Everton and Peel agree lease for dock site

Everton Stadium Development, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the football club, has formally signed a deal with Peel Land & Property to lease land at Bramley Moore Dock, Liverpool Waters.

The lease, which is conditional upon Everton gaining planning consent for a stadium and securing funding for its construction, will run for a period of 200 years at a peppercorn rent.

Everton now effectively control the land on which the club wants to build, a milestone given the various projects pursued in and around the city over the last 25 years.

Robert Elstone, chief executive of Everton, said: “Clearly this is very positive news. Gaining control of the site was essential for us to be able to move forward with the next stages of the project – finalising the funding agreement with the council and preparing for the submission of a planning application – both of which we hope to do in the New Year. I’d like to thank Peel as well as Mayor Anderson and his colleagues at the Council for their support in getting us to this point.”

The club said that the stadium will be complemented by a host of leisure amenities and facilities to enhance the visitor experience. The city sees the stadium project as a catalyst for the waterfront, where it is investing in a cruise liner terminal and improved ferry facilities. Peel’s Liverpool Waters scheme is a long-running regeneration plan, now divide into neighbourhoods and seeing some development of residential, while the city has worked up Ten Streets, an “innovation district” type development.

Ian Pollitt, assistant project director at Liverpool Waters, said: “2017 has been a landmark year for Liverpool Waters with a series of planning permissions granted for both Princes Dock and Central Dock, including the plans for a new cruise terminal and a collection of residential developments.

“We know that a world class stadium, on the banks of the River Mersey, will act as a trigger for even more investment and jobs which will be of huge benefit to the whole city region. We’ve been working very closely with all partners to get to this stage and we’re excited to move on to the next phase of the project.”

CBRE is advising Everton. The firm said that it estimates that Bramley Moore will provide a £1bn boost to the local economy, with more than £255m spent through local supply chains during the construction phase.

Iain Jenkinson, senior director in planning and development at CBRE, said: “The social and economic impact presented by this once-in-a-generation opportunity will be a game-changer for the city not only in terms of measurable regeneration benefits but also through the unique brand value of what will become a globally recognised stadium on one of the world’s most famous and spectacular waterfronts.”

Peel was advised by Brabners on all property matters with Colette McCormack at Winckworth Sherwood advising on planning aspects of the deal.