Legal & General Capital Increased Alternative Asset Commitments in 2022, Delivering New Homes, Offices, Clean Energy Infrastructure and Urban Regeneration Schemes
Legal & General Capital announced it invested £5 billion to level up the UK's towns and cities throughout 2022, driving regional economic growth, addressing the housing crisis, and assisting with the climate transition while expanding its footprint into the US for the first time.
Legal & General Capital has significantly increased its alternative asset commitments in 2022, supporting the delivery of over 17,000 new homes, 2.7 million square feet of commercial real estate across the UK and the US, and investing in multiple innovative clean energy businesses to support the transition to a low carbon economy.
Based on what it promised in 2022, Legal & General Capital is on track to reach its stated goal of making up to £600 million in profit from alternative assets by 2025, with annual returns between 10% and 12%, in its key focus areas of housing, SME finance, specialist commercial real estate, digital infrastructure, and clean energy.
The company's commitments in 2022 include the following:
- Through its Oxford University partnership, it supported the development of almost 17,000 new houses in affordable housing, suburban build to rent, modular housing, traditional build to sell, and key worker homes. Many of these projects have been done through innovative new joint ventures, such as a partnership with Lovell to build 3,000 homes and a partnership with Metropolitan Thames Valley Homes to build 2,500 homes.
- Continuing to invest in major urban regeneration schemes, encompassed by LGC’s multi-billion pound commitment with the West Midland’s Combined Authority and new science and tech infrastructure through Bruntwood SciTech’s first Scotland-based scheme, Glasgow Met Tower. The company has also started work on-site on several transformational schemes, including major new infrastructure as part of the Oxford University partnership and beginning work at our development at Sheffield West Bar.
- Continued investment into clean energy transition start up’s and scale up’s across power, heat, and transport. This has come through significant investments in companies such as net zero enabler Sero Technologies; marine technology business, Rovco-Vaarst; battery storage business, Brill Power; rooftop solar business, Sunroof; and an increased investment in UK manufacturer and installer of ground source heat pumps, Kensa Group, amongst others. The company also put money into more UK solar power infrastructure assets and helped NTR, a firm that manages sustainable infrastructure, raise funds in two rounds.
- Increased investment in digital infrastructure, with LGC’s data centre business, Kao Data, becoming a multi-site platform.
- Expansion into the US for the first time, creating a major life science and technology platform across regional markets through our new business Ancora L&G.
Laura Mason, CEO of Legal & General Capital: “2022 has been a landmark year for Legal & General Capital as we have made major commitments to deliver transformational schemes in all our alternative asset specialisms across the UK and, for the first time, the USA. Much of this has come through strategic partnerships with like-minded investors who are seeking stable, long-term returns but also looking to drive positive social impact and limit the impacts of climate change. With an increasingly uncertain picture over the next 12 months, financial institutions must continue to invest in the real economy, recycling pensions funds and savings into projects that help create jobs, housing, and vital infrastructure. Despite headwinds, our appetite to continue to invest globally, alongside other institutional partners, remains strong for 2023.”
Source: Legal & General Capital
