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Liverpool's famous Royal Liver Building up for sale

Xinhua, October 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The iconic Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, one of Britain's most recognisable structures, was put up for sale Monday with a price tag of almost 50 million U.S. dollars.

The building, famous as the home of the Liver birds, symbol of the port city, opened in 1911 and has never previously been offered for sale.

It stands as one of the so-called Three Graces at Liverpool a Pier Head, overlooking the River Mersey, forming a key part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's companion buildings are the Cunard Building, the ancestral home of the famous shipping line and the Port of Liverpool building.

Three buildings have been likened to similar looking buildings in Shanghai's Bund.

As a Grade One listed property, the Royal Liver Building, has the top level of protection because of its national and cultural importance.

The tall Liver birds on top of the building were the last sight of England as millions of emigrants left Liverpool on ocean going liners.

It was one of the first buildings in the world to be built using reinforced concrete. Rising to a height of 98.2 meters it was the tallest storied building in Europe until 1932 and the tallest in Britain until 1961. The clock towers were made large enough to enable mariners on passing ships to tell the time. The faces of the clocks are 7.6 meter diameter, larger than those of London's famous landmark Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster.

The building is being sold by Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, who five years ago acquired the Royal Liver Assurance Group.

Colin Thomasson, executive director at property agents CBRE, who is leading the sale, 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 building spans more than almost 31,000 sq meters of office and events space and is occupied by a number of leading businesses. Enditem