C4 ‘snubs Liverpool’ as home for its new headquarters
Liverpool has been snubbed as the host for the new headquarters of TV station C4.
According to a Tweet by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson this afternoon, C4 has decided not to shortlist the city.
In May the channel revealed it was considering Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and the West Midlands as a possible location. Each were also short-listed for a creative hub if they fails to secure the main prize of the new headquarters.
Sorry to announce Liverpool has not been shortlisted for C4 relocation or Hub. A huge thank you everyone who supported the bid? sad to be told a big problem was Liverpool not being connected transport wise. Exactly why not getting HS2 link is wrong?and shortsighted.
— Joe Anderson (@mayor_anderson) July 23, 2018
But today Mayor Anderson tweeted: “Sorry to announce Liverpool has not been shortlisted for C4 relocation or Hub. A huge thank you everyone who supported the bid – sad to be told a big problem was Liverpool not being connected transport wise. Exactly why not getting HS2 link is wrong and shortsighted.”
Liverpool had hosted a flying visit by C4 bosses in a bid to convince them of the city’s credentials.
The C4 team, which included chief executive Alex Mahon and chief commercial officer Jonathan Allan, were given a helicopter tour of the city to show off key facilities, such as the former Littlewoods Building on Edge Lane – set to be the home of a new “Hollywood-standard filming complex”.
The five-strong C4 team was also given a presentation at the Royal Liver Building, involving Mayor Anderson and the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.
Brookside creator, Prof Philip Redmond, was among the backers to bring C4’s HQ to Liverpool.
He said: “The city has been part of, not just Channel 4 since its first day, but a strand within the UK’s creative DNA.
“From the written word, through performance, sport and production, to the national museums and leading edge science and technology, Liverpool is always a first mover.
“Alongside this, the legacy of Brookside lives on with Hollyoaks at Lime Pictures, and that, plus the best Screen School and Film Office in the UK, provide a creative firmament unmatched anywhere else. Outside London – Liverpool is the premier creative city.”
C4 is moving 300 of its 800 staff out of the capital and will open three new sites in total.
The broadcaster is not selling its head office in London headquarters but its managers and commissioners will be moving to the news offices.
The final decision on the location of the new HQ will be announced in October.
