Portuguese-themed chicken restaurant chain Nando’s one of three tenants to sign up for new space at Liverpool square that helped kick-start the city centre’s renaissance. Tony McDonough reports
In the mid-1990s Queen Square was the development that helped kick-start Liverpool city centre’s economic renaissance.
Despite being followed by multiple other regeneration projects Queen Square remains a popular destination thanks to its location next to Queen Square bus station and close to the Royal Court, Empire and Playhouse theatres.
Its original developer was Promenade Estates, then known as Neptune, and the company still manages its 660,000 sq ft of commercial space. Now it has announced three new lettings which includes a vote of confidence from a long-term tenant.
Portuguese-themed chicken restaurant chain Nando’s has been at Queen Square for a number of years and has now relocated its previous outlet to a recently re-developed unit above US burger chain FIVE GUYS, totalling 4,000 sq ft.
TikTok-led food sensation Spud Bros has secured a 10-year lease on unit 2, previously occupied by Costa Coffee, for its baked potato-led concept.
And the upper floors of the Alfred Waterhouse-designed St John’s House will be refurbished for office use, with 6,000 sq ft let to Atlas Language School.
“The leisure and casual dining markets continue to evolve so it’s vital that our product mix does likewise,” said Promenade’s managing director, Daniel Hynd. “Queen Square will always remain at the heart of the city’s leisure economy under our stewardship.”
This re-organisation is the latest phase of Promenade’s wider redevelopment strategy for the estate, having also submitted a listed building consent application for the grade II St John’s House to facilitate the letting to Atlas.
Daniel added: “A thriving leisure scene is a key appeal to office occupiers and their visitors, of course, and Atlas Language School’s ambitions for St John’s House demonstrates the point.”
READ MORE: Tesla arrives in £11m Liverpool shopping park expansion
READ MORE: Royal Liver Building is sold for £60m
Hitchcock Wright acted for the landlord for the office letting, with the leisure leases managed internally. Mason Owen is the retained agent for the remaining leisure and retail units at Queen Square, which total 12,500 sq ft.
Other elements of the estate include a 21,000 sq ft office building on the corner of Whitechapel, which was acquired by Torus housing association in 2019, a 537-space multi-storey car park and the 146-bedroom Delta Hotel by Marriott.