Knight Frank to close in Liverpool
Knight Frank will shut its Liverpool office in August and is likely to make several people redundant as it continues to suffer from the weak occupational market.
Among the staff understood to be in consultation over their jobs are Abid Jaffry, investment partner, Barry Greenwood, associate in building consultancy, Daniel Bourmad, commercial agency partner, all in Manchester and, in Liverpool, John Brown, surveyor in commercial agency.
The Liverpool office currently has nine staff, down from a peak of 11. The office in Horton House, Exchange Flags, opened in autumn 2007 but has suffered from Liverpool's poor take-up of commercial space during the downturn, according to North West commercial managing partner David Porter.
The Manchester office will go from 25 to 31 or 32 after the consolidation, added Porter.
In a statement issued on Monday morning, Porter said: "This strategic review of our services will enable us to refocus our commitment to Merseyside and we will continue to work with our clients to provide the highest level of service across the region. By consolidating the two offices we will strengthen our North West offering, allowing teams to provide clients with a first class service from a central hub.
"This consolidation will, regrettably, result in some redundancies from within the agency teams. This is a difficult time and we want ensure that these decisions are made in a sensitive manner. We are currently in a period of consultation with teams from across the North West."
