Acquisition of Liverpool central village car park Bouwfonds Parking Fund

This announcement comes shortly after Merepark successfully concluded a 37.1m deal to forward fund construction work at Liverpools Lewiss Building with a Regent Capital Syndicate. Work will start on the Q Park site and at the Lewiss Building this summer.

The car park, due for completion in June 2011, includes 459 spaces and is to be operated by Q Park under a 35 year lease. When completed this will increase the total Bouwfonds Parking Fund value to approximately €250 million, comprising 21 parking facilities located in Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK.

The car park includes the creation of an enhanced public link between Bold Street and Renshaw Street and is sited at the top end of Bold Street. It will provide additional parking for Bold Street and the Ropewalks as well as the Central Village development.

Merepark, on behalf of Central Regeneration Limited Partnership, retains asset management of 2,200 sq ft of commercial leisure/retail space below the multi storey car park. Savills/CBRE are the letting agents.

Danesborough Properties and Linklaters advised Bouwfonds, Savills and Montague Evans, and DLA advised Merepark/Ballymore.

Parking facilities form a relatively new category of solid and sustainable real estate investments. The Bouwfonds European Real Estate Parking Fund specialises in investments in car parks only. The fund is based in Luxembourg and eventually anticipates to have assets worth approximately €275 million. The necessary equity capital has been placed entirely with institutional investors from the Netherlands and Germany.

Merepark and Ballymore

The forward funding deal excludes the retail/leisure element and Network Rail Depot. The Depot is being purchased on completion by Network Rail and the retail/leisure element is being retained in Central Regeneration Limited Partnership as part of the Investment Portfolio.

Central Village

Central Village will extend Liverpools retail and leisure core with a cinema, two new hotels, an apart-hotel, residential apartments and public parking as well as retail outlets, restaurants, bars, cafes, offices and extensive new public spaces.

The development will also see the complete refurbishment of the iconic Lewis building and extensive improvement works to Liverpool Central Station. The scheme will be knitted together by four substantial new public spaces, including a new plaza with a boardwalk and spectacular water feature, designed by acclaimed US landscape architect Martha Schwartz.