2 of purpose-built riverside premises next to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. It features state-ofthe-art workshops, classrooms, IT suites, offices and conference facilities, as well as its own operational dry dock.

“My dad was a design engineer, and I wanted to be an engineer since I was a young age. Watching him become very successful motivated me, and I’ve always enjoyed the skills behind the job which he taught me from an early age,” he said. Having just completed his apprenticeship, he is now a fully qualified steel fabrication welder which consists of doing all the repair work on ships, and also the new builds such

wanted to work there. They took on quite a few lads, but quite a few dropped out, around three quarters have left the scheme. The reality of the apprenticeship, such as early hours and no school holidays, means some young people don’t want to do it really.

For me it’s different though, the satisfaction of doing something and then seeing it in its finished state, then when someone’s marked it and measured it and all the measurements are accurate it shows you’ve achieved something.

A lot of people don’t know what to do; I’ve always known what I’ve wanted to do. I think people should be allowed to experience what I have as some people might not know they like it, and we could lose some great people because they don’t have the opportunity.”

all going to get floated to one place. I got to work on the aircraft carrier which was pretty amazing.

We were dropping these big beams in and I got to do one of them on my own, it was good to say I did that whole piece underneath the deck of the aircraft carrier, because it was massive. There are challenges every day now that I’m no longer supervised, because I’m fully qualified, I have to be very precise, like looking at the drawings and realising there’s a massive piece of metal that needs lifting by crane and has to be on the dot. It is a challenging job.”

Sam has proved he is top in his field in the UK for his age group, coming second in the prestigious WorldSkills International championships. Over its 60 year history, WorldSkills International

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Sam Musgrave joined the Maritime and Engineering College North West (MECNW), three years ago after he was recruited from The Mosslands School, in Wallasey, via their student apprenticeship programme, where he spent three days at school and two afternoons at the college preparing to move into an apprenticeship. The college, open since 1998, is a centre of vocational excellence for the Maritime, Engineering, Manufacturing and related sectors.

Based in Birkenhead, and next to the Cammell Laird shipyard, MECNW has excellent links with the sector and delivers successful apprenticeships, and other government-funded programmes.

Liverpool continues to be a city with an excellent maritime knowledge and skills base, and with businesses actively being encouraged by the Government to get involved in apprenticeship schemes, specialist colleges remain important to the local economy.

With the city looking to expand its maritime position in the UK through projects such as the Royal Seaforth Post-Panamax Container Terminal, it’s now more important than ever to encourage young people to enter the sector.

Through MECNW, Sam progresses into a full engineering apprenticeship and is now working for Cammell Laird, having gained tradesman status as a result of successfully completing his Level 3 NVQ qualification. We meet at the college, where he talks me through how he got into the programme, taking part in the World Skills International championships last month and walks me through the

I would walk past the Cammell Laird yard on the days I would come to college, and knew I wanted to work there.

as the new aircraft carrier by making general components for it.

“At the college we learned everything from hand-fitting techniques, to using machinery, and different types of welds, small fabrications and engineer operations. I would walk past the Cammell Laird yard on the days I would come to college, and knew I

Cammell Laird is one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding and last year it was announced that Laird had received a £44m order for the flight decks of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

“There are 400 yards all around the country with different bits built in each one, once finished they’re

represents the pinnacle of excellence in vocational training.

Every two years hundreds of young skilled people gather together from around the world to compete before the public in the skills of their various trades and test themselves against demanding international standards. They represent the best of their peers

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Sam Musgrave, Cammell Laird Rising Star

drawn from regional and national skill competitions.

“I had the first leg of the competition in mid-February, where we got shortlisted to a small number, there were 12 of us competing and I made it to the next stage,” he said. “We had to build a small crane, it’s quite complicated with the drawings and metal you have to weld everything together, and you only get 22 hours which might sound a lot but it’s a very minimal amount of time.

The company let me come out of production for a small time to practice. It’s a sense of achievement, because winning means you’re the best at your job at your age, in the country.” It has just been announced that Sam came second in the competition at national level.

This relationship between his employers Cammell Laird and a young apprentice is exactly what Sam admires the most, and creates a binding loyalty with the company.

“There are a few opportunities coming up where I can do university courses like a HNC which is what I want and need to rise through the company. I want to push myself for the company to make it succeed further, I know I’m only a small part but if everyone pulls together like that then it’s going to benefit the company. A lot of people in this trade are older people and they don’t have enough young people coming through, so schemes like apprenticeships are very important.”

Musgrave File DOB: 20/12/1990.

Education: Mosslands School, Wallasey.

Maritime & Engineering College North West.

Award: Worldskills International, 2nd place nationally in Steel Fabrication category.

Has been invited to join Quality Assurance department at Cammel Laird as reward for achieving excellence in chosen apprenticeship.

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By Emma Pinch emma@movepublishing.co.uk

Peel Ports’ ambitious plans for the Port of Liverpool will boost it into a 21st century facility. Move Commerical meets one of the people at the helm.

On course for success

30 MOVE COMMERCIAL

chains for the chemicals sector.

It soon struck him that in his previous job he had never considered using Liverpool as a port before – taking it for granted that the South East was the only viable option.

His first task was to find out why.

He soon recognised he had inherited “a very successful but traditional port business” which to remain competitive needed to upgrade for the needs of the 21st century.

Traditional bulk cargoes like coal were in a natural decline while container vessels were now being

already on the drawing board when Stephen arrived.

The plan, single project and still at the theoretical stage, was to create an in river deep-water container terminal for container vessels with dimensions larger than the Panama Canal – or Post Panamax models.

“When somebody asks you in 2010, in the depths of recession,” recalls Stephen, “‘do you fancy having this operational by 2014, it’s quite a decent challenge. It’s the sort of opportunity you don’t get very often.

“There was the question then, should we still be continuing with this. My view and the view of the

“

“

It makes Stephen Carr chuckle when he hears some of the wilder speculation regarding Peel’s commitment to Liverpool versus its ties to Manchester.

Bolton-born Stephen was recruited 18 months ago as Peel Ports’ business development director with a brief to see the Port of Liverpool transformed into a 21st century facility – with the jewel in its crown a new in-river terminal capable of accommodating some of the world’s largest container ships.

