Metquarter

Metquarter is a retail and leisure centre on Whitechapel in central Liverpool, England. The development occupies a former General Post Office building whose upper floors were severely damaged during the May Blitz of 1941 and subsequently demolished. The surviving structure was redeveloped in the early 2000s as a specialist shopping destination intended to bring premium, boutique and lifestyle retail to Liverpool city centre. The site was acquired in 2004 by Milligan, a retail development company, together with J. W. Kaempfer and Richardson Developments. The redevelopment was originally expected to cost approximately £70 million but ultimately reached about £100 million. The project converted the historic post-office site into a centre of roughly 160,000 square feet, or approximately 15,000 square metres, combining retail, food, entertainment and leisure uses. Metquarter opened in March 2006. Its tenant mix has included international and premium fashion and accessories names such as Hugo Boss and Kurt Geiger, alongside specialist and local Liverpool retailers including Cricket, Kids Cavern, Tribal Society and Transalpino. The centre has also incorporated food and entertainment concepts, including the GPO food hall and an Everyman Cinema venue. This combination gives Metquarter a more curated and boutique-led identity than a conventional mass-market shopping centre. It has consequently been described as Liverpool's equivalent of Bond Street, although it operates within a broader city-centre retail environment that also includes Liverpool One, St John's Shopping Centre and Cavern Walks. After an 18-month launch period, Milligan sold Metquarter in August 2007 to Anglo Irish Bank Private Banking and Alanis Capital, according to the centre's published historical account. The available reference material does not establish the current ownership structure. Metquarter's businesses participate in City Central, the Liverpool city-centre Business Improvement District, which represents approximately 630 businesses. In 2020, plans were submitted to Liverpool City Council to convert upper parts of the centre into teaching rooms, recording studios and common rooms for students of Liverpool Media Academy. The proposal reflected an effort to broaden the site's use beyond conventional retail while retaining its role as a city-centre destination.

Metquarter occupies a historically significant site on Whitechapel in Liverpool city centre. Before its conversion into a retail and leisure destination, the building served as Liverpool's General Post Office and was designed in a style associated with a French chateau. The building suffered severe damage during the May Blitz of 1941. Its upper floors were later removed, leaving a structure that was eventually suitable for comprehensive redevelopment. The modern Metquarter project emerged after the site was acquired in 2004 by Milligan, together with J. W. Kaempfer and Richardson Developments. Milligan was involved in retail and leisure development elsewhere in the United Kingdom, including projects connected with Triangle Manchester and retail and leisure operations at Manchester and London Luton airports. The redevelopment sought to create a distinctive premium shopping destination rather than another general-purpose department-store-led centre. Construction and conversion took place over approximately two years. The projected budget was initially understood to be around £70 million, but the final investment reportedly rose to approximately £100 million. The completed scheme provided about 160,000 square feet, equivalent to roughly 15,000 square metres, of retail and leisure space. Metquarter opened in March 2006. The centre's early commercial identity was built around boutique stores, premium fashion and accessories, specialist retailers, local brands and complementary food and entertainment uses. Its tenant portfolio has included Hugo Boss and Kurt Geiger, as well as Cricket, Kids Cavern, Tribal Society and Transalpino. The centre also developed non-retail attractions, including the GPO food hall and a Liverpool branch of Everyman Cinema. This mixture helped establish Metquarter as a more selective and experience-oriented destination within the city-centre retail offer. It has been positioned in local descriptions as the 'Bond Street of Liverpool'. Following an 18-month launch period, Milligan sold the centre in August 2007 to Anglo Irish Bank Private Banking and Alanis Capital, as recorded in the centre's historical reference material. The sources available for this dossier do not confirm whether that ownership arrangement remains current, so no current owner is assigned here. Metquarter is one of several major retail destinations in Liverpool city centre. It is generally described as smaller than Liverpool One and St John's Shopping Centre but larger than the Cavern Walks boutique arcade. Its businesses are members of City Central, a Business Improvement District representing approximately 630 businesses in Liverpool city centre. That relationship places Metquarter within the wider coordinated commercial and place-management network of central Liverpool. In 2020, plans were submitted to Liverpool City Council proposing the conversion of upper floors into teaching rooms, recording studios and common rooms for Liverpool Media Academy students. The proposal indicated a possible diversification of the property from a purely retail-led centre toward education and creative-media uses. The available material does not establish the final planning outcome or the extent to which the proposal was implemented.

• 2020

  Education and creative-media conversion proposed

  [1]Metquarteren.wikipedia.org

  Plans were submitted to Liverpool City Council to create teaching rooms, recording studios and student common rooms for Liverpool Media Academy in the centre's upper floors.

• 2007

  Milligan sells Metquarter

  [1]Metquarteren.wikipedia.org

  After an 18-month launch period, Milligan sold Metquarter to Anglo Irish Bank Private Banking and Alanis Capital.

• 2006

  Metquarter opens

  [1]Metquarteren.wikipedia.org

  The approximately 160,000-square-foot retail and leisure centre opened in March after a major conversion project.

• 2004

  Redevelopment ownership acquired

  [1]Metquarteren.wikipedia.org

  Milligan, J. W. Kaempfer and Richardson Developments acquired the site and began the redevelopment that would create Metquarter.

• 1941

  General Post Office damaged during the May Blitz

  [1]Metquarteren.wikipedia.org

  The former General Post Office building on the site was severely damaged during Liverpool's May Blitz, leading to the later demolition of its upper floors.

A Liverpool city-centre boutique shopping and leisure destination with a premium, curated tenant mix and a focus on fashion, independent retail, dining and entertainment.

• Retail · 2006

  Boutique fashion and accessories retail

  Metquarter's core offer is a curated collection of fashion and accessories stores, including premium and specialist brands. The centre has hosted names such as Hugo Boss and Kurt Geiger, giving it a more upscale and boutique-led profile than a standard high-street shopping complex.

• Retail · 2006

  Specialist and local retail

  The centre has provided space for specialist and Liverpool-based retailers, including Cricket, Kids Cavern, Tribal Society and Transalpino. These stores broaden the offer beyond international premium labels and contribute to Metquarter's identity as a destination for distinctive, youth-oriented and independent retail.

• Food and beverage

  GPO food hall

  GPO is a food-hall concept located within Metquarter. It complements the centre's shopping offer with dining and social uses, helping position the property as a leisure destination as well as a collection of retail units.

• Entertainment

  Everyman Cinema

  Metquarter has hosted an Everyman Cinema venue, adding film and hospitality-led entertainment to the centre's mix. The cinema supports the development's broader strategy of combining shopping with food, culture and leisure.

• 2020

  Proposed conversion of upper floors for education and media productionStrategy

  Background

  Liverpool Media Academy sought additional specialist facilities, while Metquarter had upper-floor space that could support uses beyond conventional retail.

  Action taken

  Plans were submitted to Liverpool City Council for teaching rooms, recording studios and student common rooms within the centre.

  Aftermath

  The available reference material confirms the submission but does not establish the final planning decision or whether the full conversion was completed.

  Source

1. 1Metquarteren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Metquarter official websitemetquarter.com