LIVERPOOL city centre’s office market secured record lettings of almost 520,000 sq ft in 2009.

However, this figure was achieved mainly thanks to two huge public sector deals with Merseytravel and the UK Border Agency.

Total city centre take-up came in at 519,274 sq ft, according to the Liverpool Commercial Office Market Review 2009.

Total office lettings for the city as a whole, including Knowsley, came in at 721,189 sq ft. This was higher than 2008’s figure of 542,997 sq ft but below the 2007 peak of 846,195 sq ft.

However, take-up of office space excluding the city centre plunged 33.3%, to 131,220 sq ft.

The research was commissioned by Liverpool Vision and carried out by Professional Liverpool.

The UK Border Agency, part of the Home Office, signed a 15-year lease in December for 220,000 sq ft at The Capital building, in Old Hall Street.

In January, Merseytravel signed a 30-year lease for 140,000 sq ft at Neptune’s Mann Island development.

However, both of those deals are relocations from elsewhere in the city and when they are taken out of the equation the picture looks less rosy.

The report shows that during 2009 there were just three city centre deals of more than 10,000 sq ft – a drop from five in 2008.

The number of occupiers signing up for refurbished space also fell by half. There was also a mixed picture in the out-of-town market.

Knowsley remained resilient in the face of the recession with take-up down just 0.3%.

The report adds that the freehold office market “vanished” in 2009, dropping to 4% of all deals, compared to 30.3%in 2008.

The supply of available Grade A city centre office space is also shrinking, dropping from almost 222,000 sq ft to 178,000 sq ft.

Liverpool Vision chief executive Jim Gill said the figures represented a “very good performance in the face of challenging economic conditions”.

He added: “Liverpool is still well positioned to resume its growth once the global economic situation recovers, but the private sector is yet to return fully to the market, reflecting the continuing impact of the world financial crisis on occupier confidence.”

The dearth of major private sector lettings is a concern, but Professional Liverpool chief executive Mark Chadwick insists Liverpool is doing no better or worse than other regional centres.

He said: “Last year was a very difficult year for all cities and to record such impressive take-up is remarkable.”