Capital & Centric plan Churchill House refurb

Capital & Centric has acquired a 40,000 sq ft derelict office building in central Liverpool and an adjacent 50 space surface car park from Derwent Lodge Estates.

The eight-storey at 12 Tithebarn Street has been empty for more than eight years. Derwent Lodge Estates hoped to build a new magistrates' court with Kajima at the site, before the public sector cuts halted the scheme.

The building is within Liverpool's Business Improvement District, Mayoral Development Zone and a conservation area.

Capital & Centric's planned £6m refurbishment will see the building stripped back to the concrete structure. The Manchester-based developer submitted a planning application to Liverpool City Council for consent to the refurbishment and was granted planning approval in March this year. AEW is the architect on the project and DLA the solicitors.

The surface parking will be retained for the new tenants of the offices and consideration is also being given to a 40,000 sq ft extension to the offices in due course.

Adam Higgins, director of Capital & Centric, said: "This 1970s structure is like something straight out of TV drama Life on Mars, it's a shame that so many of these buildings have been demolished over the years as they've fallen out of fashion. In the same way that the old red brick mills have enjoyed a revival, these types of buildings will eventually be seen as worthy of keeping.

"It's challenging to find a viable way of bringing a building like this back into use without 'throwing the towel in' and knocking it down, but we feel to do that would be a waste and a missed opportunity.

"Liverpool has plenty of new vacant offices and some badly refurbished old offices too. We've got an opportunity to offer something completely different, something not available anywhere else in Liverpool, something that will encourage occupiers that want to stand out from the crowd."

Knight Frank acted for Derwent Lodge on the disposal, Capital & Centric represented itself.