Glasgow's landmark Met Tower among Legal & General Capital's £5bn commitment to levelling up UK in 2022

Legal & General Capital (LGC) says it committed around £5 billion towards levelling up the UK’s towns and cities across 2022 – including a landmark site in Glasgow city centre.

The business – Legal & General Group’s alternative asset platform – said that despite global economic uncertainty, it “significantly” increased its alternative asset commitments last year, backing the delivery of more than 17,000 new homes, 2.7 million square feet of commercial property across the UK and US, and investing in several innovative clean energy businesses to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Relevant projects it is highlighting include new science and tech infrastructure through Bruntwood SciTech’s first Scotland-based scheme, Glasgow Met Tower. The latter is one of Glasgow’s most distinctive buildings – famous for its “People Make Glasgow” sign – and was chosen to undergo a major revamp by Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture between investor and developer Bruntwood and L&G, which acquired the asset from Osborne+Co for £16.2 million.

LCG also said its commitments in 2022 mean it is on track to deliver against its stated ambitions to generate up to £600m in profit from alternative assets by 2025, with returns of around 10 to 12 per cent per year across its key focus areas of housing, finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, specialist commercial property, digital infrastructure and clean energy.

Laura Mason, chief executive of LCG – which owns Scottish housebuilder Cala Group – said: “2022 has been a landmark year for [us] as we have made major commitments to deliver transformational schemes in all our alternative asset specialisms across both 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, it’s essential that financial institutions continue to invest in the real economy, recycling pensions funds and savings into projects that help to create jobs, housing and vital infrastructure. Despite headwinds, our appetite to continue to invest globally, alongside other institutional partners, remains strong for 2023.”