A contractor is needed on a bumper project to transform an iconic 1930s site into a hub for TV and film.
The £70m project in Liverpool is planned for the former home of the Littlewoods Pools.
Once selected, the contractor will add a 1,900 square metere studio to the site, alongside a screening and performance space, five cinema screens and a food hall.
Manchester-based Capital&Centric, a self-styled “social impact property developer”, is leading the project, which it has dubbed the “Hollywood of the North”.
The work will include reinstating a clock on the building’s tower. A spokesperson for the developer confirmed the contract value of £70m.
Capital&Centric signed a partnership to build the site with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in December 2022. The developer initially hoped to appoint a contractor in the first half of 2023.
While it will take a year to build the new sound stages, Capital&Centric said repurposing the rest of the site will take longer due to the “complexity of dealing with the existing structures”, which will be used for offices, workshops and studio support facilities, according to the developer.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has committed up to £17m to the project, according to Capital&Centric.
Any main contractors interested in getting involved should contact development director Martin Crews at mc@capitalandcentric.com.
Capital&Centric joint managing director John Moffat said the developer spent months “carefully clearing out the buildings to get them ready for the main redevelopment work”.
“This is a huge opportunity to get involved in one of the most iconic projects in the North,” he added. “When it’s finished Liverpool will have a world-class film and TV destination that will cement its place as the Hollywood of the North, creating jobs for decades to come.”
The plan is one of a number of substantial film complexes planned for the UK. In March, a £450m project to build a film studio complex in Sunderland, led by James Corden’s production company, got the go-ahead. Glencar is also working on a £25m overhaul of a historic film studio in West London, after it scooped the job back in December 2022. Plans are also progressing to build a 18,600 square metre studio complex in Ashford, Kent.
