HRH The Princess Royal marks the 25^th anniversary of our Liverpool retirement living estate for former retail workers

9 October 2026

• The Retail Trust’s Moores House, Liverpool has supported retired retail workers in the city since 2001

• The Princess Royal met with residents, retailers, dignitaries and members of Liverpool City Council as part of a visit to commemorate the estate’s anniversary

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal met residents of a retirement living estate in Liverpool on Friday, 25 years after it first opened for former retail workers in the city.

The Princess Royal is patron of industry charity the Retail Trust, which has run Moores House in Walton since 2001 as part of work to support retail staff throughout their working lives and beyond.

102-year-old Joan Scully, who has lived at Moores House since 2019, and Sylvia Perry, who was one of the first to move in, were among those to meet Her Royal Highness during a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the retirement estate, one of five owned by the Retail Trust.

The Retail Trust also works with more than 200 retailers to protect their staff’s wellbeing, and The Princess Royal met with representatives of NEXT and B&Q who donated furniture, fixtures and fittings for a refurbishment of Moores House earlier this year.  

Liverpool City councillors and dignitaries welcomed The Princess Royal as she was shown around the estate by Retail Trust staff, before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the anniversary.

Joan Scully said: “She was such a lovely lady, very easy to talk to and very interested in my life and family and how long I have lived in Moores House. It was such a special day.”

Moores House was funded by a foundation created by Merseyside’s influential Moores family. Sir John Moores CBE launched the Littlewoods Pools and the Littlewoods retail empire and his daughter Lady Grantchester opened Moores House in 2001.

Her son Lord Grantchester attended the anniversary event to represent his family, and the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mr. Peter Oliver OBE, Deputy Lieutenant and The Right Worshipful and The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor William Shortall were also in attendance.

Her Royal Highness took over Patronage of the Retail Trust from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2025 and last year helped mark the 70th anniversary of the charity’s retirement estate in Derby that was first opened by her mother in the 1950s.

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, said: “It was a huge honour to welcome The Princess Royal to Liverpool and celebrate 25 years of providing retired workers in the city with safe and welcoming homes where they can continue to live independently, thanks to the support of the retail industry.

“Many of our residents have spent their entire careers serving on our high streets, so our charity’s Royal Patronage sends an important message that the health and wellbeing of everyone in retail really matters. This is particularly important in the run-up to Christmas when pressures on retail workers will only increase and more people may need support from the Retail Trust to get them through the busy festive season.”

Moores House provides a range of one- and two-bedroom flats, and communal spaces, including a cafe area, activity room, kitchen, entertainment facilities and an enclosed garden. On-site support staff are available during the week to help residents live independently.

The site’s ground floor was refurbished this year thanks to NEXT, who redesigned the interiors and donated paint, wallpaper, furnishings and staff time to transform the space, and B&Q who designed and donated a new communal kitchen.

Other retirement estates run by the Retail Trust for former retail workers across the UK, or for those in the care of someone working in or retired from the sector, include Glasgow’s Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate, which opened a new community hub for local people last year.

The Retail Trust also runs Moores House in Salford, Marshall Estate in London, and the Leylands Estate in Derby.