“We wouldn’t be doing that if Liverpool wasn’t where our heart was,” he says with some feeling. It’s a £330 million investment.

“But I’m not ashamed – as a neutral Lancastrian - to say we are integrating Liverpool and Manchester. The Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, working together as one, are much more powerful than two waterways competing.”

“The Victorians didn’t get too many things wrong. All we are doing is going back to how it all started.

“We’re not pretending we’ll ever be the port that serves London but what we want to be is the key port of entry for the north of Britain and Ireland.”

Bolton-born Stephen Carr’s ambitious Mersey voyage began when he joined Peel Ports 18 months ago, from global third party logistics firm TDG where he worked as sales director, optimising Europe-wide supply

We want to be the key port of entry for the North of Britain and Ireland.

built two to three times bigger than the lock gates at Gladstone Dock could accommodate, which had been constructed to the same depth and width of the Panama Canal.

Those massive container vessels – most bringing goods from the Far East – call in at ports in the South East, like Southampton, which has berths deep and wide enough to accommodate them, then stop off at ports like Rotterdam.

The first strand of the solution was

business now, is this is an investment that will last 100 years.

Our view is very much that it’s a facility we’ve got to have as a port to be able to compete and operate in a 21st century supply chain.”

But with terminals to take these super-vessels, swinging up to Liverpool still represents a longer journey by sea.

He proved that if ships made a longer journey to turn north and call in at Liverpool, operators could

proveably reap not only financial benefits, but cut carbon emissions and congestion time too.

More than half the cargo unloaded in the South, he demonstrated in the business model, ends up being trucked to factories and shops hundreds of miles north.

The cost case for calling in at Liverpool is clearly strong. The challenge Stephen and his team face is getting all sectors – shipping lines, importers, exporters and land based logistics companies – to view sea and land container movement as a single journey.

“The shipping industry and land based logistics industry have a history of working apart,” explains Stephen. “So the biggest challenge is getting the shipping line to have enough confidence it can be compensated for the diversion cost by taking a share of the savings achieved by the land based logistics players.

“The shipping line could quite legitimately charge £100 more per container and the importer would be happy to pay it because it was cheaper than the alternative route.

“We have enough feedback to suggest that importers see it, and we’re hearing shipping lines from India and the Far East that would call in if we could accommodate their vessels.”

The vision grew to encompass a two-berth deep-water river terminal in the Mersey, improved warehousing and road infrastructure

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Stephen Carr Mover & Shaker

on the dock estate, and a fleet of barges serving terminals up and down the Manchester Ship Canal.

“We see ourselves very much as recreating the ship canal corridor as a logistics hub for northern Britain,” he nods.

It’s already starting to happen.

Tesco-supplier Kingsland Wines already use the route and Liverpoolbased Princes also put 60 containers

a week on barges. It’s not the quickest way of transportation Stephen points out, but it’s certainly the greenest and the cheapest.

Projected costs for the development ring in at some £330 million, and while last year was about building the business plan, this year it’s all about the funding.

No avenue is closed, says Stephen.

“This year is about taking

conversations with the shipping lines from what I would call a nice pleasant introduction to what we are doing,” he says, “to something a little more meaningful.”

A data bank of 400,000 TEUs (20 foot equivalent units) of cargo has been established from importers and exporters would move through Liverpool if it was competitive to do so and Stephen is

Carr File Title: Business Development director, Peel Ports Born: Bolton, Lancashire Education: Economics degree, University of Loughborough Previous employers: BP, TDG

confident shipping lines will sign up to calling in at Liverpool, given the solid cost case.

Even so, getting shipping lines to nail their colours to the mast about activity three years hence is, understandably, quite a ticklish matter given the volatility of the past three.

“But what’s interesting,” continues Stephen, “is the number of lines saying if it was built today we would do this or that, and it’s also interesting to see the number of lines who have said ‘don’t leave us out of the conversation when it comes to the crunch’.”

The development’s completion date is scheduled for 2014 and has been fixed to coincide with events like the widening of the Panama Canal and Government plans to introduce road charging for hauliers.

Peel Ports already possesses planning consent in the form of a harbour revision order, with minor provisions like demolishing an eyesore radar tower. If further dredging is required there may be further environmental obligations, which says Stephen, they will be happy to meet.

An 18-month construction window will see first the building of a new quay wall, then a backfill once it is watertight.

Activity in the water has been pushed back to 2012 although some pre-construction work will take place this year.

Stephen is emphatic about the rock solid commitment of Peel Ports to the scheme.

“Everyone said the Trafford Centre was a pie in the sky,” he says. “Peel has got a track record of developing.

There are companies that talk about grand schemes and don’t deliver, but while it make take a number of years to deliver a scheme Peel will crack on and deliver it.

“The dock system relies on the lock gates - the lock gates haven’t been maintained for 50 years.

We’ve invested in those lock gates, not because they’re dropping off into the sea but because it’s the right thing to do.

“We’ve probably spent 3-4 million on it in the last couple of years to get to where we are now.

“People said the river terminal is not a scheme that was ever going to be viable; I think when people look at it now they realise it is going to be viable. It’s a scheme which can truly drive the port forward.”

MOVE COMMERCIAL 31

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By Dina Karim dina@movepublishing.co.uk

Liverpool Cruise Terminal Lunch debate

Pam Wilsher, The Mersey Partnership’s head of visitor economy development, estate director of Liverpool ONE Chris Bliss and Jayne Hettle, Liverpool City Council’s assistant director for regeneration, came together to discuss the possibility of Liverpool’s Cruise Terminal having turnaround status, rather than port of call status it has at present. Currently, cruises can only visit Liverpool, with turnaround status cruises can begin and end in Liverpool leading to increased visitors staying in the city and jobs at the Terminal. The experts sat down for lunch at the Maritime Dining Rooms, in the Merseyside Maritime Museum, featured in the Michelin Guide, to discuss the benefits of cruise tourism. Liverpool City Council is currently in talks with the Government to lift the ban from having a turnaround facility as a condition of the £15m EU grant to build the Terminal. The decision has been made more complicated due to Southampton’s objections.

