GERMAN investment fund CommerzReal has paid £47m for a long-term lease of a new waterfront office block that will become Merseytravel’s headquarters.
Joint developers Neptune Developments and Countryside Properties say the deal, which will take effect once the building is completed, is a sign that Liverpool is still on the property investment map despite the recession.
It means CommerzReal will fund the construction of the development in return for a long-lease interest that will see them receive the rental income from the building for 30 years.
Construction giant BAM will soon start work on the 140,000 sq ft office block. It will be the final stage of the £135m Mann Island redevelopment as building work has already begun on two black granite residential blocks, which will house 376 apartments.
Merseytravel agreed in January to sign a 30-year lease on the building. It is now taking eight floors, rather than all 11 as originally planned, but the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) stepped in with £3m funding to ensure the project could still go ahead.
Hans-Joachim Kuehl, head of acquisitions at CommerzReal, said: “We have a long track record of development in the UK, and are delighted to again be able to forward fund such a quality scheme.
“The asset and the wider regeneration of Mann Island will look great once completed, and the 30-year lease gives the fund a security of income we cannot replicate elsewhere.”
Steve Parry, managing director of Neptune Developments, said: “This acquisition by CommerzReal is a major boost for both Mann Island and for Liverpool.
“Despite the current economic conditions, the deal vindicates our commitment to developing buildings of the highest quality on the site and demonstrates that Liverpool is back on the property investment map. To secure such a renowned overseas investor demonstrates how far Liverpool has come in recent years.”
Liverpool Vision chief executive Jim Gill said: “Confirmation of this deal is not just important for the Mann Island scheme, it also sends a very real message of international confidence in Liverpool and its future projects.”
