Liverpool-based Walton Group has let around 9,000 sq ft (836 sq m) of its Exchange Flags complex in the city centre.
Local IT firm Strategic Back Office Solutions (SBOS) paid £11.50 per sq ft (£124 per sq m) on a 10-year lease for the first floor of Houghton House, the east wing of the complex.
An option for SBOS to take a similar amount of space on the second floor will remain open for six months.
Exchange Flags totals 355,000 sq ft (32,980 sq m) on 10 floors, but only two floors of Houghton House – unoccupied for more than 10 years – are available to let.
The two usable floors of Houghton House were briefly occupied by the Criminal Records Bureau, controlled by Capita, which has since moved to Princes Dock in Liverpool.
Walton is considering refurbishing other floors in Houghton House, which totals around 110,000 sq ft (10,219 sq m).
It has outline planning consent for 200 flats in the other wing of the complex, Walker House, but has yet to produce detailed plans.
Last month, Walton reached an out-of-court settlement with English Partnerships (EP), agreeing to repay EP a £4m grant (minus interest) for the redevelopment of Exchange Flags, plus EP’s costs – around £5m.
EGi News 11/12/02
