Guest post by: Ethan Hunt
Inside Liverpool – The UK’s northern investment hotspot profiled
With a higher number of postcodes in the top ten than any other city in the UK, Liverpool is an area with a variety of different successful pockets to invest in. Here are some of the most interesting areas of the city, both in terms of general appeal and attraction, and investment opportunity.
Albert Dock
Labelled a UNESCO world heritage site, with the largest collection of grade I listed buildings in the entirety of the UK, Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock. The Albert Dock is one of the most iconic attractions in the influential northern city, and the most visited multi-use attraction in the country, outside of London – which evidently has an unfair advantage, attracting an estimated 50% of all UK tourists last year.
More generally, Liverpool’s waterfront has been also the subject of some exciting and ambitious regeneration plans, which will surely make it a potentially lucrative area to invest in going forward. Most recently, plans have been approved to build a state-of-the-art, £55 million cruise liner terminal at the Princes dock, with surrounding housing buildings and amenities etc. Not only will this increase demand from tenants wanting to live in modern homes on the Liverpool waterfront, but it will also surely see an increase in international interest and tourism from the cruises themselves.
Red rivals and prestigious football club Everton might be fighting in treacherous waters at the moment with regard to the Premier League, but their plans for a new stadium on Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore dock yet again proves hopeful for the city’s (and the club’s) future economy. The planned ground will amount to around £500m cost-wise, and will increase the capacity to 52,000 from a previous 39,221. The stadium is planned to ‘rise from the dock’ and be ready in time for kick off in the 2023/24 season, while plans will come into motion to transform the historic Goodison Park legacy stadium into a community space with housing and health facilities.
The Baltic Triangle
Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle area of the city – a short walk away from the centre – was just a few years ago a quiet and unassuming area. Nowadays, with a resurgence and growing hive of young, digital-centric companies inhabiting its once-abandoned warehouses,
The Baltic triangle has become a major part of Liverpool’s economy, and will continue to do so for years to come. Referred to by some as Liverpool’s answer to Shoreditch, it has often been hailed as one of the trendiest places to live in the country on many occasions.
Investment opportunity in the Baltic Triangle area is already underway in a range of different forms, from hotel investment developments to luxury accommodation. RW Invest, a property investment company with ties all around Liverpool, is developing high-end housing for the young professionals within the city, in Parliament Square and One Baltic Square.
Knowledge Quarter
For the uninitiated, Liverpool’s city structure is quite efficiently segmented into different sectors, each specialising and making strides. While the city as a whole is well connected, and intrinsically linked in its overall culture, these lines allow the city to work as a productive unit.
The knowledge quarter in Liverpool, again only a stones’ throw away from the heart of the city centre, houses some of the highest achieving universities in the country – The University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University – and also a wealth of top-spec libraries and educational facilities.
Investment opportunities surrounding these vast student numbers comes not just from the apartments in the knowledge quarter, but all around the city. Purpose-built student accommodation developments slot in all around the city with prime access to surrounding amenities, and it is one of the most lucrative property types for investors to go for in terms of rental yields and projected house price growth.
Anfield
As mentioned above, Everton’s planned regeneration on the city’s waterfront will have long-term positive impacts on Liverpool’s tourism and economy, and the Merseyside red rivals Liverpool F.C. are no different, with their success and influence in British and European football at the moment having a massive impact on the city’s economy. After their sixth Champions League victory last year,
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said that the win was worth up to £150m to the city in tourism and regeneration.
In Anfield, at the site of the Liverpool’s revered stadium, regeneration and development is not just going on within the club itself, but also around the vicinity of the ground, and within its communities too. The neighbouring Walton Breck and Oakfield roads have been changed drastically by the changes to the main stand and improvements to the land surrounding the pitch, and the £260m Anfield regeneration project started in 2013 has overseen the development of more than 600 new homes throughout the area. Walton Breck Road itself is planned through the development of commercial units to have a high street that will rival the city centre, with plenty of attractions and opportunities for local businesses.
Liverpool – At a glance
Liverpool as a growing, powerful and influential northern city is one of the best in the country to choose if looking to go for an investment opportunity. To finish, here are some general statistics and pointers about Liverpool as an investment destination in the UK:
- In terms of the student numbers coming to the city, Liverpool has a population of an estimated 70,000 young people, and a large percentage of those come from overseas and move to the city, requiring accommodation. Typically, student property is one of the most secure property types to go with when considering investment, as these large numbers help to ensure consistent tenant demand and lesser void periods.
- Liverpool’s rich history and culture is a large part of what makes it such a popular place to be in the UK. The city was named the European Capital of Culture in 2008. A generally young city, with 42% of its population under 30, Liverpool is also known for its bars, restaurants and general nightlife.
- Liverpool’s affordable house pricing compared to other areas in the UK makes it not only a desirable area, but one that is viable for first-time investors too. Currently, according to Zoopla, the average property price in Liverpool stands at around £174,200, as opposed to the general UK average value of £309,373.
This might be a slight bit of a stretched comparison, but to put things into perspective, the average price of a home in London is around £644,215, over 3.5 times the amount of one in Liverpool. An Investor looking to diversify their profile might be able to secure multiple properties in different spread-out locations, before being able to secure one in the capital.
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The Property Voice - Insight from Richard Brown
When we were approached to consider a guest blog post featuring Liverpool as a property investment location, it was an easy decision to accept. The article addresses most of the appeal and qualities of the city very well.
I remember a developer remarking to me a few years ago that he likes to 'follow the big money' with his own development activities. Well, if you stand back and look at Liverpool, there is plenty of big money going into the city, especially around the Albert Docks and Anfield as mentioned. No longer is Toxteth seen as the centre of the riots, as it was in the 1980s, after a regeneration programme also.
In the past few years, nearby Manchester was getting all the attention, especially with Media City catching the eye. However, it is perhaps time for Liverpool to take centre stage in the north-west...or even anywhere outside of London for that matter. It is a young and vibrant city, with plenty of inward investment and regeneration taking place and remains an affordable university city to invest in. There's small wonder why so many investors right now are making strides towards the city.
Don't tell everyone though, will you? 😉