One of Britain’s best-known food brands acquires Liverpool’s world famous Royal Liver Building for £60m – £30m lower than the price tag put on the Grade I-listed building in 2022. Tony McDonough reports
Food giant Princes has bought Liverpool’s Royal Liver Building for £60m – three years after it was put on the market with a £90m price tag.
Princes, a household name in the UK, has been a long standing tenant of the world famous Grade I-listed building which is one of the waterfront Three Graces along with Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building.
Princes traces its roots back to 1880 in Liverpool when Simpson & Roberts & Co was established as an importer of canned food. In 1900 the business adopted the name Princes and the iconic brand has been a mainstay of British kitchens ever since, particularly famous for its seafood.
It is part of the NewPrinces Group, formerly Newlat Food – the Italian company listed in Milan and majority owned by its founder Angelo Mastrolia.
Once the tallest office building in Europe, the Royal Liver Building was completed in July 1911. It was opened as the purpose-built headquarters of the fast-growing Royal Liver Assurance society, which had been set up in 1850.
In 2011, the Royal Liver Group was taken over by Royal London Group in a deal that also included ownership of the Royal Liver Building. By that point, Royal Liver staff occupied only part of the site with other floors let out to multiple business tenants.
In 2016 Royal London put the building up for sale with a price tag of £40m. In February 2017 Luxembourg-based investor Corestate Capital acquired the building for £48m. It was later revealed that its joint partner in the deal was Farhad Moshiri, former majority shareholder of Everton Football Club.
Corestate put the building up for sale in March 2022 hoping to achieve a sale price of £90m. However, the disposal was put on hold before a buyer could be found.
Princes, which already employs 400 people in the building, plans to expand its presence there using it not only as a corporate headquarters but also as a multi-purpose venue for events, collaboration and public engagement.
Princes has confirmed that all operations and tenant arrangements at the Royal Liver Building will remain unchanged with colleagues and partners assured of no immediate modifications to the site.
As one of the UK’s largest food manufacturing businesses, Princes operate 10 sites across the UK employing almost 3,000 people.
Chief executive Simon Harrison said: “Liverpool is an integral part of our heritage and future. Securing the Royal Liver Building reflects our commitment to this great city, our people, and sustainable success.
“The Royal Liver Building is an enduring symbol of Liverpool, and it’s an honour for Princes to call it our home.”
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This investment forms a key part of a broader £83m property plan for Princes that also includes the Cross Green facility in Leeds (£23m). This deal to acquire the Royal Liver was backed by HSBC.
Head of commercial banking in the UK Stuart Tait, said: “Supporting businesses that invest in the UK’s communities is at the heart of what we do. We are delighted to have provided financing to Princes to secure this historical landmark in the city it was founded in, as well as an operational facility in Leeds.”