The Princess Royal visited Liverpool on Wednesday to officially open Grosvenor’s £1bn development for which Laing O’Rourke was Construction Partner.

Ray O’Rourke and Project Director Peter Ryan joined other assembled guests for the ceremonies, at which the Duke of Westminster spoke of his confidence that Liverpool One would play a vital role in making the city world-class once again, restoring its place in the premier league of retail destinations. He went on to recognise that such a project brought its challenges and thanked Laing O'Rourke for its work.

Laing O'Rourke received the bid papers for the biggest city centre regeneration project in Europe back in 2003 and was appointed Grosvenor’s Construction Partner in December of that year. After a period of enabling works, construction officially began in November 2004 and since that date a full Laing O'Rourke team has delivered their £450m part of the project, West of Paradise Street.

Peter Ryan explained: “We utilised the full spectrum of in-house companies including Expanded, CHt, Vetter, Malling and Select Plant. My view is that the one-team approach is about people with common sense working with minimal hierarchy. It is about taking ownership of that for which you are responsible and ensuring it fits with the overall project aims. When it works – and it did in Liverpool – it gives us a very powerful competitive advantage in the market place.”

The official launch ceremonies were followed by tours of the development and a selection of fringe celebrations throughout the city. A spectacular fireworks display, launched from a Laing O'Rourke delivered residential development, brought celebrations to a close.

Laing O'Rourke delivered two key anchor stores, 130 shops and restaurants, a 14-screen cinema complex, 600 apartments, two multi-storey car parks, a new home for BBC Radio Merseyside, a new public realm, transport interchange and £20m of infrastructure.