Jayne Hettle Liverpool City Council’s assistant director for regeneration

Chris Bliss Estate director of Liverpool ONE

Pam Wilsher Mersey Partnership’s head of visitor economy development

Liverpool's Cruise Terminal future Liverpool has been in the news a lot lately, with the debate on cruise liners. What is the story behind the news?

Jayne: From a city’s perspective it’s been clear for a long time we want a turnaround facility for people to start and finish their cruises here and not just a port of call. What we have now is people arrive for a day, get off look around and then get back on again. With turnaround status you would get business, all the repairing of the ships leading to employment and hotels are more likely to get people the night before. We initially did just the port of call because that’s all we could get funding for, but there’s been a lot of feedback from people saying that Langton Dock, in Bootle, is not

the greatest place to start your cruise from. That came to a head in 2009 when there was a really bad storm which marooned a four-day cruise at Langton Docks for four solid days, and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines suggested that if that was the case in the future it would pull out, so the city started working to look if we could bring a turnaround facility - we’re losing about 30 ships a year. We’ve made cases to Government on two occasions; we got knocked back the first time because of Southampton’s rejections, and we’re hoping this time they will have a more positive response. We’ve had a great response from Transport Minister Mike Penning. All he said was that we need to potentially pay back

some public money because Southampton’s argument has been that it’s anti-competitive because we’ve received funding. If the decision goes forward we will have the turnaround service open from next May. Fred Olsen has already committed that if we get it they will bring cruise liners back. The core facilities are already there.

The political leadership are completely clear they want this to happen. We’re hoping to have a decision very quickly and hope before the summer recess of parliament.

Pam: The marketing would not be that difficult either, because there are only four or five big companies who own the cruise lines. From a pure tourism perspective the port

of call is fantastic because it brings mainly international visitors; with an average spend of £70 onshore.

Really the Terminal can be handling at least twice as many port of call ships as they are at the moment. When it was developed we thought we would have at least 30 to 40 ships call at the Terminal, and we’re on about half of that in an average year so we’ve still got some way to go in developing port of call. It’s really important we focus on that particularly. There’s all kinds of reasons why we’re not getting more, some of it is the charges that the Port of Liverpool make compared to other destinations, some of it is simply the number of cruises that pass by this area. We’re not necessarily on

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the main thoroughfare for key cruise traffic so that can be a bit difficult sometimes. We’ve done really well but we would like to see port of call business coming in first and foremost. So far there’s been about £5.5 million made from the port of call business. About a third disembark and just wander into the city and that’s where we score over other destinations because usually the places a cruise ship calls are docks in the middle of nowhere. We all notice when there’s a big cruise ship in, and the cruise tourists have a choice of going on tours to Chester and North Wales.

Chris: Liverpool ONE also run a free bus service that runs down by the Pier Head and if you come off the ship and decide you’re not going on tour you can get on the bus. It’s a joint venture between Liverpool ONE and the City Central BID. Pam: Turnaround status in my view would be an added bonus, it doesn’t stop us having a very successful operation anyway just on the port of call but it would be an added bonus because most of the people that would join the cruise in Liverpool would be from the north of England, people are unlikely to travel up from London.

Our catchment is very big. What that would do is bring people into the city that probably haven’t been before, once we’ve got people here people are more likely to return.

However we shouldn’t form our projections based on the possible amount of people joining cruises.

Jayne: I’m not absolutely convinced by that because in terms of operations in Langton people are only asked to turn up and hour to two before they cruise but at Langton where there’s nothing and you’re surrounded by scrap yards 34 MOVE COMMERCIAL

people turn up four and six hours in advance.

So actually having it closer to the Pier Head where if they do turn up a few hours before there’s more likelihood of them doing something rather than just sitting up in Langton.

If Liverpool received turnaround status, what would be the baggage handling situation? Would it be remote or would you need to spend millions constructing a new building?

Jayne: We’re looking at a number of options, and two of the options are down in the Pier Head as for having non-remote baggage handling there is potential for that.

We would need to do something on a temporary basis for the next

“

We’ve made cases to Government on two occasions; we got knocked back the first time because of Southampton’s rejections, and we’re hoping this time they will have a more positive response.

”

three years before building something permanent. If we had the temporary handling in somewhere like The Royal Liver building, iconically that says an awful lot. If you had remote baggage handling I don’t think anyone would complain if it was in such an iconic building. Pam’s right in that people starting and finishing here might be from the North West however as we build up - and you have to expect that it’s going to take 5 - 10 years to build up that market because cruise liners book so much in advance -

but you may get to a point in 10 years time where you get some of the very big ships. These ships like the Queen Mary would only pick up 100 people here but will also have people onboard from elsewhere, who would disembark.

How would a turnaround facility affect retail in Liverpool?

Chris: That’s probably our primary drive around it. We see more people coming in to Liverpool ONE when the cruise liners are in. You can tell the difference between the local shopper and the visitors and you can certainly tell just by voices walking around. I can see it in the sales, for example a gentleman went in a fairly small retailer and had just one £300 purchase, and that’s huge in terms of basket size.

It’s not uncommon for cruise tourists to make large scale purchases. Crucially, for us if the turnaround facility is there, it’s getting people from outside the North West catchment. Our tertiary catchment is from Preston and as far Greater Manchester and down to Crewe; we’re probably only penetrating about 55 - 60 per cent of it at the moment.

Pam: I agree at least 70 per cent of turnaround business will be generated from that area.

Chris: And then of course, we’ve got the whole advantage of the other sides of the Pennines all coming across as well. At the moment there’s still a huge perception change of Liverpool still to be done.

Pam: Despite all the regeneration that’s happened people still need an excuse to come to Liverpool. It’s amazing what a difference it makes that Liverpool is not enroute to anywhere; it makes it quite hard to convince people to come here for a first time. This is why the city puts on loads of events because events are a really good way of getting people to visit now. It’s one of the frustrations of working in tourism, the offer is fantastic 365 days a year but you still have to have an added thing in order to make people visit now.

