Expanding Liverpool City Centre Creates New Buy-To-Let Opportunities
Simon Clarke
Property Investor ★ Land Sourcer ★ Estate Agency Owner with in-Depth Experience of the UK BTL & Residential Market
In a concerted effort to redevelop and re-energise Liverpool city centre, and surrounding neighbourhoods, we have seen hundreds of millions of pounds poured into the city in recent years. The mixture of national government, local authority and private investment has revamped the city centre with areas such as the docklands unrecognisable today. There are many reasons why Liverpool is proving to be an extremely popular destination for property investment with buy to let investors showing great interest.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Average economic growth in the Liverpool area has averaged around 4.8% for the 18 year period between 1998 and 2016. While once seen as a graveyard for start-ups, bottom of the start-up survival league as recently as 2014, Liverpool is now a vibrant mix of old and new businesses and one of the leading regions for start-ups in the UK. Unemployment is now at record lows, economic growth is currently outshining the so-called “Northern powerhouses” of Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle with prospects very different to those of 20 years ago.
DEVELOPMENTS IN LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE
There are many new developments planned for Liverpool city centre which include:
Liverpool Waters
The Liverpool Waters development is led by Peel Holdings and will transform the city centre and North Liverpool in many ways. Plans to increase traffic from the international cruise liners sector are well underway as is the infrastructure investment required to link Liverpool Waters with the city centre and other waterfront developments. There will be five new neighbourhoods incorporating waterfront apartments and high quality office space which will complement the existing business community.
New Everton Stadium
Now owned by a multi-billionaire, with plans for Everton to challenge on the world stage, planning permission for a new Everton Stadium in the docklands area has already been granted. Finances are in place, the planning application has been accepted and we await details of the building timetable. The continued development of the docklands area is central to Liverpool’s short, medium and long-term growth prospects and plans are certainly gathering pace.
Ten Streets
In a further regeneration of the Liverpool docklands area, permission has been granted for a new “creative district” which will accommodate start-up businesses including artists, technology companies and those leading the way in the digital age. Around 125 acres of former docklands will be transformed into a 1,000,000 ft.2 development which is expected to create around 2500 new jobs. Located next to the ￡5.5 billion Liverpool Waters scheme, and the Atlantic Corridor, the new development is perfectly placed to contribute to Liverpool’s growing prospects.
Residential Buy-To-Let
Those who follow the Liverpool property market will be well aware of the The Metalworks apartment project which is a phase 1 development. Situated on the outskirts of Liverpool’s business district it is the perfect location in terms of access to employment opportunities and a vibrant nightlife. When phase II has been completed there will be more than 300 high quality apartments, with an array of shared facilities in a beautifully designed building. As demand for shared occupancy facilities continues to grow, The Metalworks development will satisfy at least some of this appetite. Therefore, it is no surprise to see investors showing great interest in the development with high occupancy rates, above average rental yields and potential for long-term capital appreciation.