A walk through the city
Liverpool’s Commercial District is in a moment of profound change. It isn’t the first one in its history. Home to over 850 businesses and covering more than 40 acres, it is built on centuries of commerce and enterprise.
On Tuesday 22nd July 2025, Liverpool BID Company with Paul Kallee-Grover, invited people from companies, stakeholders and agencies within the neighbourhood to explore its potential, ambition and the opportunities for growth.
Paul says that walking on foot is an important way to see connectivity at ground level
“Walking the route through the core of the CBD brought into sharp focus the scale of what’s unfolding across the district. It’s clear that the CBD is on the verge of real transformation. Not just through individual developments, but through a growing momentum that’s beginning to connect the area commercially, culturally, and spatially. Experiencing it on foot underscored the opportunity to reframe the narrative and reposition the CBD as a confident, investable, and internationally facing district at the heart of Liverpool’s future”.
Meeting at Exchange Flags, behind Liverpool Town Hall, is a reminder of the civic role of the district. Beyond that is Castle Street, the thriving and flourishing hub of hospitality. Behind you is Old Hall Street and Tithebarn Street, connecting the city’s university community with its commercial heart.
Global businesses including Liverpool Football Club and Sony Europe have a footprint here. This central Business District features high quality office space and cultural assets, public art and creative place making.
Across to Moorfields Station, the main underground Merseyrail line feeding the Commercial District. Connectivity is a vital part of the offer of the neighbourhood, around the city and further afield to the North, South and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. There, Suzanne Grant from Merseyrail explains the ways in which they are modernising the ticketing system, making it quicker and easier to pass through the station and pay.
A £1m upgrade to Moorfields will transform the station into a destination, with an improved offer of retail on the ground floor and enhancing the ways in and out of the station.
From Moorfields, up past Tithebarn Street, through Exchange Station and past the hoardings promising the Pall Mall development. A 6000 sq ft development of Grade A office space and parkland.
The value of Grade A office space as a tentpole for investment and growth is clearly visible at St Paul’s Square. Simon Guest from Bruntwood reflects on the role of high quality office space in the modern workplace. Businesses are looking for something a little bit more, including somewhere to eat, a gym, and a vibrant, creative space for working.
Simon says the offer in the Commercial District is vital for its appeal,
”The modern business is no longer looking for just four walls and a desk, it seeks dynamic, sustainable and tech – enabled spaces that foster collaboration & growth. The Commercial Businesses District has evolved in line with these demands, offering high specification spaces, excellent transport links and a vibrant professional community that supports the way businesses work today.”
Liverpool’s Commercial District is home to professional services and major businesses looking to invest in buildings like The Plaza where they can attract a young, skilled workforce on their doorstep.
The edge of the modern Commercial District is a site of growth and opportunity in Liverpool. The redbrick warehouses of the eastward docklands, leading to Bramley Moore, circle an area looking to expand the city centre outwards.
Chris Bolland from Brock Carmichael Architects, the firm designing the King Edward Triangle, illustrates a corner of the city that will be transformed with towers and a new neighbourhood.
Across 5.7 acres, TJ Morris subsidiary KEIE has partnered with skyscraper developer Beetham Organisation to transform the former industrial estate into a thriving mixed-use development. The scale and ambition of the plans reveal a new chapter in the development of the city.
Behind the old dock wall, that stretches the length of the north docks, reveals the close relationship between heritage and modern aspiration. Moda’s The Lexington towers above Princes Docks and Liverpool Waters. Walking through and there is the Wyld Sauna, Dockside food and drink, open water swimmers taking advantage of a sunny afternoon – and a new floating Padel Court is set to arrive this year.
For Chris Capes from Peel, this corner of Liverpool’s world famous waterfront is being re-imagined with commercial and residential areas, yes, but also leisure and wellness. As people finish their walking day and head home, past the dock and its leisure offering it reveals a new way of living in the city, where wellbeing is on the doorstep.
Towards the Three Graces and the Pier Head, the Royal Liver Building towers as the city’s most famous icon. Interwoven with the city’s sense of mythmaking and history, the Liver Building is prime commercial space, but increasingly a place for people to spend free time.
The Royal Liverpool Building has just revealed new owners: food manufacturing giant, princes, who have been a tenant since the 1980s, acquired the Grade I listed building in a £57m deal. It reflects a confidence and a desire to invest in the future.
Neil Kirkham from CBRE stands amidst an art exhibition of local artists discussing why the building’s dual role as a place of investment appeal and its civic pride are part of the Commercial District’s story.
They are transforming their front of house, moving away from the standard security guard to providing hospitality training for a warm welcome.
Neil says,
“The Royal Liver Building (RLB) and Liverpool’s iconic waterfront, play crucial and interconnected roles in the city’s commercial business district, its international profile, investment appeal, and civic pride. RLB is also a powerful beacon, inspiring confidence and attracting the vital investment that fuels our city’s continued growth and global ambition.”
The message is clear, the commercial district is open for business.