34,000 sq ft lease disposal: The Plaza, Liverpool

Rathbones and Investec merged in September 2023. Rathbones then instructed Ian Steele to dispose of three leases at The Plaza in Liverpool. The leases covered the 13th and 14th floors and totalled 34,000 sq ft.

Ian marketed the space and quickly agreed an assignment of the 14th floor lease. The 10,500 sq ft went to accountancy firm Mitchell Charlesworth.

The two remaining leases on the 13th floor needed a different approach. Ian entered an informal joint marketing campaign with the landlord, Bruntwood. The aim was to find new occupiers for the space.

Further marketing produced results. Ian negotiated and agreed terms with KPMG and RSM to take space on the 13th floor. That allowed him to negotiate the surrender of both Rathbones leases with Bruntwood.

Ian completed the surrender of both 13th floor leases, covering around 23,500 sq ft. Rathbones saved more than £1.5m.

The three disposals cleared all 34,000 sq ft of surplus space after the merger.