We’re particularly trying to get people from London and the South East, the cultural tourism person, to visit the city. We’re just scratching the surface at the moment. We’ve got fantastically ambitious targets for tourism over the next 10 years. We foresee tourism growing from 2.8 billion in the wider region to 4.2 billion and a further 14,000 jobs expected, but we can only see that if we manage to tap into this wider discretionary tourist, who doesn’t have to come to Liverpool for something specific.

Jayne: The airport’s recently been taken over by Vancouver Air Services and the guy who runs it has had a lot of experience with Vancouver and fly-cruise. I think one of the other important things that we shouldn’t forget, is the potential for the economic benefits of bringing in more jobs because you are bringing in more services

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Liverpool Cruise Terminal Lunch debate into the Pier Head. There won’t probably be a huge amount of direct jobs created but it affects how people think when they invest and where to site their businesses.

Chris: Visitors are getting a good retail offer, a good culture experience, and have sport on your doorstep, the football, the golf course, the racing; the whole package is quite phenomenal. It is in its early days but it’s all starting to gel and work together. We often talk about Liverpool plc but I think that as a brand it is just starting to gel. If

“

We’ve got fantastically ambitious targets for tourism over the next 10 years, we foresee tourism growing from 2.8 billion in the wider region to 4.2 billion and a further 14,000 jobs expected, but we can only see that if we manage to tap into this wider discretionary tourist, who doesn’t have to come to Liverpool for something specific.

”

you get people to the city with the experience and welcome that is so great, 95 out of 100 people will return. If you look at people coming into the city now, why do they come to shop at Liverpool ONE against the Trafford Centre? Because they want to do more than just shopping. So we’re building on that whole day out experience.

What are the financial implications of having a turnaround service?

Jayne: Economically we’re likely to have to payback something between £4-6 million of the public grant and the city would have to do that. But we’ve done our sums and we’ve worked on the premise that the amount of business we can generate and the charges we can charge at the port would allow us to just about generate enough income to pay that back, so it’s not about taxpayers having to fund it,

it will be covered by its own income. If we have to build something wholly as a separate building then the costs would be quite substantial given that it’s a world heritage site and you just can’t throw up a shed, maybe £10 million just for a building that would house passengers. If we’re going to be ambitious and think about bigger ships, the 2500 people ones, you would have to build something reasonably substantial but you don’t have to build that straightaway. We’ve got great partners like Peel who can help us with the land so I’m less concerned about building a new facility.

What is Liverpool doing to increase tourism to the city centre?

Chris: Liverpool ONE, from a tourism perspective, is all about the overall offer you can get here and being joined up with all the other partners in the city to deliver a consistent service.

Pam: We’re looking at particularly increasing tourism mid-week. The accommodation offer at Liverpool ONE is very good, they have Novotel, the Hilton, which regularly fill up and the Premier Inn still to come so Liverpool ONE plays an important role in bringing in tourism mid-week.

Chris: I don’t think the international visitor will drive brands to Liverpool, like Selfridges and Harvey Nicholls. For us it’s more about attracting new brands into the UK, who are new to the North West, that gives us the added edge over other retail destinations. After London the question is where are they going to open up their second store? It used to be Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh but more often than not now it’s becoming Liverpool.

How is the city promoting the benefits of having the turnaround service to Government?

Jayne: The Government are not looking so much at tourism. They are looking at the private sector taking over public sector, actually that’s a perfect economic argument here because it’s not about the public sector this is about the private sector. So we’re making the argument on a long term economic plan. It is a ministerial decision.

Chris: In some ways, ‘can we afford not to do it’ is the other question and that’s difficult to

substantiate. The city has grown massively over the last 10 years but it has to continue to grow.

Peel has done a great job but that’s a very long phase programme and we have to get some more new blood in to the city economically. A lot of other cities don’t have the waterfront and we have to use that.

Jayne: Absolutely, that whole waterfront is an asset that many cities would kill for. The whole of Peel’s Liverpool Waters is predicated upon inward investment, and probably foreign investment not displacement from somewhere else in the UK. And I think that’s where something like the cruise liner terminal has an extra bonus because if you’re talking about Chinese or American investment, having the ability to arrive by cruise ship is a really great thing and that happens in other cities around the world.

Pam: The Mersey is a really difficult river to animate as it’s a very wide river with a huge rise and fall of tide making it difficult to do things on, whereas a cruise liner is just right for the river. It looks good and it’s big add to the overall impression of the waterfront. When you’ve got a cruise liner it looks like another building down there, it’s another part of the spectacle that draws people to the waterfront.

MARITIME DINING ROOMS Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AQ

Our panel enjoyed the light lunch at this top ten Liverpool restaurant recommended in the Michelin Guide. This unique restaurant set in the museum enjoys breathtaking, panoramic views of the Albert Dock from one side and on the other side a sweeping vista of the River Mersey.

The refreshing, seasonal lunch we enjoyed included a delicious, traditional asparagus omelette served with parmesan and rocket salad with sides of salad, ciabatta and chips. One of the panellists had the head chef recommendation mushroom and spring garlic soup with a cheese and spring onion sandwich on chunky granary bread.

The main lunch has a wider variety of seasonal food. The Maritime Dining Rooms is also a very popular events venue, with the restaurant available for hiring for events, conferences, and weddings.

To reserve a table telephone 0151 478 4056.

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By Dina Karim dina@movepublishing.co.uk

SuperPort From the Port of Liverpool to Manchester ship canal The future of the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal is part of Peel Holdings’ ‘Ocean Gateway’ project - a proposed £50 billion investment strategy for the North West Region for the next half century.

Peel Holdings have around 50 significant projects planned for the North West area in the long term, across the sectors from maritime to media - estimating that Ocean Gateway projects will contribute over £6 billion to the region’s

Liverpool River Terminal

36 MOVE COMMERCIAL

economy each year.

After a century of commercial rivalry, the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal, both now owned by Peel Ports, is a powerful, united water-route offering a wide range of port facilities – making the River Mersey Britain's third busiest estuary.

The 44-mile waterway, creating a corridor from the mouth of the Mersey to the heart of Manchester, connects deep-sea shipping services with inland

water freight by barge. The North West has the largest concentration of distribution and manufacturing activity in the UK. Containers and bulk cargoes are being transhipped from Liverpool up the Canal - pioneering a strategy to increase efficiency, reduce cost and safeguard the environment by the waterborne movement of more and more international trade.

