Building is in the heart of the city’s central business district and was once the nerve centre of the global cotton industry – and is now home to a number of digital and creative businesses

Property firm Bruntwood has begun the latest phase of its refurbishment of the Cotton Exchange project in Liverpool’s central business district.

The historic building, once the nerve centre of the global cotton industry, has been carefully restored and transformed over the past four years

It is now home to a number of businesses, many of them in the creative and digital sector.

New communal spaces have been created including a rooftop garden, bicycle store and The Old Hall events space, attracting firms such as Mashbo, Meet & Potato, De Winter and Kaleidoscope.

The next phase involves the refurbishment of two consecutive spaces, known as Colonnades, on the first and second floors that originally housed the building’s cotton trading hall prior to its partial demolition in the 1960s.

This work involves excavating and restoring a series of pillars, coving and statues that once adorned its ceiling.

Work is also being undertaken to deliver a new top floor office space with access to its own 2,500 sq ft roof terrace boasting views across the city, in addition to a newly modernised 3,600 sq ft office space on the sixth floor.

This latest phase will coincide with the arrival of award-winning Liverpool business Leaf, which is due to open a new bar, restaurant and events venue on the ground floor later this year.

Colin Forshaw, head of property at Bruntwood, said: “When Bruntwood first assumed control of the Cotton Exchange in 2007, we did so with a clear understanding of the responsibility that goes with owning one of Liverpool’s most important buildings.

“Over the past four years, in particular, we have gone about modernising every aspect of the building while showcasing what makes it so special, unearthing some long-forgotten architectural gems along the way.”