£20m in the Budget for Littlewoods, Liverpool. Now the real work starts.

Today's Budget included £20m from the Growth Mission Fund to restore Liverpool's Littlewoods building. For us, it's the moment we've been working towards for 10 years.

The money will help turn the long-vacant Edge Lane landmark into the Liverpool Creative Campus, a creative production campus for film, TV and tech, subject to final business case approval. lWe've got a lot of people to thank, and plenty of building to get on with. Here's Tim Heatley, our co-founder, on what it means:

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Tim Heatley, Co-founder of Capital Centric, developers of Littlewoods, said:

"Every Budget promises new infrastructure. But not many budgets back the buildings we already have and have let rot. Mills, warehouses and landmarks sit empty across the UK while we plan brand new ones. Often the best infrastructure is already standing there, waiting to be put back to work."

"Littlewoods is the perfect example. It's a kilometre of art deco that sat unused for decades. With the help of the Government's investment, It will become over 275,000 sq ft of studios, workspace and public space, with the potential to bring around 4,000 jobs to the region's creative sector. Liverpool hosted 301 productions in 2023. Give the industry proper studio space and that number will only increase. The North can compete with anywhere, without every big production having to start in the South East."

"That's why we're so excited to bring Littlewoods back to life. We're not just fixing an old building. We're giving Liverpool the facilities to lead the UK's screen industry, and giving a landmark a second life as somewhere that builds careers. Thanks to the budget announcement, we can start to get on with the work."