Landmark block is to get £2m upgrade from buyers

Oct 4 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

Number 1 Dale Street, Liverpool _320

A GRADE II-listed office building in the heart of Liverpool’s business district is to undergo a £2m refurbishment after changing hands.

Number 1 Dale Street, best known locally as the main city centre branch for the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been acquired by north west property group Bruntwood from investment company Petros for an undisclosed sum.

It is the second major deal announced by Bruntwood in the last few months. In July, it bought the Cotton Exchange office complex in a deal believed to be worth around £20m.

It already owns several other commercial buildings around the city including the former Littlewoods headquarters in Old Hall Street, now called the Plaza.

Number 1 Dale Street comprises 50,000 sq ft of office space. Part of the building was recently vacated by law firm Brabners and RBS’s corporate team will shortly be relocating from there to the Plaza.

RBS’s main retail banking operation will remain but the rest of the building will undergo extensive refurbishment.

Jenny Westhead, Bruntwood’s development surveyor, said: “Number 1 Dale Street will be a prime example of how to undertake an extensive internal refurbishment scheme while preserving the heritage of Liverpool’s buildings.

“It will allow us to continue our focused investment into Liverpool and bring the city’s treasured buildings up to a modern high- quality office standard.

Petros also owns the city’s 10-storey, 85,000 sq ft Regian House.

tonymcdonough