Legal & General has announced that it has forward funded its 10th Government Hub in the centre of Leeds. This latest deal, which is funded by Legal & General Retirement, is creating and supporting 15,000 local jobs and driving regional economic and productivity growth. Over the past three years, Legal & General has invested over £1.5 billion into developing Government Hubs in key cities across the UK.
Representing the largest regional pre-let in a decade, this latest Government hub is situated in the centre of Leeds, Wellington Place, and has been fully let to The Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government on behalf of HMRC and NHS Digital.
Totalling 377,730 sq ft across eight floors, Wellington Place includes two Grade A office buildings with BREEAM Excellent status, basement car parking and associated retail and leisure facilities. The buildings have been purchased for £211 million from joint venture partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Hermes Investment Management.
Legal & General has directly invested around £1.1 billion into Leeds in recent years through major urban regeneration projects and the delivery of housing, social care and infrastructure. Other key investments include the redevelopment of Headingley Cricket Stadium; Mustard Wharf, a city centre Build To Rent scheme; and the mixed-use Thorpe Park Leeds scheme, which includes the construction of the first section of the East Leeds Orbital Road, a key piece of road infrastructure for the city.
Despite being one of the UK’s major financial and business service hubs, Leeds suffers from an extremely low supply of Grade A office space. With Leeds benefitting from the largest growing workforce outside London, this development will help to meet this growing demand by providing much-needed top quality office space to the region.
This latest transaction exemplifies Legal & General’s commitment to investing patient capital into UK towns and cities, whilst supporting its long-term annuity and pension commitments. Upon completion, Wellington Place is expected to accommodate 12,000 people living and working within the development.
Gordon Aitchison, Director of Investment and Development at LGIM Real Assets said: “Representing Legal & General’s 10th Government Hub, these investments are a perfect match for our UK pension commitments, providing high-quality long-term investments while also aiding vital regional regeneration. As the second largest financial hub outside of London, with a strong and growing work force, our investment in Leeds will have a meaningful impact on the region, providing quality office space and creating tens of thousands of jobs.”
Knight Frank and Lewis Ellis advised Legal & General.
