Capital & Centric has secured funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Liverpool City Council to deliver the first phase of its £70m Littlewoods project in Liverpool.
The funding package will total £17m after the combined authority approved an initial £8m of funding earlier this year for remediation, design and planning for the project.
The developer is set to transform a derelict Littlewoods building on Edge Lane into a 300,000 sq ft film hub. The UK’s oldest film studios, Twickenham, is already signed up as the anchor tenant for 85,000 sq ft.
Liverpool John Moores University was also signed as the anchor tenant for 75,000 sq ft, but pulled out of the deal in October this year. The university remains a close partner of the project but is now set to invest in its own campus and facilities.
Steve Rotheram, metro mayor of the Liverpool City region, said: “Our area has become a magnet for film and TV productions from around the world in recent years – making us the UK’s most filmed location outside of London. But I want to take our region to the next level, to stake our claim as the ‘Hollywood of the North’.
“The £17m we are investing into both Littlewoods and the Depot will be central in turning that ambition into a reality – helping us to cater for every stage of the production process and creating new jobs and training opportunities for local people.”
The signing of the deal enables Capital & Centric to appoint a contractor, with remediation of the site expected to complete by the end of 2023.
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