Plans in for £50m Cains revamp

LIVERPOOL brewer Cains has submitted plans for a £50m redevelopment of its base in the city that would reposition it as a leisure and tourism destination.

It was first unveiled in April as a rescue plan for the business that was struggling with low margins from supermarket contracts.

But since then the business has been wound up with debts of £8m.

Nonetheless, the Dusanj brothers who own the site are pushing ahead with the redevelopment plans. They want to turn part of the grade II-listed headquarters building on Grafton Street into a 100-bed boutique hotel, art house cinema, food market and restaurant.

The plans, drawn up by Falconer Chester Hall, include a second phase of apartments on an adjacent site. Cains said the scheme, called Brewery Village, would secure and create in the region of 528 full-time jobs plus 48 construction jobs during the build stage.

Sudarghara Dusanj, Managing Director of Cains, said: “We want to create a major new tourism and leisure asset for the city which would secure the future of the Cains beer brand and the grade II listed brewery for decades to come. Cities like Manchester and Newcastle have been unable to save their traditional breweries but we know this scheme will ensure Liverpool has a thriving and historic brewerybuilding for future generations.

“We will create a vibrant, independent and varied destination for people to live, work and enjoy which complements the rest of the city’s assets and dramatically improves the appearance of one of the city’s most important arterial routes. Our proposals would also make a significant contribution to the city’s ambitions to regenerate the Baltic Triangle.”