Stephen Carr, business development director for Peel

Ports said "We will be launching our 20 year growth strategy in the form of a Port Masterplan, this will go out to consultation in June 2011. The River Terminal plays a key role in the growth of the Port and the regions economy."

Jim Teasdale, chief executive of Mersey Maritime said: "Liverpool is a maritime city through and through and the time is now right for major investment in the port and the wider cargo handling infrastructure in the region.”

The Port of Liverpool is one of the busiest in the UK, handling over 30 million tonnes of cargo annually – it is 4th largest in the UK for container traffic. The Merseyside maritime sector alone is estimated at contributing £315 million to the local economy every year.

Trade between the UK and North America is heavily reliant on this port; consequently the development of an in river Container Terminal in 2014 is crucial to its sustainable future. The in river deep-water container terminal at Seaforth will allow Post-Panamax vessels to berth at the port - allowing further direct services to call at the port.

As a result of an in River Terminal, which will double its existing container handling capacity, the Port will capture more of the shipping traffic from the US, as well as create a new shipping and trade route with South America, Indian Subcontinent and the Far East.

Crucially, the terminal will be able to accommodate the new generation of

post-Panamax container ships, ships too large to travel through the Panama Canal, and will be the first of its kind serving the north of England.

Currently, the £250 million plus scheme has an approved harbour revision order, with a detailed design of the terminal about to be revealed shortly, the project is due to be complete and operational in 2014. An estimated 3,000 additional jobs are expected to be created from this scheme, both directly and indirectly.

In April, a new harbour mobile crane with 82-tonne capability arrived at the Port of Liverpool, taking the total number in the Peel Ports Mersey fleet to eight.

David Huck, head of port operations for Peel Ports Mersey, said: “This crane is the first of several planned for delivery in 2011 and is further evidence of Peel Ports' commitment to investment and growth.”

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Peel Ports Project update

Port Salford The Manchester Ship Canal has been underutilised for many years, however the investments from Peel Ports and Peel Holdings will catapult the North West region to the top.

There are a number of inland terminals being developed along the ship canal, however the largest facility will be Port Salford, at Barton. Port Salford will double the existing capacity of multi-modal terminals in Greater Manchester.

This will create a strategic hub with a number of ways of transporting goods to the Manchester City Region and beyond.

The Barton site, formerly used to tip waste, will offer container ship berths, the highest capacity rail terminal in Britain, and rail-linked buildings for the regional distribution of rail borne domestic and international cargo.

Port Salford is expected to double the number of container trains currently serving the two terminals on Trafford Park - it will be able to handle up to 300,000 containers each year from rail and ship.

Trafford Park trains will be

redirected away from its current route via Piccadilly station, through Newton-Le-Willows, allowing for the number of passenger trains to increase in the Oxford Road -

Piccadilly train corridor.

150,000 sq m of distribution buildings will be located immediately next to the terminal, each with its own railway siding for

conventional wagons. The buildings will be able to receive goods from rail or sea without using road delivery, reducing environmental impact and cutting.

Ocean Gateway LOW CARBON GROWTH • 150 million road miles removed if cargoes enter UK through Liverpool rather than Southern ports.

• Cutting 80 million kg CO2 each year.

• 100,000 containers removed from regional roads by using a barge as an alternative.

• A number of innovation opportunities in Renewable Energy; such as investment in biomass and energy from waste at Ince Resource Recovery Park.

ECONOMY • Savings estimated up to £300 per container, to importers and exporters based in the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire, North East, Scotland and Ireland.

• Less than half of the North West’s container traffic enters the UK via Liverpool. If it all moved through Liverpool over £100 million would be saved by importers and retailers every year.

• £18.3 billion extra income to Merseyside by 2030.

KEY Shipping lines and sea freight Airlines and air freight

EMPLOYMENT • The Ocean Gateway sees a potential of 100,000 potential additional jobs to the area across the industries - The Liverpool City region can expect 30,000 direct and supporting jobs in the maritime sector by 2030.

• High value growth in knowledge based industries, especially through the Liverpool and Wirral Waters project.

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“Unique waterfront dining”

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EAT.DRINK.PLAY.SHOP.SEE.SLEEP 38 MOVE COMMERCIAL

2 UVgV]`a^V_e Sj EYV 2]SVce 5`T\ 4`^aR_j aRce `W eYV 2cc`hTc`We 9`]UZ_Xd =eU|

www.albertdock.com

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For Sale / To Let

For Sale

For Sale

11 Seymour Terrace, Liverpool L3

68 Bidston Road, Prenton,Wirral CH43

• • • •

Self contained office building 3 secure parking spaces 143 sq m (1,540 sq ft) approx.

Freehold

Ref: PP

Substantial Former Nursing Home 617 sq m (6,645 sq ft) approx.

Freehold Suitable for alternative use to include single dwelling or for commercial purposes

Ref: RK

On the Instructions of William Hill

To Let (Due to Relocation)

To Let / May Sell

Upper Ground Floor, City Buildings, 21/ 23 Old Street, Liverpool City Centre

Lower Ground Floor, Albany Building, Old Hall Street, Liverpool City Centre

97 sq m (1,046 sq ft) approx A2 planning permission Unit suitable for use as retail/offices

From 1,000 sq ft to 17,000 sq ft available Excellent opportunity for bar/restaurant/gym/office Flexible terms

Ref: MF

Ref: RGD or Joint Agent Tushingham Moore, 0161 833 1197

For further information please contact our Agency Team: Robert Diggle, Paul Parker, Mike Fitzpatrick or Richard Kirk

MOVE COMMERCIAL 39

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By Emma Pinch emma@movepublishing.co.uk

Port of Liverpool Rides High When was the Port of Liverpool’s heyday? When square-rigged sailing ships were slicing through the waves laden with tea, cotton, tobacco and rum? When White Star Line steamers were casting off for New York? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is right now.

The Port of Liverpool currently handles more cargo than ever before.

