Completion of the 200-apartment scheme, The Address, in Liverpool city centre provides a brighter moment in what has been a tough year for Elliot Group founder, Elliot Lawless. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool developer Elliot Group has competed a 200-apartment residential scheme in the city centre.
Called The Address, the £152,000 sq ft project was the final piece of the jigsaw in Elliot’s £100m Wolstenholme Square, a £100m development in Liverpool’s Ropewalks district. It was backed with £16.8m from NatWest.
The Address includes 32 studios, 102 one bed apartments and 66 two-bed homes. There are two commercial units on the ground floor. When the deal with NatWest was agreed in June last year it signalled a change from the company’s usual fractional sales model.
Delivery of The Address is a bright moment in what has been a difficult year for Elliot Group founder, Elliot Lawless. Mr Lawless was arrested by Merseyside Police as part of an ongoing fraud investigation last December. He was released without charge and the High Court later refused a police application to extend his bail and declared the search warrant and the search of his home unlawful.
The police subsequently agreed to pay Mr Lawless’s legal fees and he continues to maintain his innocence.
However, the fallout from the arrest rocked investor confidence in other Elliot Group residential schemes. Earlier this year the £100m Aura project, £250m Infinity scheme, and a third development in Salford, were all placed in administration.
At the beginning of this month it was revealed Mr Lawless had helped broker a deal that will see work resume on Aura, which comprises 1,007 residential student units, backed by its original investors. He hopes to facilitate a similar deal for Infinity.
Today, Mr Lawless said that The Address, built as a PRS (Private Rented Sector) scheme, “raises the bar” in terms of residential quality. He added: “We took our inspiration from London and Dublin in terms of what institutional funds want to offer the market.
“The focus on design and fit-out has been matched by service standards, with a 24-hour concierge and additional facilities such as lounge areas, a residents’ gymnasium and a rooftop garden.”
The development was built on the former headquarters of social care charity PSS, which Elliot Group acquired in June 2017, and rises to 11 storeys. Previous to that it housed the Beatle City museum. It was esigned by the Liverpool studio of Falconer Chester Hall, Newry Construction were the contractors.
Sam Tumilty of building managers Urban Evolution says lettings are already ahead of expectations. He explained: “We have let 80 apartments already and the consistent message we’re getting back is that the quality of each apartment’s finish and fit-out is completely different from anything else in the Liverpool market.”
And Adam Hall, managing director of Falconer Chester Hall, added: “This is the 21st project we have delivered with Elliot Group and it’s one we are very proud of. The homes are exceeding expectations and are in a very quiet corner of Ropewalks, yet moments away from Liverpool ONE.”