How long does an activation run?

Typically around 13 weeks, agreed per property.

Will this get us business rates relief?

We can't say, and we don't promise a specific outcome. Whether relief applies, and for how long, depends on the property, your billing authority and your occupation history. Speak to your rating adviser or Liverpool City Council before relying on any figure.

Who is responsible for insurance?

This is agreed in the licence for each property.

What condition will we get the property back in?

The same or better than when we took it on. Shuffle's standard approach is minimal intervention: often a fresh coat of white paint is all that changes.

Does this affect our ability to market or let the unit?

No. Activations are time-limited and the property is handed back ready to show to prospective tenants.

meanwhile use & vacant space activation for landlords

The process, the past spaces and the business rates position, for landlords, agents and developers with an empty unit in Liverpool.

called “meanwhile use” in property circles

Property people sometimes call this a “meanwhile space”: putting a vacant unit to genuine, visible use while it sits between tenants. Shuffle’s version is a real, publicly open, artist-led exhibition, not a generic pop-up shop. This page covers how an activation runs, what we’ve done in Liverpool so far, and the business rates position. For the short version and the full benefits list, see vacant space activation.

the process

You tell us about the unit, we take a look and talk through whether it suits an exhibition: footfall, access, power, and how long it is likely to sit empty.
A short licence covers the activation period, insurance and the condition the property is handed back in. No building works are agreed beyond minimal intervention, usually paint.
Shuffle fits out, programmes and runs a genuine, publicly open exhibition, including opening events. The property stays occupied and presentable for the agreed period.
We return the unit in the same or better condition than we found it. If it is still empty, we can often re-activate it, or hand straight back for marketing.

Vacant property activated as a Shuffle art space (4)

Tobacco Warehouse, Stanley Dock

Shuffle’s largest exhibition to date, in the Grade II‑listed Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock, with work from over 30 artists. April 2024. See the exhibition →

The Old Bank, Toxteth

A former NatWest bank in Toxteth that had stood vacant for eight years. Shuffle’s first exhibition there ran in 2022, followed by a second exhibition with DJ sets from Earth Ltd. Radio in October 2022. See the exhibition →

North Docks at Make

An exhibition at Make in Liverpool's North Docks, timed alongside Liverpool Biennial, with visual art, DJ sets and live performance. See the exhibition →

Artefact, Roscoe Street

A pop-up exhibition and event in Artefact's pre-renovation garage unit on Roscoe Street, central Liverpool. December 2022. See the exhibition →

the business rates position

This is general information, not advice for your property. In England, most empty commercial property gets 100% business rates relief for the first 3 months it stands empty (6 months for industrial premises). Since 1 April 2024, a property generally needs to be occupied continuously for at least 13 weeks before that empty-relief clock can reset (the reoccupation period was extended from 6 to 13 weeks by SI 2024/323). Check the current position with your billing authority before relying on any figure. Shuffle’s occupation is genuine and public: a real exhibition, open to visitors, not an unoccupied company or shell arrangement put in place purely to claim relief. Councils and the courts have taken a hard line on artificial rates-mitigation schemes (see Rossendale Borough Council v Hurstwood Properties [2021] UKSC 16), and Shuffle has no interest in anything that looks like one. We don’t guarantee what relief, if any, applies to a specific property, or what a Shuffle activation does to your rates position. That depends on the property, the billing authority and your own occupation history. Speak to your rating adviser or Liverpool City Council’s business rates team about what applies to your property, and see the UK government’s guidance on business rates relief.

landlord FAQs

Typically around 13 weeks, agreed per property.
We can’t say, and we don’t promise a specific outcome. Whether relief applies, and for how long, depends on the property, your billing authority and your occupation history. Speak to your rating adviser or Liverpool City Council before relying on any figure.
This is agreed in the licence for each property.
The same or better than when we took it on. Shuffle’s standard approach is minimal intervention: often a fresh coat of white paint is all that changes.
No. Activations are time-limited and the property is handed back ready to show to prospective tenants.
This is agreed per property.