Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral – Catering Feasibility Study & Market Engagement

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest Catholic Cathedral in England. In 2023 it attracted 294,784 visitors. As of 2025, it has been upgraded to a Grade I listed status. Entry to the Cathedral is free.

“The Archdiocese of Liverpool has appointed Buttress Architects to develop a new Welcome Centre for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the first in a series of projects emerging from ongoing masterplanning work. The new facility will replace the former visitor centre and provide a renovated space to enhance the visitor experience. The project aims to support the cathedral’s mission as a place of faith, heritage, and community, ensuring it continues to welcome people from near and far. The new Welcome Centre will play a key role in redefining the visitor journey, enhancing the arrival experience, and making better use of existing spaces”.

Located within the new Welcome Centre, the Café will be in a prime position as part of the visitor journey, providing a unique visitor experience and commercial opportunity. The future Café will benefit from in excess of c300,000 visitors per annum to the Cathedral as well as other community footfall, creating a strong stand-alone destination.

Montfort Catering Consultant’s scope in support of the new Welcome Centre development included determining conceptual options and recommendations for the new food and drink operation, along with detailed business planning and determining the most appropriate approach as to how catering should be managed in the future. We further supported with an informal market engagement exercise to assess relevance and interest from a future catering partner.

Our approach ensures alignment to the Cathedral’s strategic priorities for renewal and conservation, to transform its physical space into a world-class visitor venue, while maintaining its position as a central place of worship within the community.

Catering consultancy services provided:

• Visitor research and food & beverage application
• External environmental analysis
• Food & beverage UK trend analysis
• Best-in-class venues & catering
• Feasibility study & conceptual options
• Visitor & public catering concept recommendations
• Catering demand & financial potential
• Management operating model options & recommendations
• Informal market engagement for potential catering partner