Pure Gym signs at Central Village

Budget gym operator Pure Gym is opening in Liverpool after agreeing a lease on 20,000 sq ft with Merepark in Central Village.

Merepark said it has now pre-let in excess of 90,000 sq ft at the development off renshaw Street and Bold Street, in addition to the three hotels and Q-Park elements.

The gym chain will be based in the lower ground floor of the refurbished Lewis's building with access off Renshaw Street.

Pure Gym launched in 2009 in Manchester's Spinningfields and now has 25 branches across the UK with a further 15 in the pipeline. Pure Gym in Central Village will employ 30 staff when it opens in 2013.

The refurbishment of the grade II-listed Lewis's building is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The 126-bed Adagio apartment hotel is now well underway with opening due in early 2013. Work has also started on bringing the unused floors of Lewis's back to life as 80,000 sq ft of office space.

Neal Hunter, associate director at Merepark, said: "Pure Gym's move to Liverpool is a real coup for the city, and we're delighted to be able to host it at Central Village.

"With work progressing quickly on site and a steady stream of interest from businesses continuing to emerge, Central Village is really starting to take off."

The development will extend Liverpool's retail and leisure core with three new hotels, offices, as well as retail outlets, restaurants, bars, cafes, a new public car park and extensive landscaped public spaces.

Savills and CBRE are letting agents.