Castle Street office prepares for SME occupiers

An office at 14 Castle Street in Liverpool is undergoing a £2m refurbishment by Kilpatrick Property Group,  to deliver small suites which are being offered on 250-year leases.

Located above ground floor retail units occupied by McGuffies, Pasta Cosa, Sanctuary Tap and Rox, 12,000 sq ft of offices are being revamped, alongside the common areas and central glazed atrium.

Glasgow-based owner Kilpatrick is seeking to attract local SMEs by offering the suites of between 850 sq ft to 1,900 sq ft on 250-year leases at nominal rents, to give smaller businesses the ability to purchase an office for their company.

Completion is due in July, and half of the offices have already been sold off-plan.

Andrew Owen of Worthington Owen said: “This is a completely unique offering for Liverpool and market reaction was to a certain extent untested. We are delighted with the initial response with around half of the scheme under offer to parties relocating from conventional rental accommodation.

“Demand to date has largely been from owner run businesses purchasing the suites through self-invested pension plans, with a view to leasing back to their operating company, thereby taking advantage of the significant financial benefits this structure offers.”