Royal Albert Dock developer secures trio of lettings

Real estate developer General Projects has signed three food and beverage and retail tenants for a combined 16,516 sq ft at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock. Indian restaurant Delhi House Café has signed a 10-year lease for 3,100 sq ft of space. Pasta specialist Pasta Cosa, which will name its space Francie’s, has taken 489 sq ft on a 10-year lease. Fantasy memorabilia store House of Spells will upsize from its existing space within the Pride of Liverpool store, taking 12,927 sq ft on a 15-year lease. The trio will join existing occupiers including The Botanist, Rudy’s Pizza, Rosa’s Thai Cafe and Maray. The 375,000 sq ft dock is made up of the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings in England and comprises mixed-use accommodation providing restaurants, bars, shops, two hotels and a collection of SME offices, within four heritage buildings. Since acquiring the heritage landmark a year ago, General Projects has embarked on a series of public realm interventions in a bid to enhance the user experience at the Dock. Shop frontages are being fixed and repainted, accessibility to and around the site improved, and investment made into cultural events and installations. Longer-term, General Projects is working with renowned place design studio Planit on a placemaking strategy for the site. In addition to the F&B and retail deals, 5,330 sq ft of office space has been let to businesses such as Heist LTD, Istay, Studio RBA, Think Publicity and Planit. The developer has also created 30 new SME workspace studios across the site, with investment in the offices above the retail and F&B offer providing refurbished spaces with added mezzanines, and adding to the space on offer for local businesses. The deals take the retail, hotel, F&B and office offer at Royal Albert Dock to 96.4% let. Adam Brady, investment associate at General Projects, said: “It’s a testament to the compelling nature of Royal Albert Dock as a destination that we are able to attract so many great tenants to bring their businesses here. “We take our role as custodians of this impressive collection of buildings seriously, but we also hope to create a fun and enjoyable experience for the businesses and visitors. We are committed to investing in the dock as a destination for local people and independent retailers to ensure that the offer is authentic to Liverpool.” Image © Adam Kenrick