A BUSINESSMAN who owns the Eccleston Arms and Punch Tarmey's has taken over Liverpool's former Cains brewery in a £7m investment with a host of ambitious plans.

Andrew Mikhail from Rainford, who also has Southport's The Bold Hotel Bar and Grill and Liverpool's Doctor Duncan’s, has plans to transform the Baltic Triangle site including a sky bar, hotel, two live music venues as well as a food and drink market.

In addition, another bar with capacity for 120 already named as The Quarter Hoop, plus a brewery hall housing 400 guests, will sit alongside the existing Brewery Tap and the Punch Tarmey brand that will operate on the other side of the Brewery.

He said: “This is a pivotal moment for our business the Cains Brewery Company. Cains' Brewery and Liverpool are such iconic brands and Cains of course is part of the city’s heritage.

"We’re investing an initial £7m in four phases as part of bringing to life what is a 15,000 sq ft scheme on three levels plus a basement with incredible potential.

“After speaking with Cains’ former managing director Sid Dusanj for around six months, he told me he was delighted to pass on the Cains brand to someone who is so passionate about the Brewery Village scheme and the city.

"I was born in Liverpool with a family history that goes back several generations and my vision is based around making this city great again.

“Cains is a resilient brand just like Liverpool and we’re really excited to be bringing Cains Brewery back, albeit with a new direction that will bring national attention to Liverpool for all the right reasons.”

The development will take place in four phases over three years include phase one’s Punch Tarmey, an artisan food and drink hall and the brewery in phase two, the sky bar in phase three and the hotel in phase four.

Mikhail said the new Cains Brewery project will create 200 jobs and will partly model itself on Guinness Brewery in Ireland.

He added: “For example, we’re going to create one of the biggest Irish bars in the industry that will be sports-led, include brewery tours, lots of customer interaction with a child-friendly, family-friendly vibe.”

“The Cains Brewery deal is both a professional and personal dream come true for me especially because of my Irish roots.

"My great grandfather was a renowned bare-knuckle fighter nicknamed Punch Tarmey, the name that gave birth to an existing portfolio of bars we own and operate in the region.

“Plus, my dear nan was such a hard-working, humble Irish woman who came from nothing and saved every penny to see her family were ok.

"I know she’d be feeling very proud right now as we all are and we can’t wait to maximise the potential of this development at Cains Brewery. It’s a really prestigious win for us.”

Sid Dusanj, managing director of Brewery Village Ltd, said:“The brewery village concept started five years ago and it’s great to see that Cain's Beers will be brought back to life within the grade II listed brewery by entrepreneur Andrew Mikhail and soon to be re-launched after brewing stopped back in May 2013.

“It’s an astonishing building and that’s why we’ve put together such a bold scheme. There’s two cavernous tunnels running through the site that we will be converting into two live music venues.

“Plus, there’s even a well that consists of a 40 ft long lake that’s 12ft deep…all part of the great history of this site.”