German shipping line latest to sign up to refurbed 1 St Paul’s Square

German shipping group, Hapag Lloyd, has agreed a 10-year lease for 8,8578 sq ft of contemporary office space at 1 St Paul’s Square, in Liverpool’s business district.

The deal means it is the fourth tenant to move in, or renew, its lease at the building following its refurbishment.

Hapag Lloyd, a specialist in container shipping, will relocate its staff from the nearby No 1 Tithebarn Street in April, to meet the continued regional growth in a more modern and efficient workspace.

This latest letting follows a raft of recent deals including a 16,694 sq ft letting to Direct Line Group, a 16,933 sq ft deal with Keoghs Solicitors and the renewal of 46,922 sq ft with Hill Dickinson, totalling 89,677 sq ft of transactions.

The eight-storey building at 1 St Paul’s Square, which offers 131,247 sq ft of Grade A modern office space, underwent a comprehensive repositioning in 2023, including brand new reception provision of breakout areas, state of the art cycle storage, lockers, showers and new WCs.

Following the redevelopment works undertaken by English Cities Fund, St Paul’s Square is positioned to be the ‘new’ core business district of Liverpool. It is home to a significant number of the city’s principle law firms, including Hill Dickinson, Weightmans and DWF, together with a host of financial and professional services occupiers including Santander, Marsh/Mercer, Investec and US Airways.

Neil Kirkham, Senior Director and head of CBRE’s Liverpool office, said: “The refurbishment at 1 St Paul’s Square has been delivered to the highest standards and that quality provision has been substantiated by this spate of new lettings.

“There remains just 31,000 sq ft available office space over ground, first and second floors, with the ground floor offering opportunities for a variety of uses, such as retail, bar or restaurant, with suites from circa 2,000 to 8,500 sq ft.”

Jonathan Baucher, Director at B1 Real Estate, which represented Hapag Lloyd, said: “After an extensive market search, the recent repositioning works carried out at No 1 St Paul’s Square, coupled with the building’s location and flexibility and efficiency of the floorplate created a real appeal to the business. The Hapag Lloyd business in Liverpool is extremely well established and this move is well aligned to its requirements.”