Hooters Liverpool has sky high ambitions for its waterfront brand to reclaim the Royal Liver Building!

AS a recent announcement has shown that Liverpool's historic Royal Liver Building is up for sale, for only the second time in its 111 year history, with a 2022 price tag of ₤90m, the team behind the about to launch Hooters Liverpool have announced today that they are leading a consortium to purchase the building. The Grade 1 listed property, which forms part of the City's waterfront 3 Graces, is a world famous cultural landmark which is beloved and renowned not just in Liverpool itself, but around the globe.

The owner of the controversial Hooters Liverpool is a native of the City and is about to launch this major branch of 1 of America's most established restaurant chains, with its location in Water Street's prestigious New Zealand House, having already been granted licence approval for the business in February 2022. Plans to launch as the City heads into summer are already afoot, bringing a welcoming, family friendly restaurant to this busy area of the City, including all of the elements which have made it a huge success Stateside, great quality food, 1st rate customer services, a fun atmosphere and of course, the legendary Hooters Hostesses.

To embed the brand within the heart of the waterfront, the Hooters led proposal is to mount the famous Hooters owl, HOOTY, adjacent to the infamous Liver Birds, Bertie, who looks over the City and Bella, who watches over the sea. The proposed inclusion of HOOTY will see the 18 foot tall owl stand shoulder to shoulder with the City's most spectacular birds. The team behind the proposal are insisting that the inclusion of HOOTY is a vital part of their bid: they have every intention to purchase the building, but HOOTY's place atop this leading building has to be assured, amongst other factors being considered during the negotiations.

A spokeswoman for Hooters Liverpool explains:- "As the owner is from Liverpool, she really appreciates the value of the Royal Liver Building in every sense, and she is determined to see its ownership reside in the City once more. Liverpool is such a cosmopolitan hub, with a rich cultural and social history, as well as its famous sense of humour. The Liver Birds guard this wonderful place, and figuratively help it to keep its head above water, even during the most troubled times. Having survived the blitz during World War II, they are also symbols of hope and freedom. The owl is also a noble bird, and our HOOTY will happily sit alongside Bertie and Bella, providing an element of cheekiness to this historic waterfront, with a nod to New York City, a place which Liverpool is often compared to, which is home to 1 of the best Hooters branches in the world. We are launching a bid to purchase the Royal Liver Building at the same time as we are preparing for our own business launch in Water Street, which is just a short walk away from the waterfront. We are looking forward to our venue being 1 where customers are at the forefront of everything we do, providing fruitful employment opportunities for our incoming staff, and a chance to prove that Hooters, as a brand, is far from any image that may be portrayed: once you enter our restaurant, you'll be able to relax, enjoy our wonderful menu, be greeted and served by our exquisitely trained staff, and get a sense of the delightfully fun atmosphere which Hooters is known for."

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Major Step Forward for Liverpool City Region Freeport

THE Liverpool City Region Freeport has cleared 1 of the final hurdles in its development with the announcement of Government approval for its outline business case. The final stage in development is now to submit a full business case later in April. Assuming that it is approved in the spring, the new Freeport will receive funding of ₤25 million and be open for business in early summer, boosting the City Region's Post Pandemic economic recovery. The Liverpool City Region will be home to 1 of just 8 Freeports in England. The new Freeports are expected to be hubs of business and enterprise which have the potential to create thousands of jobs, help regenerate communities and establish Britain's Post Brexit place within the world. The Government says that they are central to its levelling up strategy.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:- "The establishment of the Liverpool City Region helps cement our status as a leader in global trade and industry, and will help us attract critical inward investment and create well-paid, highly skilled jobs. It is predicted that our Freeport has the potential to add an additional ₤850m to the local economy and will help us to build on some of our existing world class strengths. But, for us, it means much more than that. Throughout this journey, I've asked for guarantees to ensure that we'll use our as a Freeport as a force for good, to help build an economy that works for everyone in our Region. I want to attract investors into our Region who believe in and support our local ambitions; those who will help us to protect workers' rights and uphold standards, and who want to work with us to regenerate and invest in the areas that need it most. Our Freeport will offer lots of opportunities for the Liverpool City Region. It's my vision to ensure that there is purpose behind that status; that not only drives our economy, but fuels greater social mobility, innovation, and inclusion for our whole Region."

Speaking about this latest step forward, John Lucy, the Liverpool City Region Freeport Director, said:- "Having our outline business case accepted is a hugely significant step towards our Freeport becoming operational and attracting businesses to take advantage of the full range of benefits we can offer, which will in turn create thousands of sustainable, high quality jobs. We will attract additional trade through the port of Liverpool but the Freeport will bring benefits for the whole of the Liverpool City Region, extending as it does over a large part of our Region with a number of sites offering benefits to businesses. There's a comprehensive measure of packages that includes tax relief and support for customs, business rates, planning, regeneration, R&D and upskilling to name just a few. At the same time, new technologies and sustainable innovations are taking centre stage and providing answers to the challenges that a lot of large, complex companies are facing."

Liverpool City Region (LCR) Freeport will be a designated area covering 45km, where a range of economic incentives will be available, covering:- customs, business rates, planning, regeneration, innovation and trade and investment support. The LCR Freeport will create a low carbon, multi modal, multi gateway trade platform with a network of sites attracting high value investment, supporting growth and employment to regenerate communities through advanced industry, innovation, and collaboration.

Centred on a mix of infrastructure including the deep water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool; the UK's biggest western facing port, which already handles 45% of trade from the US; it's the key coastal access point to the UK's largest concentration of manufacturing. Targeting key sectors including:- automotive, biomanufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and maritime, the LCR Freeport will also support and attract new advanced manufacturing, logistics and low carbon energy industries.