New Zealand house stands empty once again, after the latest trendy nightspot to call it home closed just six months after it opened.

District House opened to great fanfare in the summer but shut down this week after the company which owned it went into liquidation.

It was not the first glitzy bar to grace the address on Water Street.

It was 17 years ago when businessmen Paul and Julian Flanagan launched Newz Bar in New Zealand House. The brothers invested £1m transforming a former office equipment shop into a trendy city centre brasserie style bar.

The venture proved to be a huge success, and the Water Street bar became the place to be for the city’s glitterati and visiting celebs during the noughties.

City starlets Jennifer Ellison and Alex Curran were regular faces on Saturday nights, along with Hollyoaks actors and a legion of Premier League footballers.

In 2004, a then-Alex Curran, now Gerrard, celebrated her 24th birthdayat the venue, where she arrived in red hot pants and Stella McCartney boots.

The following year actress Jennifer Ellison was treated to a surprise bash for her 22nd birthday, where tables were covered in rose petals, sparkling crystals and ice buckets containing magnums of Laurent Perrier Rose.

In the mid noughties the Newz Bar seemed to have captured the city’s zeitgeist, with US band The Killers spending the night in the bar’s VIP area after the 2008 MTV European Music Awards.

Echo Showbiz reporter Tina Miles with Killers bass player Mark Stoermer at The Newz Bar.

In 2009 the bar was picked to host a speech by the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who addressed an audience of Labour Party activists, city business leaders and public sector figures. At one point Mr Brown jokingly thanked Newz Bar owner Paul Flanagan , pondering how long he would be allowed to stay in the normally celebrity packed venue.

Paul Flanagan who owned the Newz Bar on Water Street.

Everton FC manager David Moyes and Liverpool player Jamie Carragher both attended, and chatted to the Prime Minister after his speech.

In the same year Lady GaGa wowed crowds at the bar, performing a set of five songs. On the night she said: “I love you Liverpool. How does it feel to be descendants of the greatest rock and roll band in history? The Beatles, amazing.”

But later in the year the bar ran into licensing problems, after a spate of violence. There were reports of fights, and on one occasion a former Liverpool FC trainee was stabbed.

The owners beefed up security, installing a knife arch, and managed to hold on to their license.

In 2011 the bar hosted a Liverpool v Essex Fashion Show, and the following year stars such as Rebecca Ferguson headed straight to Newz after the 2012 MOBO Awards.

Newz bar finally closed its door in 2014, and later that year businessman Riad Erraji moved in, relaunching it as trendy restaurant Amanzi. At the time Mr Erraji told The ECHO: “We’re really pleased to be breathing life back into the former Newz Bar, which was once at the heart of Liverpool’s nightlife.”

Interior images of the new Amanzi restaurant, formerly the Newz Bar, based in Water Street, Liverpool
Interior images of the new Amanzi restaurant, formerly the Newz Bar, based in Water Street, Liverpool

Amanzi’s ambitous menu featured eye catching dishes such as grilled loin of cod (£16.50), ‘demolished’ Caesar salad (£12) and two bone wild pig chop (£18). The restaurant urged diners to “leave the world behind and prepare to have your senses ignited”.

Although Amanzi briefly flourished, becoming popular with city footballers, boxers and telly stars, it closed toward the end of 2015.

Last summer it was announced that the site was to reopen as District House. There was glittering launch party after Know Restaurants Water Street Limited invested £1m in transforming New Zealand House into a new restaurant and bar.

However last week it emerged that KRWSL had gone into liquidation, and that 30 staff had lost their jobs.

Andy Duckworth from the company told The ECHO: “We have had to make the decision to end our management of District House, we have had a great run and regret that we have had to take this action.

“As the management contract between ourselves and the lease holders for District House has come to an end, we cannot say whether the restaurant will be reopening in 2017.

“We have informed customers who are affected by the decision and are working with our friends in the hospitality industry to find suitable alternative venues.”