BARCLAYS private wealth management division is setting up a base in Liverpool for the first time.

Barclays Wealth, which looks after the accounts of rich individuals, is to become the latest financial services firm to move into the city’s 20, Chapel Street office development.

The banking group’s wealth management division has taken the entire 11th floor, comprising 8,000 sq ft, at a rent of £20 per sq ft.

And one property source told the Daily Post that agreements to let another 30,000 sq ft in the building were expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

Barclays is the fifth tenant to sign up to the development, built by Rumford Investments. The other tenants are Bank of Ireland, architects Broadway Malyan, accountants Ernst & Young and stockbrokers Panmure Gordon.

The office fit-out is already under way, and Barclays Wealth expects to be ready for business from the new premises next month.

A spokeswoman for Barclays confirmed the deal but declined to give any more details about the numbers of staff that will be employed there. However, the size of the floorplate suggests up to 50.

Acting on behalf of Rumford Investments, the agents on the scheme were Hitchcock, Wright & Partners and DTZ. Mason Owen acted on behalf of Barclays and Barclays Wealth.

Situated near to the waterfront, Rumford’s 16-storey tower was completed in 2007 and supplies the city with 150,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.

Brian Ricketts, a partner at Hitchcock, Wright, said: “This is another impressive letting at what is rapidly becoming Liverpool’s premier financial centre.”

tonymcdonough