Legal & General has agreed to forward fund the development of Unity Square in Nottingham as HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) latest regional hub, helping to facilitate significant economic growth in the city and putting Nottingham back on the occupier map. The development is being undertaken by Peveril Securities and its joint venture partner Sladen Estates.
HMRC has entered into a 25-year pre-let on the development for its Nottingham Regional Centre. It is set to open in summer 2021 and Phase 1 will accommodate around 4,000 full-time equivalent employees. Legal & General has agreed to forward fund the construction of the development on behalf of Legal & General Retirement, which invests in high-quality, long-term UK assets to generate income streams that match its commitments to pensioners and deliver infrastructure funding which benefits the UK’s economy.
The scheme is set to advance the €282.3m (£250m) Southern Gateway regeneration project. In three years’ time, the landscape around the train station will be transformed – with a business district surrounding the HMRC hub within an area of the city in need of significant redevelopment.
Gordon Aitchison, Director, Investments and Development at LGIM Real Assets, said: “This is a great deal for us and will have a meaningful impact on Nottingham, creating new jobs and driving economic growth. This deal is the latest in a line of successful acquisitions of such Government-backed investments and serves to make a valuable contribution towards matching our continued appetite for secure long income investments.”
Nick Sladen, Chief Executive of Sladen Estates, said: “HMRC’s decision to place its East Midlands and 13th regional hub in the heart of Nottingham shows the Government’s confidence in the city and, more importantly, the ability of the development team and Nottingham City Council to deliver – above other locations which could have been in the running.”
Ralph Jones, MD of Peveril Securities Jones, said: “There is a significant long-term investment in this area of the city. Nottingham Train Station was the catalyst and coming up is intu Broadmarsh's forthcoming redevelopment along with other significant schemes expected over the next couple of years. It is an exciting time for Nottingham with many significant schemes on the horizon and cranes expected on the Unity Square site in the next 12 months.”
