the building's proximity to the River Mersey, the lower floors of the Cunard Building were allocated to provide space for liner passengers, both before and after sailing. Within the building were passenger facilities, including separate waiting rooms for first, second and third class passengers, a booking hall, luggage storage space, and a currency exchange. The building also provided facilities for both land and sea-based Cunard employees. During the Second World War, the sub-basement level of the Cunard Building was used as an air raid shelter for workers in the building and also for those from adjacent premises. The basement levels also served as the central Air Raid Precautions headquarters for the City of Liverpool during the war. Additional reinforced steel joists were fitted to further strengthen the basement in case of a direct hit on the building. The building remained the headquarters of Cunard until the 1960s, when they decided to relocate their UK operations to Southampton on England's south coast and their global headquarters to New York. Cunard subsequently sold the building to Prudential plc in 1969. In 1965 the Cunard Building was awarded Grade II* listed building status by the English Heritage. Initially, it was listed together with the Royal Liver Building and the Port of Liverpool Building under Pier Head, but in 1985 each building gained its own listing. In November 2001 the building was sold to the Merseyside Pension Fund, an organisation providing pension services to public sector workers on Merseyside. Today, the building provides a range of office accommodation for a variety of public and private sector organisations. In November 2008 it was announced that the building managers had appointed the local architects firm Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams to draw up a conservation plan to preserve the building. The plan involved collaboration with English Heritage and the Local Authority Conservation Officer and would be used to control any modification and repairs made to the building. In October 2013, Liverpool City Council approved the acquisition of the Cunard Building for use as offices and as a cruise liner terminal. The Council projected that the building would accommodate 1,000 staff relocated from Millennium House and leases in the Capital Building, saving an estimated £1.3 million. The anticipated use as cruise terminal however had to be abandoned due to the high costs associated with security and border control. Architectural design The Cunard Building's architectural style can be generally