A shopping mall connected to Liverpool Central station, acquired by the city council for around £17m in 2018, is now fully-let and generating an estimated £1m in rental income. Tony McDonough reports

All the retail units in the retail space around Liverpool Central Station are now fully occupied, generating an estimated £1m a year in rental income.

Liverpool City Council acquired the Liverpool Central Shopping mall, which includes retail units within the covered area next to the entrance to the station booking hall, and a number of units facing out onto Ranelagh Street, in early 2018 in a real believed to be worth around £17m.

At the time there were 17 units let, generating a total rental income of £860,000 a year. Now 22 units are let with the council’s commercial partner and leaseholder of the property, Augur Group, capitalising on the ‘grab-and-go’ food market to secure its latest tenants.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, four occupiers have signed up for space since February 2020. They are: 

• Wonton To Go, an Asian-inspired restaurant run by regional restaurateur Chris Brown. Mr Brown is also well known for his Gourmet Social project, a community interest company that helps address food poverty among children and young people.
• T4U, a national Korean bubble tea café and takeaway, opening in in the first quarter of 2021.
• Dough Dough has completed its fit out, offering a pizza restaurant with craft beer hall.
• Snack and Bargain has completed its express grab and go confectionary and drinks fit out and opened in October 2020.

A number of existing retailer have also renewed their leases. They are Wok & Go regional Asian food takeaway, Archie’s burger restaurant and the Timpson heel and key bar.

Since the acquisition of the mall, Augur Group has worked with Merseyrail and the council to refurbish the adjoining retail and restaurant to Central Station to provide new floor and mall finishes, as well as tenant and scheme signage, with mall seating to follow in the coming months.

Simon Mann, chief executive of Augur Group, said: “When we invested in the station and its retail offer, our immediate focus was to enhance the experience for users and retailers alike.

“It had great potential to contribute to the local area and we are delighted to have reached full occupancy. We have secured new tenants, which provide much loved grab and go opportunities, as well as keeping existing retailers, which already have their regular visitors and strong local following. We committed to continuing development in this thriving area of Liverpool.”

Alongside Liverpool Central Station sits the Circus development, also acquired by Augur Group in 2016. The development encompasses 400,000 sq ft of the Grade II-listed Lewis’s Building and its retained iconic façade as well as the surrounding land. This will deliver a mixed-use residential scheme.