Spanning a seven mile, 120 acre stretch on both sides of the Mersey, from Brunswick to Seaforth on the Liverpool side and Birkenhead to Wallasey on the Wirral, the Port of Liverpool can handle 1800 tonnes of cargo per hour, adding up to more than 30 million tonnes a year. It can have a container vessel unloaded and stuffed full again within one tide’s ebb and flow.

Income-wise, its significance to Liverpool can hardly be over-stated.

The Port is currently worth a whopping £1.1billion pounds a year to the city region economy and it provides the lifeblood for 900 businesses, spanning shipping, repairs, warehousing, distribution, marine law and visitor influx, and supporting an estimated 34,000 jobs.

But public perception hasn’t always kept up.

Mersey Maritime was set up in 2003 to advocate for marine companies on Merseyside, a sector which at the time, said chief executive Jim Teasdale, was fragmented and labouring under a debilitatingly low profile.

The erroneous perception that the sun had set on Liverpool’s docks was something the Port had been stuck

with since the 90s, and it mirrored the perception of Liverpool as a whole, fed as it was by memories of dockers’ strikes, derelict buildings and long unemployment queues from years ago.

Government figures currently rank Liverpool as the 7th biggest port in the UK in terms of goods imported and exported, and when combined with the Manchester Ship Canal, 4th busiest.

It’s an impressive position when you bear in mind that ever since Britain joined the Common Market in 1973 Liverpool has been deemed to be on ‘the wrong side’ of the country for trade with Europe.

But although figures released by the Department for Transport show cargo handling as a whole has dipped since in recent years - in line with the rest of the country - the Port has still performed better than the national average.

Exports currently include the Halewood-built Freelander 2, heavy plant from Caterpillar, Kellogg’s foods bound for Ireland and scrap metal from Bootle’s S Norton to markets all around the world. It imports products for B&M Stores, Princes Foods, AB World foods and raw baked beans for Heinz.

“The kind of perception people had about the Port of Liverpool was not

linked to reality,” explained Jim. “People didn’t understand the community itself, and the Port worked in isolation.

“Liverpool as a city struggled in the 90s and there was a knock on effect on the maritime sector, but shipping, engineering, professional services, distribution and logistics have always been there, it’s just that people haven’t recognised it.

“The best symbol (of prosperity) was thought to be a cruise liner, and if people didn’t see a cruise liner they didn’t think there was a lot happening.

“Also because of the high walls, which are there for security reasons, people don’t realise the scale of the trade and goods being moved.

“But since we’ve been measuring, with the exception of the economic downturn, there has been growth at the Port year on year.”

Since 2003 they’ve seen maritime businesses in Liverpool double in number to 1,000, with substantial employers setting up headquarters in Liverpool.

Two years ago shipping giant Maersk relocated its London headquarters to Liverpool, creating around 70 professional level jobs.

Chilean container shipping line CSAV, which operates 10-12 major shipping lines around the UK, did the same.

The major draw is the maritime knowledge and skills base that exists in the city thanks to generations-old links to the sea.

The origins of the Mersey docks can be traced to 1715 with the construction of the Old Dock – the world’s first enclosed commercial dock. It went on to become the most advanced dock system in the world.

But by 1860s the entrance to the Albert Dock was already beginning to feel a little pinched for the new generation of deeper, wider hulled ships, and new dock development crept northwards.

Around 150 years on, the lock at the Royal Seaforth Dock container terminal has been outgrown by the new generation of jumbo-sized Post Panamax container ships. In response, Peel Ports muscular plan for growth includes investment in a £100 million river deep water terminal. The facility – along with improved distribution infrastructure - will nearly double the port’s container capacity.

It represents a major ‘piece of the jigsaw puzzle’ according to Jim. “The next 20 years promise to bring nothing less than transformational results” he says. “It’s exciting to be part of that process."

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The Port of Liverpool Focus

Historic marine consultancy Brookes Bell has recently established a base in Shanghai, in addition to offices in Liverpool and London.

The 100-year-old marine engineering, architectural, surveying and scientific consultancy carries out investigations into about 700 marine accidents per year, all round the world. Salvage operations have included the Riverdance, which ran aground in Blackpool in 2008 (below).

Brookes Bell was originally formed in Liverpool in 2003, The 70-strong company is now run from the 4th floor of Martins Building on Water Street.

The Port of Liverpool plays a vital, if unsung, role in the supply chain of Heinz Baked Beans. The raw bean, imported into Liverpool from the USA and Canada, is stored at the port’s Royal Seaforth Container Terminal and delivered straight into the production line in Wigan as needed. More than 10,000 containers of beans and other Heinz products pass through the Port of Liverpool every year.

Range Rover Evoque, coming soon

Jaguar Land Rover exports the successful Freelander 2 4x4 model built at the Halewood plant. Vehicles are sent from Liverpool in containers via ACL to the East Coast of the US, while interior trim for Jaguar Land Rover is imported. The plant is gearing up for the July launch of the new Range Rover Evoque, which will see more vehicles exported from Liverpool to the US.

Professional Services

Import

Shipping

Import Rubies Masquerade Ltd has reported 12 years of consecutive growth since it moved its base to Liverpool Freeport in 1999.

The company imports costumes to a 22,000 sq ft warehouse from manufacturing bases in China and the US. It has licences to produce outfits from films like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Toy Story and Batman and sells to the likes of Toys R Us and Argos. Best-seller is its Batgirl costume.

UK managing director Chris Isitt said: “Liverpool has been the perfect location to nurture Rubie’s arrival in the European market.”

The Port of Liverpool in numbers

Export

Destinations: 100 plus non-EU companies including China, India and Africa

North Atlantic shipping specialist ACL has called in at Liverpool to and from the East coast of the US since 1969.

Huge vessels arrive and depart weekly carrying containers, project and oversized cargo, heavy equipment and vehicles. They sail filled to capacity to destinations including Northern Europe, New York and Baltimore.

ACL has also recently signed a new four year lease on its headquarters at Princes Dock, where the UK’s ship management, logistics, accounting and customer service operations take place.

