Exhibition Centre Liverpool tops out

A topping out ceremony has been held to mark the highest point of construction at the £66m Exhibition Centre at the ACC Liverpool waterfront site.

The event saw the signing and installation of a specially commissioned steel beam at the highest point on the building, acknowledging the key roles of the major project stakeholders.

David McDonnell, chairman of ACC Liverpool, was joined by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, along with representatives from contractor ISG, hotel operator Branded Hotel Management and Pullman.

The steel beam, signed by the guests, featured individual plaques representing Liverpool City Council, ACC Liverpool, ISG and Pullman Hotel & Resorts.

Scheduled to open in September 2015, Exhibition Centre Liverpool will double the existing 80,000 sq ft capacity at ACC Liverpool to 160,000 sq ft of flexible exhibition space. The building will link to the existing arena and convention centre via a pedestrian link bridge, making the building the only purpose-built arena, convention and exhibition centre in Europe.

In its first year of operation, the exhibition centre is expected to host around 50 events and attract more than 250,000 visitors. Confirmed trade and consumer exhibitions so far include the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers FPS Expo, MCM Expo group and the Allergy and Free From Show North. Contracted conferences include RenewableUK.

Bob Prattey, chief executive of ACC Liverpool, said: "Exhibition Centre Liverpool marks the continued progression of ACC Liverpool and topping out represents the next major milestone in our development. We are now less than a year from opening and are pleased with how the project, which is one time and on budget, is gathering pace."