Reach sells ECHO printing hall to padel operator
Located on Liverpool’s King Edward Street, the facility printed its last newspaper in 2008.
Reach PLC, which counts the Liverpool ECHO among its many titles, has sold the 39,500 sq ft building to a local business headed up by director John Fay that plans to convert the asset into a sports complex majoring on padel.
The purchase price was not disclosed. The deal incorporates adjacent land, which was used as a car park until recently.
As well as 10 courts for the fast-growing sport, the facility would include workspace and other health and wellness elements.
Plans for the scheme are being worked up by a project team spearheaded by Liverpool-based architect Falconer Chester Hall. An application is expected in the coming days and the team is hopeful of determination in Q2 2027.
“We’re incredibly excited about what this building can become,” Fay said. “We see it playing an important role both for the business district and the wider city centre.”
“The age of the social city is here, with workers and residents embracing lifestyles that increasingly blur the lines between socialising and working.”
The printing hall opened in 1974 adn printed the ECHO and Daily Post. It closed in 2008 when operations were moved to Oldham. The Goss printing machines and folding and assembly lines remain in place, and work has now begun to dismantle them.
Fay added: “The Print Hall has an extraordinary history and has played its own part in Liverpool’s story for more than 50 years. We don’t want to erase that history. We want to give it a new purpose that supports the city as it continues to evolve.
“For decades, stories were printed here and sent out across Liverpool. Now we have an opportunity to write the building’s next chapter.”
The project team includes planner Pegasus, FutureServ, Studio Two, Edge, Curtins, Delph Projects, Alt Fire, and Anderton Gables.
Hill Dickinson acted as legal advisors to the purchasers, with MHA advising on the commercials.
