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Slow start As part of the first development in a promising pipeline, 20 Chapel Street has been slow to let. However, agents say its record is not representative of the market. By Daniel Cunningham
Is it a bold statement about Uverpool's commercial future or a towering folly on its historic waterfront? Despite its name, Rumford Developments' Unity is dividing opinion.
The twin-towered scheme, which includes 150,000 sq ft of offices in the 20 Chapel Street block, is the first new-build grade A delivery from Liverpool's promising pipeline.
Local agents play down its significance as a yardstick for the market, perhaps because just 13,000 sq ft has been let since its completion late last year. It has snagged strong covenant tenants, such as accountant Ernst & Young and stockbroker Panmure Gordon, and has achieved the city's top rent of £20 per sq ft, but it is still more than 90% empty.
"I don't think Unity has stuck," says Rumford director Mike Stares, "but the market is slow - there's no question about it."
Record-breaking rents
Stares says that both a financial institution and a property company are close to signing for a total of 13,000 sq ft, adding that a record rent of £22 per sq ft is close to being signed. He says a 50,000 sq ft letting is also on the cards.
Nonetheless, 20 Chapel Street has not received great press. The highprofile collapse of a potential letting to Halifax Bank of Scotland last year - which Stares insists was a result of Rumford withdrawing papers after five months without a signature has done little for the scheme's...