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Inside Legal & General’s new Wales HQ
A first look inside Legal & General’s new office at Cardiff Central Square.
8 Dec 2021
Legal & General has released the first images of its new offices at ‘The Interchange’ in Cardiff Central Square. The 120,000 sq. ft., eight-storey office space will bring together over 1,800 Legal & General employees, confirming the company’s status as one of Cardiff’s largest private employers.
Designed by Cardiff-based Holder Mathias Architects, the building will provide flexible spaces for collaboration, with almost half of the office dedicated to formal and informal meeting space. State-of-the-art technology will also be incorporated into the building to enable hybrid ways of working, as well as monitor building usage and energy performance in real-time.
The three-storey living green wall in the reception of Legal & General’s new Cardiff office gives the instant ‘wow’ factor as well as contributing to sustainability and air quality.
Each floorplate is designed with a mix of spaces for different kinds of work. All seating areas are ‘plug and play’ so employees can easily work from anywhere in the building.
Driven by data from employees on how they want to work in the future, the office design provides a variety of spaces for different types of work, from open collaboration space to quiet areas for focused tasks. Design features include a three-storey living wall in reception, a 140-seat auditorium with screen for physical and virtual events, and a rooftop terrace with views of the city and Cardiff Bay.
In line with Legal & General’s wider commitments to ESG, the office fit out will target Net Zero Carbon, as well as the BREEAM Outstanding standard for sustainable design. Sustainable and locally-sourced materials, including carpets made from recycled fishnets, have been used throughout the building. Technology including air source heat pumps, renewables and a natural air-cooling system mean the building will be able to operate without relying on fossil fuels.
The Galleri seats up to 140 people and is tech-enabled for physical and virtual events. The space underneath it provides an open area to encourage fitness and wellbeing.
The office is also targeting a four-star Nabers UK rating for Net Zero operational performance and has been developed in line with Well Platinum standards to ensure employee’s wellbeing is considered in every element of the design. This focus on sustainability and wellbeing, coupled with a commitment to local employment and supply chain spend, will see the office fit out alone deliver an estimated £9m of social value to the surrounding area.
As part of the wider £450m regeneration of Central Square, funded by Legal & General, The Interchange will also include 318 build to rent (BTR) homes and a 14-bay bus station, delivered by local developer Rightacres and contractor ISG. Other suppliers contributing to the office fit out include engineers McCanns, sustainability consultant Cundalls, cost managers McLeod+Aitken, project managers PWC and quantity surveyors Faithful+Gould.
Legal & General will move into its new office in The Interchange in 2023. As part of the company’s continued growth in the city, Legal & General has a number of live vacancies to join its teams in Cardiff here: Legal & General: Search & Apply (legalandgeneralgroup.com)
The bar area provides informal meeting spaces, full of natural light and with views out towards the city.
Jason McEwen, Programme Director, Legal & General: Our first principle has been to understand how our business and our people want to work in future, and what they need from an office space to help them perform at their best. By running surveys and focus groups, we’ve put our people at the heart of the office’s design, and created spaces that give them flexibility on where in the building they want to work, with who and how.
Kevin McElroy, Operations Director, ISG: ISG look forward to supporting L&G in delivering their vision for the office of the future. This is a great opportunity to continue our focus on social value on the Central Square projects, working with our local supply chain partners on employment in the local area. The project also allows us to continue to support local charities, ensuring the project leaves a legacy for the future.
Carys Humphries, Associate, Holder Mathias Architects: Working with Legal & General on their new Cardiff office has been very invigorating. Their unwavering commitment to deliver a building which is both environmentally and socially responsible, has allowed us to pursue design concepts founded on the principles of well-being, biophilic and sustainable design. Working closely together, we have developed spaces which not only respond to the functionality of Legal and General’s daily operations, but also respond at a human level to supporting the mental and physical wellness of the building’s users with a view to delivering long-term value for both Legal & General and its employees.
Further information
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management (as at FY23) of which c40% (circa £0.5 trillion) is international.
We have a highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. We are a leading international player in Institutional Retirement, in Retail Savings and Protection, and in both public and private markets through our Asset Management division. Across the Group, we are committed to responsible investing and dedicated to serving the long-term savings and investment needs of customers and society.
As at 7 June 2024, we estimate the Group’s Solvency II coverage ratio to be 224%.
As at 11 June 2024, Legal & General has a market capitalisation of £14.6 billion.