Legal & General invests £150m in Sheffield regeneration scheme

Legal & General will invest £150m into Sheffield’s West Bar Square regeneration project, the company has announced.

The development will comprise 200,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space, 350 Build To Rent homes, a multi-storey car park and landscaped public spaces.

The first phase will deliver large footprint, modern office space, currently lacking within Sheffield’s property market, and is expected to accommodate up to 1,800 workers.

To bring forward the scheme, Legal & General has partnered with Sheffield City Council and Urbo (West Bar) Ltd – a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities (the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group).

In recent years Legal & General has made major moves into urban regeneration projects across the UK. This includes partnerships with Local Authorities in Cardiff, Salford, Newcastle and Sunderland, as well as central government bodies such as Homes England and world-leading universities.

In a statement, Legal & General said it is committed to investing in Sheffield, where it recognises the ‘high potential’ the city has to offer, and to supporting its post-crisis growth ambitions, meeting its need for regeneration, housing and job creation.

Nigel Wilson, CEO of Legal & General, said: ‘There has never been a more important time to invest in our regional cities. Legal & General is in a unique position to support the UK economic recovery by recycling hard-earned savings and pensions into real assets which promote job creation – through construction to office occupation – and create landmark master plans which incorporate grade A office space, a variety of housing and high quality public space.

Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Sheffield City Council cabinet member for business and investment, said: ‘Although I recognise it may not be at the forefront of everyone’s minds in these difficult and challenging times, it is really important that we don’t forget to invest in the future of our city and continue to support developments for when Sheffield emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.’