Supermarket chain Lidl acquires former Taskers homeware outlet in south Liverpool and could create dozens of jobs in a new store two years after failing to redevelop the former Abbey Cinema. Tony McDonough reports

Supermarket chain Lidl has acquired the site of a former Taskers homeware store in Wavertree in south Liverpool.

In July 2024 LBN revealed agents at CBRE had been instructed to find a buyer for the 4.6-acre site on Wavertree Road following the closure of the Taskers store in 2017. It also includes a 120,000 sq ft warehouse and a surface level car park.

Taskers, one of Liverpool’s best-known retail brands dates back to the 1950s but in recent years has had to battle the rise of e-commerce, higher inflation, interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis hitting consumer confidence. It also faced soaring costs in freight.

In March LBN reported the business had struck a deal with its creditors to enter what is called a company voluntary arrangement. This is a legally binding agreement between a company and its creditors to pay off debts over a set period.

Accounts filed at Companies House showed that in the 12 months to February 29, 2024, sales fell 10% to £13.5m. Pre-tax losses widened significantly to around £2.4m from just over £1m a year earlier. Taskers now operates from a single store in Aintree.

This will be Lidl’s second attempt to open a store in Wavertree after it admitted defeat in 2023 in its bid to build a new outlet on the former Abbey Cinema following opposition from heritage campaigners.

Although Lidl has yet to reveal the size of its proposed store on the Taskers site its outlets typically employ between 50 and 100 people. It has submitted an application to Liverpool City Council to demolish the Taskers site.

When CBRE offered the site to market in 2024 it said it was suitable for a number of uses including residential, student accommodation, offices, laboratory, education and a hotel.

Previously there had been plans to build 200 homes on the site which was later scaled back to 123 homes.

READ MORE: Merseyside community gears up to fight building sale

Speaking at the time Andrew Byrne, director of CBRE’s office agency team in Liverpool, said: “This represents a key opportunity to acquire a strategically-located site which is suitable for numerous redevelopment opportunities including offices and commercial.  

“There has been limited levels of new build development and demand has therefore been restricted to existing building refurbishments.”