The Georgian townhouse at the centre of Liverpool's political scandal

'They were properly acquired'

By Joshi Hermann

The estate agent cheerily runs through the usual details.

Four-bed townhouse. Five bathrooms. Asking price? £450,000. Listed Georgian building, completely redeveloped. Went on the market early this year, but the pandemic put things on hold. The neighbouring houses have all been sold. Viewings are available next week — we’re fully booked up today.

The Elliot Group did the refurbishment. I know the name and ask for more details. She knows what I’m asking about. “He has said to us that he paid market value for them,” she says. “They were properly acquired.”

Properly acquired?

This is number 50, Percy Street. You can go and view it next week, and buy it if you have half a million pounds to spare. The house sits just off Upper Parliament Street in L8, a short walk from the cathedral. It offers “a stunning array of accommodation finished to the highest of standards,” says the online listing.

It might also offer some vital clues to the corruption scandal that has engulfed thi…