Containers: 4.2m tonnes (7.8 per cent of UK traffic)

Roll on/Roll off traffic: 6.53m tonnes (6.9 per cent of UK traffic) per year

Liquid bulks: 17.6m tonnes of edible oils, chemicals, petroleum and fuel (7.3 per cent of UK traffic)

Dry bulks: 8.14m tonnes of steel, animal foods, grain, fresh produce and salt (8.2 per cent of UK traffic)

Passengers: 0.65m people and 160,000 cars each year on ferries to and from Ireland and the Isle of Man

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By Emma Pinch emma@movepublishing.co.uk

Historic Liverpool firm Bibby Line Group may be more than 200 years old, but it isn’t resting on its laurels as it emerges from the recession posting some impressive profit figures

On the crest of a wave Few businesses in Liverpool fit the cap of founding business quite as well as the 204-year-old Bibby Line Group.

Behind the smoke-stained walls of its historic headquarters on Duke Street, in what was formerly Liverpool’s first public library, Bibby’s illustrious past breathes through every pore.

Models of the line’s pink funneled ships line the building’s atrium – in 1856 it ran a fleet of 13 steamers and five sailing ships – and generations of Bibbys, rendered in oils, gaze down from corridor walls.

A parchment in a glass cabinet crowded with treasures reveals that on March 10, 1935, first class passengers bound for Gibraltar aboard the stately SS Yorkshire sat down to a succulent dinner of Braised Highland Grouse Chasseur, Salad Windsor and Duckling Lyonnaise.

On a shelf above, a conveyance document turns the clock back 120 years earlier, recording the moment one John Bibby was granted £2,500 from the estate of his wife Mary’s late father.

It was no doubt a timely gift.

Eight years previously Bibby and his friend John Highfield had set up a regular packet service from Parkgate, Wirral, to Dublin, Ireland.

By the 1820s the company had prospered sufficiently for Bibby, now operating alone, to commission a thriving fleet and metals business.

With an annual turnover of around £1bn and a growth in pretax profits between 2009 and 2010 of approximately 30 per cent, it’s evident that 200 years on, old man Bibby’s entrepreneurial spirit is flowing as strongly as ever through the family-owned firm.

Over the last few decades BLG’s 42 MOVE COMMERCIAL

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Bibby Line Group Founding Business

Trafford Park, the raft of Costcutter shops it owns and the Toyota parts it delivers to dealers, in the ACL container ships it manages. The Union Jack-bearing welfare vans by the side of the road, and businesses all round the country surviving on cash from its thriving financial services division.

Where you haven’t seen much of the historic Bibby stamp in recent years is where it all began - on the side of actual ships. The company jettisoned most of its ocean going assets in the latter part of the last decade.

A sad day? Not a bit of it, says Steve Potter, who in his role of associate strategy director supports group managing director and scion of the founding clan, Sir Michael Bibby, and who acts as a non executive director on all of the operating boards.

“The business divested its marine assets in 2005 and 2007, and with the benefit of hindsight that was a very good decision because that was the height of the market,” said Steve. “So we went into the recession with cash and no debt.

“Because we are a family owned business we are much more able to take that long term view, unlike larger corporations who manage shareholders expectations on a quarterly basis. We sell high and buy low.

“At the moment the number of vessels we have is quite low but now that we are at the bottom of the market we’ve started to reinvest in that sector. Last year we ordered a 57,000 tonne bulk carrier, the Cheshire, to be delivered in China as a sister vessel to the Shropshire launched in 2009 – which will be launched in September this year.

“Investing in ships,” he added, “is not an emotional decision. It’s very much a business decision.”

The real stamp of Bibby, you sense, is the shrewd, logical and entirely unsentimental thinking at work behind every commercial decision its executives make.

And it’s no doubt in no small part thanks to this that the company was able to ride out the recession in such impressively buoyant style.

While other businesses were still floundering, Bibby Line Group recorded pre-tax profits in 2009 of £21.8million and in excess of £30million in 2010.

Steve is justifiably proud of the achievement.

“We had really good performances in financial services businesses, distribution and Garic, which is our construction asset rental business, and Costcutter performed well,” he said, “but most of our marine business reflected the economic cycle as it was, with excess supply of vessels and reduced demand.

“We had a pretty tough time in

industry with their woodland burial business. They now have three sites and are looking at planning permission for more.

“It’s a good illustration of how we are prepared to use our imagination for what would be a long term business.”

For now though, says Steve, the company has enough opportunities

“

Investing in ships is not an emotional decision. It’s very much a business decision.

“

supple structure and aggressive growth strategy has seen it diversify across a wealth of eclectic but cannily picked sectors, and its tentacles extend round the globe.

The empire has expanded to include a powerful distribution arm, a financial services division, retailing, marine services, shipping and offshore services, floating accomodation and even a woodland burials business.

Bibby is invisibly stamped on all kinds of everyday items. It’s on pints of milk at Tesco - Bibby-run tankers collect milk from farms across Wales and Scotland - the Kellogg’s cereals it delivers from

our marine businesses. So to achieve that level (of profit) was very pleasing.”

The Bibby family still own 88 per cent of the business but each division is run by its own board and chief executive who have a substantial degree of freedom to make their own decisions. The brand value underpinning each sector’s drive to exploit opportunity, says Steve, is titled ‘restless momentum’.

It surged first during the 1980s when the shipping world was struggling, and the company ventured successfully into distribution and financial services.

“We were looking for more service based businesses that would generate cash and ride out the longer term cycles,” he explained.

“In more recent times rather than traditional shipping we’ve diversified into off shore business like oil and gas project management and deep sea support vessels, and retailing in 2007 with the acquisition of Costcutter.

Forecast to grow by six per cent until 2015, their new convenience retail sector is something the company is now “very focused on”, said Steve, adding they were looking to investing in it and possibly add other brands.

Though they might seem an eclectic mix there’s plainly a shrewd business sense at work when it comes to BLG’s acquisition strategy.

Convenience retail taps into current customer demand for low cost, local shopping. BLG is tapping into another recession-proof

to explore within existing divisions and holdings.

With those comes the distinct possibility of spotting a Bibby vessel from Liverpool Bay again.

A naming ceremony was held recently in France for a 28-metre vessel called SV Bibby Tethra, which will be under charter to a Birkenhead-based company called Osiris Projects.

