Sedulo is taking 7,000 sq ft of office space at Exchange Flags in Liverpool city centre, spending £1m on its lease and a further £400,000 on refurbishing the space. Tony McDonough reports

A financial services company that counts celebrities and sports stars among its clients, is investing £1.4m in a new Liverpool office.

Sedulo is taking 7,000 sq ft of office space at Exchange Flags in the city centre. Its lease on the space is costing £1m and the company, which offers advice on taxes, mortgages, financial planning and accountancy, is spending £400,000 on a refurbishment.

Its new Walker House workplace will will feature a Jurgen Klopp and Howard Kendall suite with an indoor garden, dugouts, table football machines and seats in blue and red to pay homage to the city’s two football clubs. The company is also having its board room designed in the style of a military bunker, complete with sandbags and 1940s Wrens uniforms. Walker House once housed a bomb-proof bunker.

There’s also a McVitie’s/Crawfords suite being installed – with Crawfords having been a major Liverpool confectioners producing biscuits from the late 1800s until being merged with McVitie’s in the 1970s. There will also be a 3000 sq ft bar, an outdoor Victorian terrace garden overlooking the Royal Liver Building and an American diner.

Sedulo founder Paul Cheetham-Karcz said: “From day one the plan was to open offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. We’ve got a London office but outside of the capital these are the UK’s most dynamic cities. 

“I wanted to be the first proper advisory firm that had a real hold in each city, people have tried it before and done the odd seat, table or two-man desk but we didn’t want to do that as we wanted to build a stronghold in all three.

“I love all three cities, Liverpool is great and I don’t understand the competition. If you ask me, 90% of all the cities are the same – they have strong working-class roots and are built on a strong work ethic but the 10%, culturally – that’s what makes them all fantastic. It’s those 10% quirks that I try to respect.

“Bringing in the locality, paying respects to the building we are in and tipping the hat to the history of the area is really important. I am incredibly excited to be launching Sedulo in Liverpool.”

Sedulo started out as a tax accountancy firm but developed into a company who provide a suite of financial services. It also invests in businesses and recent funding has been agreed with a Wirral travel company, a gym wear brand and a nutrition performance start-up.

Mr Cheetham-Karcz added: “The reason why we built all that is because entrepreneurs are busy and if you’re not careful, you can get fragmented.

“We then realized footballers, boxers, athletes, musicians, actors, presenters, TV celebrities and busy business leaders  all need the same thing and are looking for an all round holistic advisor – rather than several different people advising you without ever being in the same room.”