Video game developer agrees 11.5-year lease in historic Liverpool landmark

An 11.5-year lease has been confirmed at an historic Liverpool building, in the biggest letting in the city for three years.

Firesprite, part of the multinational entertainment group Sony, has taken the entire 50,000 sq ft of the Duke & Parr building, on Duke Street, which is capable of supporting 400 staff.

The tenancy deal was reached by property developer and asset manager CERT Property for its recently completed speculative office refurbishment at Duke & Parr – the Grade II-listed former Bibby Line headquarters and the city’s first public library.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority invested nearly £5m into refurbishing the site through two investment funds, enabling work to progress after original funding offers had been withdrawn at the height of the pandemic.

The arrangement involved £2.96m from the combined authority’s Urban Development Fund and £2.1m from its Chrysalis Fund.

This funding unlocked the project at a time when commercial funding was not available. A refinancing agreement is now in place which has enabled those loans to be repaid into the two funds, making them available to support further city region projects.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Devolution has given us the opportunity to drive transformational regeneration projects right across the city region – breathing new life into buildings and places that have existed in our communities for decades, but, for different reasons might not have been used to their full potential.

“We’ve injected huge investments into property, regeneration and sustainability projects through our £35m Chrysalis Fund, which has generated more than £100m-worth of development activity – creating and sustaining hundreds of jobs.

“Hopefully, the £5m we’ve awarded to this development will create a first-class space in the city to grow and develop – and continue to supercharge our area’s credentials as a leading tech cluster.”

Cllr Janette Williamson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority portfolio holder for inclusive economy and the third sector, said: “It is fantastic to see this historic old building given a new lease of life at the heart of our thriving digital and creative sector. And the fact that our £5m investment has already been repaid means that we can put that money to work again, creating jobs and opportunities for local people.”

Situated in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool, Duke & Parr has been transformed into a progressive workspace.

CERT Property founder, Howard Lord, said: “We began construction of Duke & Parr in April 2020, right at the height of the pandemic, at the time there was a whole shift in perspective in the way in which we work. It became clear that the office was no longer a core necessity to employees and businesses.

“People began evaluating their workspace, comparing the benefits of working from home with the nature of the traditional office. Understanding this, we wanted to create a property which viewed the office as a destination – a creative hub which inspires and connects people.

“This lease with a world-leading games and entertainment giant is testament to the team who worked with us on this project to deliver the vision we had to create an inspiring workplace that would attract occupiers in the post-pandemic role of the workplace.”

Robert Wood, the fund manager for Chrysalis at igloo Investment Management, said: “This refurbishment risked becoming a potential victim of the pandemic when the previous lenders withdrew their support from the project.

“Risk aversion from traditional lenders was heightening throughout COVID-19. That allowed the UDF Funds to intervene and provide a lending facility which enabled the developer to proceed as planned and deliver a building fit for purpose. This is exactly what the UDF Funds are set up to do – stimulate and support job creating regeneration projects across the city region.”

CERT’s successful renovation of the historic building has been shortlisted for several property awards including Property Week’s Property Awards and the Liverpool City Region Property Awards. CERT sensitively removed the superficial 1990s additions of previous occupiers, showcasing historical 1800s features.

These include an original staircase reinstated between the basement and atrium that was previously covered, restoration of original listed columns, removal of suspended ceilings to expose original features, even original wallpapers, repair of the boardroom’s wooden ceiling, original safes in the basement revealed and original fireplaces restored.

CERT also stripped back and stained the parquet flooring in reception, and restored terrazzo flooring in the basement and building entrances creating an interior which complements the building’s grandeur.

Video game developer Firesprite will relocate staff to Duke & Parr from the nearby Vanilla Factory.