Construction firm wins its biggest contract so far

The exterior of the proposed Rise scheme

Skelmersdale-based building firm Construction Partnership UK (CPUK) has won its largest contract, working on a £40m mixed use scheme in Liverpool.

The contractor has been brought in by Liverpool developer Primesite to transform a derelict site in Low Hill into 146 student flats and 286 private apartments.

The £23.4m contract consists of the construction of a new seven-storey mixed use development combining student accommodation, studios and clusters, residential studios and key worker apartments.

The ground floor will provide an undercroft car park with communal services including a gymnasium, cinema, games room and laundry.

The scheme, designed by Brock Carmichael Associates, the Liverpool-based architects, is on the site of the former Gregson’s Well pub and will become a visual landmark for people approaching the city centre from West Derby Road, on the fringes of the Knowledge Quarter.

The first phase of the development, which comprises the student accommodation, is due to be completed in Autumn 2019.

Primesite is a Liverpool-based developer whose other major works in the city centre include the £26m Strand Plaza, a luxury residential development in Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage Waterfront, with views of the Three Graces.

CPUK’s order book for 2019 stands at £98m across a dozen major projects, eight of which are repeat business from previous clients.

Steve Burke, CPUK managing director, said: “We are delighted to be back working in Liverpool and to have secured the largest contract in our 18-year history is something special.

“Liverpool is a city of opportunity right now and as a local business we are proud to be a part of its exciting future.

“There are more than a dozen major schemes in the development pipeline worth more than £14bn, including a new police headquarters, a cruise liner terminal and a hotel in the (former) Liverpool Echo newspaper building, plus major residential works like The Rise.

“This contract represented a quick negotiation with the client to get on site as soon as possible and this is a vindication of the hard work all the team at CPUK has put in over the years.

“More than 80% of our work is either negotiated or repeat business from previous clients.”

Kerry Tomlinson, director at Primesite, said: “The opportunity to have a positive impact on the regeneration of our local area is incredibly important to us.

“This site was a pub and later a builder’s yard, before sitting empty and derelict for many years.

“Along with CPUK and our other partners we are transforming this eyesore into quality residential space for Liverpool.

“The Rise has an unusual mixture of surroundings, sitting amongst a main junction, housing, an industrial estate, and gardens.

“It is also in a very prominent position on a main route into the city centre and within the Knowledge Quarter.

“As well as improving housing options for workers and students, it will become a landmark building, part of the fabric of Liverpool. We are looking forward to working with CPUK, who have a solid reputation in the industry.”

The building is a steel frame construction with composite metal deck flooring. Externally, the development will have a brick and rendered façade, aluminium windows and curtain walling. The roof is a single ply flat roof.

The scheme is being heated by a set of Biomass boilers situated within the undercroft parking area.

CPUK’s last two projects in Liverpool were the £9.1m contract to build 52,5000 sq ft of retail for Home Bargains owner TJ Morris near Liverpool John Lennon Airport (on site and due to complete in November 2019) and the £6.5m office to residential conversion of No. 2 Moorfields into 136 studio apartments for developer Miler Services in 2016.

CPUK Group boasts an annual turnover of £50m.

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