“It’s called a hydrographic survey vessel and it surveys the sea bed prior to and during installation of off shore wind turbines and it will be working in the Liverpool Bay,” said Steve. “It’s a potential niche sector for our marine business.”

Old John Bibby would no doubt approve.

Bibby Line Group File HQ: 105 Duke Street, Liverpool.

Major Interests: Ship management, off shore services, distribution, financial services, holdings, retail. Employs around 3,500 people around the globe, including 222 in Liverpool.

History: Founded in 1807 by John Bibby. He was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1775. He was murdered in 1840 in a still unsolved attack, his body left in a pond in Aintree.

MOVE COMMERCIAL 43

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Appointments news that Ruth Tytherley, Director in the Industrial Agency team at CB Richard Ellis has recently been named Chairperson for the Industrial Agents Society.

New MD of John Lewis

Dan Cooke, John Lewis

John Lewis Liverpool has appointed former regional director for the Black’s retail group, Dan Cooke as its managing director. 36-year-old Dan has also worked at fashion retailer Peacock’s and department store Debenhams.

David Barford, director of selling operations for John Lewis, said: “His years of retail experience and outstanding record of achievement prior to joining John Lewis will bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the role, making him ideally suited to leading and growing our business in Liverpool.”

New Chairman for OAS The Office Agents’ Society (OAS) has named CB Richard Ellis’ (CBRE) Roland Jordan as its new Chairman. Roland, who is an

Roland Jordan, CBRE

Associate Director in CBRE’s Office Agency team, brings with him a wealth of experience gained from 13 years in the property industry.

In his new role chairing the national organisation, Jordan will oversee the national committee, which allows agents to share best practice, as well as organising regular educational and social events, including an annual charity ball. Roland Jordan replaces outgoing Chairman Will Foster and will be in the post for two years.

Roland’s appointment follows 44 MOVE COMMERCIAL

New Partners at Hill Dickinson Hill Dickinson promotes Claire Cosgrove and Daniel Sweeney to partners within its property practice group in Liverpool.

Claire Cosgrove and Daniel Sweeney have both been promoted from associates to partners and are based in Hill

Claire Cosgrove

Daniel Sweeney

Dickinson's office in St Paul's Square in the city centre. The property partner promotions were announced as part of the wider promotion of ten lawyers at the firm, with nine new salaried partners and one new legal director.

Morgan Sindall's new NW MD Construction, infrastructure and design business Morgan Sindall plc has appointed Dave Smith as its new North West managing director. Dave, formerly area director for the West Midlands, will oversee the growth of the North West business, which has offices in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. He takes over from Danny Murray, who now assumes the role of managing director for all of the company’s construction projects in the North.

Prior to joining Morgan Sindall in 2009, Dave spent six years with regeneration specialist St Modwen.

Dave Smith Morgan Sindall

Relocation without complication Area orientation Homefinding School search Lease/ purchase negotiation Settling-in services

Contact us for an initial discussion on +44(0)1829 270160 lisa.green@county-homesearch.com • www.county-homesearch.com

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• Direct access to the arterial M6 & M62 • The most car-friendly place in the UK* • Within 45 minutes of two international airports & the UK’s largest Freeport zone • Within an hour’s drive of 4.3 million prospective employees & 6.8 million potential customers • A relatively low cost & costeffective location in terms of premises, house prices, & labour * 2010 Virgin Money Survey

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Expert views Ask the panel

How well connected is the North West to Britain?

Following the announcement of a £9m boost for the Mersey Multimodal Gateway (3MG) in the Halton Borough, which plans to develop its rail infrastructure, Move Commercial looks at how well connected the North West is with the rest of the UK, and how can we improve on the current transport links?

“For the Enterprize Zone to become a magnet for serious inward investment we need to sell the many benefits of living in the Liverpool city region for investors, employees and their families. As we support employees with UK or global relocation and job moves, we are increasingly seeing quality of life concerns coming to the fore. My top reasons for moving to Liverpool include affordable, varied choice in housing choice, choice and quality of schooling, culture, leisure and connectivity with one of the fastest growing airports in Europe, two hours by train to London, Edinburgh or Glasgow and one of the largest Ports in Northern Europe.”

Lisa Green, Director of The County Homesearch Company “This latest funding initiative for 3MG is a major boost for Halton and the wider Merseyside region. The 3MG development has put Halton firmly on the national and international map in terms of trade and industry, creating much-needed jobs. Ideally located close to the national motorway network and the West Coast mainline, its dock facility opens up the region to national and international trade.”

Cllr Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council

“ ”

“Excellent connectivity is vital for developing and growing the economy of Liverpool City Region – which is extremely well placed whether people are travelling to the destination for leisure or business. We continue to work hard to develop and improve transport links in order to make the City Region even more easily accessible by air, sea, rail and road. This is a vital part of our strategy for attracting increasing numbers of visitors, conferences and events to the region. Access also plays a major role in helping convince investors of the attractiveness of the Liverpool City Region as a base for business start-ups and expansion, or when relocating from another city.”

David Andrews, Director of Visitor Economy for TMP, Official Tourist Board for Liverpool City Region

Excellent connectivity is vital for developing and growing the economy of Liverpool City Region 46 MOVE COMMERCIAL

“The expansion of Mersey Multimodal Gateway is one of the key developments that make up the SuperPort Action Plan for the region. 3MG alone is a £92m investment project and this £9m boost from the Regional Growth Fund is a significant contribution towards making it happen more effectively, which will lead to net additional GVA to the region in excess of £1.3 m by 2020.”

Jim Teasdale, Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime Group and a member of the SuperPort Committee

“Stobart Group has already demonstrated its commitment to develop opportunities for jobs in the Halton region and also to deliver sustainable transport solutions for the future. Securing this funding is an important step to ensure those objectives continue to be met.”

Richard Butcher, deputy chief executive of the Stobart Group

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OFFICE TO LET 36 HENRY STREET, ROPE WALKS, LIVERPOOL 1 •1,200

sq ft (111.5 sq m)

• Self

contained suite with disabled access

• Character

building with exposed beams and brickwork

• Short

term and all inclusive terms available

• Minutes

from Liverpool ONE

CONTACT Tony Reed or Andrew Byrne Keppie Massie on 0151 255 0755

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