Owner of Cavern Walks in Liverpool’s Mathew Street submits plans to create 85 serviced apartments – around 18 months after securing planning consent for a 283-bed Hilton Hotel at the site. Tony McDonough reports
New plans have been submitted to Liverpool City Council to create 85 apartments at Cavern Walks in Mathew Street.
Developers JSM and Greenwood Developments bought the former Mathew Street shopping mall and offices complex for £7m for 2022. They then signed a deal with Motto by Hilton to open a 283-bed hotel.
This plan was approved by councillors in October 2024 but now it seems the owners have new plans for the building. The new application, made on behalf of JSM, will see the creation of 85 serviced apartments.
These would be located on the first to seventh floors with a gym/spa on the mezzanine floor and retail units on the lower and upper ground floors. Each apartment would include an open plan kitchen, living, and dining area as well as bedrooms and bathrooms.
In the early 2000s Cavern Walks became a thriving upmarket retail destination, housing leading designer fashion outlets such as Cricket and Vivienne Westwood. It was also home to two cafes and provided office space on its upper floors.
However, the opening of nearby Metquarter followed by the £1bn Liverpool ONE, sent Cavern Walks into a downward spiral from which it did not recover. The street remains a Mecca for Beatles fans from all over the world.
LBN has attempted to contact both JSM and Greenwood for comment.
Last week LBN revealed that a 216-bed budget hotel at the other end of Mathew Street is on the market with a price tag of £4.5m.
Kabannas Liverpool is available either on its own or as a package with another hotel, Kabannas Newcastle, which is available for £3m. Agents at property firm Christie & Co have been instructed to find buyers for both properties.
It is located in Kansas Buildings which was once the home of iconic local fashion retailer Wade Smith, a brand that was for a time popular with celebrities and sports stars.
Currently owner of the Liverpool and Newcastle sites is a London-based business called Whitevent Holdco. It also operates hotels under the Kabannas brand in London and Edinburgh.
It runs Kabannas Liverpool through a wholly-owned subsidiary called LV Propco which in its most recent accounts, for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, reported pre-tax losses of £627,897 from revenues of £1.14m.