Full-scale refurbishment of the Grade-II-listed Martins Bank Building in Liverpool will cost £83.6m with city region Mayor Steve Rotheram chipping in with £22m of taxpayer cash. Tony McDonough reports

Taxpayers will contribute £22m towards the £83.6m refurbishment of the Grade-II-listed Martins Bank Building in Liverpool’s Water Street.

This gap funding from city region Mayor Steve Rotheram’s £2bn Investment Fund will help ensure the stop-start project can finally go ahead. This will see 140,000 sq ft of much-needed office space brought to the commercial district market.

In October property investor and building owner Karrev submitted fresh plans for the refurbishment and restoration of the building, which is next to Liverpool Town Hall and has been empty for more than a decade.

Karrev has submitted two fresh applications to Liverpool City Council for a series of design amendments to the original plans which comprise 140,000 sq ft of offices and a restaurant in the former banking hall on the ground floor.

In August 2021 a project to bring the building back to life as an office complex, focused on smaller businesses, was announced.

But the scheme stalled when Karrev, was unable to agree a price with appointed contractor Lendlease after the discovery of asbestos looked likely to mean the refurbishment would be less straightforward than originally thought.

In March, Karrev managing director Julien Buronfosse said work on the 210,000 sq ft building could be finally about to begin this year and be complete in 2028. The firm has already spent £11m on asbestos removal and strip-out work.

Karrev will invest £61.5m into the refurbishment with the Mayor’s fund providing the balance. Launched by Mr Rotheram at the MIPIM international property expo earlier in March the fund brings together devolved cash to accelerate regeneration.

It will also contribute towards the £60m Pall Mall office project just a couple of streets away, bringing more than 100,000 sq ft of space to market, as well as the £69m HEMISPHERE office and laboratory scheme over in the Knowledge Quarter.

“Liverpool is home to more listed buildings than anywhere outside London, but for too long, too many have been left abandoned waiting for a new purpose,” said the Mayor.

“Martins Bank is one of our city’s great architectural landmarks. The buildings that helped make Liverpool what it is today should be helping shape what it becomes tomorrow. Karrev has committed to funding the development through to completion and retaining and operating Martins Bank as a long-term investment.

Julien Buronfosse, managing director of Karrev, added: “Our ambition is to create a best-in-class workplace that respects its heritage while delivering the quality, flexibility and sustainability that modern businesses expect.

“We are making a significant long-term investment in Martins Bank and intend to retain and operate the building following its transformation.

Completed in 1932, Martins Bank was designed by renowned Liverpool architect Herbert J Rowse. His other work in Liverpool included India Buildings, just yards away in Water Street, the Philharmonic Hall and the Mersey Tunnel ventilation towers.

During World War II the vaults of Martins Bank were used to store the bulk of England’s gold reserves, 280 tonnes, as part of Operation Fish. It was part of an overall plan to move the country’s wealth to Canada in the event of a German invasion.

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In 2018 it was announced that the building’s then owners, Starwood Capital, had sold it to a French property company, Foncière des Régions. In 2021 the building was acquired by Karrev, an investor which also has properties in Manchester and Leeds.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will be asked to approve the funding at its meeting on Friday, November 6.