Reach PLC has sold the former Liverpool Daily Post & Echo printing hall to a local leisure operator, with plans being explored to transform the building into a new padel club.

The prominent site faces the main commuter route into the city centre from the north and is a landmark in the city’s main business district.

The proposals include competition-standard padel courts with a training academy, spa and recovery facility, gym, bar and kitchen, and a shop selling sportswear and equipment, together with a dedicated co-working, networking and corporate hire space.

The aim, say the operators, is to provide a genuine ‘work, rest and play’ facility in the heart of the business district for local workers and residents.

The 39,500 square foot building fronts King Edward Street and the deal incorporates adjacent land, until recently used as a surface car park.

Printing of the popular local newspapers at the site ceased in 2008, with the task moved to a state-of-the-art facility in Oldham.

The Liverpool ECHO continues to be based in St Paul’s Square in Liverpool city centre. The huge Goss printing machines and folding and assembly lines remain in place, and work has now begun to dismantle them.

Commenting on the acquisition, John Fay, for operator Echo Padel, said: “We’re incredibly excited about what this building can become. We see it playing an important role both for the business district and the wider city centre.

“The age of the social city is here, with workers and residents embracing lifestyles that increasingly blur the lines between socialising and working.

“The Print Hall has an extraordinary history and has played its own part in Liverpool’s story for more than 50 years. We don’t want to erase that history. We want to give it a new purpose that supports the city as it continues to evolve.

“For decades, stories were printed here and sent out across Liverpool. Now we have an opportunity to write the building’s next chapter.

“Padel will be at the heart of what we’re creating, but this is about much more than courts. We want to create a destination where people can play, train, work, meet, eat, recover and spend time together, all under one roof.

“Its location in the heart of Liverpool’s business district gives us an incredible opportunity to create somewhere that becomes part of everyday life in the city. Somewhere you might come for a game before work, meet somebody over coffee, work for a few hours, close business deals, train at lunchtime or stay into the evening.

“We want to create somewhere that respects where the building has come from while giving Liverpool something completely new. The Print Hall has told some incredible stories over the years. We’re excited to start writing the next one.”

Discussions with city planners are “well advanced”, says John.

“We are on schedule to submit a planning application in the coming days, with a target opening date of Q2 2027, subject to approval.”

The proposals provide 10 padel courts, to include eight doubles and two singles. A private court, offering a more discreet facility, is proposed as part of the scheme.

The facility is being designed by Liverpool-based architects Falconer Chester Hall. Hill Dickinson acted as legal advisors to the purchasers, with MHA advising on the commercials.

Other professionals supporting the project include Pegasus (planning), FutureServ (M&E), Studio Two (interior design), Edge (structural engineers), Curtins (transport planning), Delph Projects (project management), Alt Fire (fire safety) and Anderton Gables (health and safety).

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