Liverpool’s world-famous Royal Liver Building is to be put up for sale for the first time since its grand opening more than a century ago.
A guide price of more than £40m has been put on the Liverpool treasure, which stands at the Pier Head as one of the Three Graces, along with the Cunard and Port of Liverpool building.
Acting on behalf of Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, CBRE is selling the iconic building which first opened in 1911 as the UK’s first skyscraper.
Colin Thomasson, Executive Director at CBRE in Manchester, the agents marketing the property, said: “We are delighted and extremely proud to be instructed to seek a purchaser for this truly iconic symbol of Liverpool.
“The Royal Liver Building is known worldwide and we expect the sale to attract strong interest from investors in the UK and around the globe.”
The London-based insurance company gave the building an extensive refurbishment in 2011, after the takeover of Royal Liver Assurance.
The firm began life in 1850 as The Liverpool Lyver Burial Society, set up in the city to provide people with assistance related to losing a wage-earning relative.
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It was formed by nine men in the Lyver Inn pub. After various moves to premises across the city over the next 60 years, Royal Liver started work on the building in 1908 and moved in three years later.
Today, the Royal Liver Building is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Liverpool worldwide, and is home to the two famous Liver Birds that watch over the city and the sea at the Pier Head.
The property, which extends to over 330,000 sq ft of office and events space, is now home to a few well-known companies, including ITV, Princes Foods, HSBC, Mott MacDonald and Grant Thornton.