Derwent Estates secures planning consent for an £11m expansion of Liverpool Shopping Park with 90% of the units let and new tenants including a Tesla showroom. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool Shopping Park is to be extended by a further 70,000 sq ft taking total floorspace to 235,000 sq ft.
In an £11m project Derwent Estates, which manages the park on behalf of the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, will expand the park off Edge Lane which first opened in late 2017.
Derwent says 90% of the new space, which has now been approved by Liverpool City Council, has been pre-let. New tenants will include a 20,000 sq ft Tesla showroom, which has signed a 20-year lease.
Two new drive-thrus will be operated by Five Guys and Costa Coffee having both taken 15 year leases. The existing Hollywood Bowl will see its unit reconfigured and refurbished to create a new 35,000 sq ft bowling and leisure facility with a new 20-year lease agreed.
They will join existing brands at the park, which include M&S Food, H&M, Nike, Greggs, Next, Smyths Toys, JD Sports, TK Maxx and most recently, PureGym.
James Maule-Ffinch, senior asset manager at Derwent Estates, said: “The prominent location of Liverpool Shopping Park, fronting Edge Lane, means that it has immediate appeal to retail and leisure operators.
“This next phase in the Park’s development will increase it in size to 235,000 sq ft making it one of the region’s largest and most popular out of town retail and leisure destinations.
“The fact that we have managed to pre-let the majority of this latest phase so quickly is testament not only to the appeal of the Shopping Park but also the high quality of the units.
“We recently secured a 4,000 sq ft letting to Schuh on a 10 year lease proving that high profile occupiers continue to flock to the Park. Only two units of 3,000 sq ft remain and we are already in advanced negotiations with potential operators.
“We plan to appoint a contractor in the coming weeks with a view to starting on site later in the summer.”
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ATP Planning is the planning consultant advising Derwent Estates with RGP the architect and Drees & Sommer (UK Ltd) the project managers. McMullen Real Estate and CSP are the retained letting agents for the scheme.
Derwent Estates continues to be very active in this gateway to Liverpool city centre location having also just agreed a 20-year lease with kitchen supplier Howdens for the former American Golf building situated further along Edge Lane.