£25m hotel redevelopment scheme in limbo following developer’s receivership

The firm behind the proposed £25m redevelopment of Liverpool’s former GH Lee store into a 175-room hotel has collapsed.

Liverpool-based Landlab Developments has been placed in the hands of receivers at Antony Batty & Co.

The city council’s planning committee granted planning approval for the project in October last year.

It was proposed that the venture would operate under hotel group Accor’s Mama Shelter brand.

The building dates back to 1853 when George Henry Lee and his brother, Henry Boswell Lee opened a Bonnet warehouse on Basnett Street.

The business eventually grew into one of the North’s top department stores and was acquired by the John Lewis Group in 1940.

It relocated to a flagship site in Liverpool One in 2008, but had lain empty following the departure in 2017 of Liverpool retail business Rapid Hardware.

Landlab’s plan was to change the use of the building, which comprises 14,233 sq metres of floorspace over nine floors – two basements levels, ground floor and six upper storeys – into a 175-room facility with ancillary functions including ground floor bar, restaurant and basement leisure facilities, fourth floor bedroom extension, with new external terraces at seventh floor level as part of a sky bar/restaurant at sixth floor level.

In recommending the Landlab proposals for approval, city council planning officers said: “It will contribute towards a sustainable mix of uses in an accessible location, benefiting the local economy and providing enhanced employment prospects. It will assist in increasing activity in the area, throughout the day and night.”

The administration order was filed by law firm gunnercooke and has been obtained by AIEF Assetstone.

Landlab Developments is registered in Mossley Hill, south Liverpool, and only has one director registered at Companies House, Victor Alfa.