Jim Gill, chief executive of urban regeneration company Liverpool Vision, said today that the end of the city’s European objective one funding next year would be a ‘watershed moment’ for the city.
Speaking at MIPIM this morning, Gill said
Objective one has pumped more than £100m into
Gill said: “the city has been too dependent on public investment in the past.
“Next year will see a shift in focus because of the end of objective one. It will be viewed in 40 years time as a watershed moment.”
He added that it was “an accident” that the date coincides with
A report released this week by the URC and the Merseyside Property Forum shows recent office take up patterns have moved away from the public sector.
The private sector accounted for 79% of take-up last year, while financial occupiers accounted for 14% of overall take-up – up from 10% in 2005.
A take-up figure of 405,000 sq ft was recorded in the city during 2006, down from 2005’s figure of 498,000 sq ft, according to the Liverpool City Centre Commercial Office Market Review.
The city’s five-year take-up average is 423,000 sq ft.
Take-up by the professional sector fell from 257,000 sq ft in 2005 to 126,000 sq ft last year.
Prime office rents increased from £18 per sq ft to £20 per sq ft between 2005 and 2006.
Around £200m was spent on prime office investment and yields fell from 5.7% in 2005 to 4.7% in 2006.
The Merseyside Property Forum comprises local agents Irving Rice, Hitchcock Wright & Partners, Keppie Massie and Mason Owen & Partners.
