Legal & General : to relocate Wales HQ to Cardiff Central Square development

30 Oct 2020

Legal & General, one of the largest private employers in Cardiff, announces that it will relocate its two Group offices in Wales to a 120,000 sq. ft. facility in Cardiff's Central Square as part of a wider £450m regeneration scheme.

The move, which is planned to take place in early 2023, will see over 1,800 Legal & General employees relocate from its existing offices in Cardiff to a modern, eight-storey office space within 'The Interchange'. It will be located alongside the new BBC Cymru Wales broadcasting studio, HMRC and Cardiff Transport Interchange.

The £140m Interchange building is the fifth phase of development in the Cardiff Square regeneration scheme which, in addition to office space for Legal & General, will include 318 build to rent (BTR) homes and a 14-bay bus station. The scheme has been brought forward as a collaborative effort with government stakeholders and Cardiff-based developer Rightacres, creating a world-class regeneration project which sets the city apart as one of the UK's leading places to live, work and invest.

This announcement marks one of the largest office lettings in the UK this year and the state-of-the-art new office and associated services will provide staff with a collaborative, agile space to meet changes to working practices in the wake of Covid-19. It will incorporate a focus on staff wellness and wellbeing, incorporating cycle and changing facilities, café, social space and an external terrace to meet shifting needs. In line with Legal & General's wider commitments to ESG, the fit out will target Net Zero Carbon and reduce embodied carbon throughout the base build. It will also be developed in line with Well Gold and BREEAM standards.

Construction began on The Interchange in December 2019 and is due to be completed in November 2022. Development of The Interchange will be undertaken by Cardiff-based developer RightAcres, which has partnered with Legal & General on all phases of the Central Square regeneration project. The Interchange has been designed by Holder Mathias Architects. Its supply chain will promote local first, looking to use local suppliers and products wherever possible.

Legal & General's commitment to Central Square was announced in late 2015, with the business already having delivered over 700,000 sq. ft. of office space alongside several retail units. The scheme is one of a number of Legal & General's major regeneration schemes in UK towns and cities, which includes projects in Newcastle, Salford and Sunderland. Using dynamic partnerships with the public- and private-sector, Legal & General has so far invested over £25bn into direct investments such as clean energy, transport infrastructure and multi-tenure homes, recycling funding from UK pensions and savings to support regional economic growth.

This is a landmark moment for Legal & General, bringing almost 2,000 of our people to a modern, state-of-the-art office space which sits within one of our most iconic regeneration schemes. We believe a new form of office has a key role in the future of towns and cities and are creating a space which is pioneering and innovative and will continue to drive up productivity, collaboration and idea sharing.

Even in the wake of the crisis, we continue to commit to UK towns and cities, creating new opportunities for local people and helping to boost regional economic output. I am extremely proud of our work we have done at Central Square, which upon completion will add around £1.1bn of gross value added (GVA) to the region and create up to 13,000 new jobs.

Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive of Legal & General

The new interchange building is being delivered on a fully commercial basis and the announcement that Legal & General will be relocating their headquarters to the Interchange is a major investment into the project and the city.

This has been made possible by working closely with Welsh Government and Transport for Wales and I am pleased to see the mixed-use scheme is now both affordable and commercially viable and the build is well underway.

Councillor Russell Goodway, Cabinet Member for Investment and Development at Cardiff Council

I welcome the news that the Legal and General Group are to take up office accommodation at The Interchange, at the heart of our capital with easy access to multi modal transport. As a major employer in the area, it's excellent news it has committed to maintain a significant workforce in Cardiff for the long-term.

Ken Skates, Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales

Notes to editors

About Legal & General

Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with international businesses in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. With over £1.24 trillion in total assets under management, we are the UK's largest investment manager for corporate pension schemes and a UK market leader in pension risk transfer, life insurance, workplace pensions and retirement income.

Legal & General Capital

Legal & General Capital (LGC) is the early-stage investment business and alternative assets originator of Legal & General Group. With a direct investment portfolio of £3bn (as at 30 June 2020), LGC invests shareholder capital to deliver attractive financial returns through the development of real assets and operating businesses. LGC self-manufactures attractive, matching adjustment-eligible direct investments to back Legal & General Retirement's growing annuity liabilities and creates a portfolio of alternative assets for Legal & General Investment Management, such as build to rent (BTR) housing, specialist commercial real estate, climate and energy infrastructure and principal investing (including funding for SMEs and early stage enterprises). Legal & General has invested around £25bn in levelling-up regional economies, including through major regeneration schemes in Cardiff, Newcastle and Salford. Legal & General recently made a commitment to enable all new homes across its portfolio to operate at net zero carbon emissions by 2030, including Legal & General Modular Homes, CALA Group, Legal & General Affordable Homes, Build to Rent and Later Living.

LGIM Real Assets

LGIM Real Assets is a division of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe's largest institutional asset managers and a major global investor. LGIM manages £1.24tn in assets (as at 30 June 2020), working with a range of global clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund distributors and retail investors. LGIM Real Assets has AUM of £35.9bn (as 30 June 2020) and is one of the largest private markets investment managers in the UK.

Investing in both debt and equity and across the risk/return spectrum, LGIM Real Assets actively invests in and manages assets across commercial, operational and residential property sectors, as well as infrastructure, real estate, corporate and alternative debt. Taking a long term view in order to future proof our investments, LGIM Real Assets continues to lead the industry in ESG performance, considering all environmental, social and governance issues at asset level as well as portfolio level. During 2020, we are developing a strategy as part of our commitment to net zero carbon emissions across the real estate equity business by 2050, and have also committed to measuring social value across 20% of our platform by the end of the year.

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