22 May 2014

Legal & General announces that it is selling 440 Strand quoting offers in excess of £168,700,000, equating to a net initial yield of 4.50%.  The property is being marketed by DTZ.

This is the first time that 440 Strand, the headquarters of one of the world's most exclusive and oldest private banks which counts the Queen amongst its notable clients, has been brought to the market in isolation since Coutts & co took occupation in 1904.  Located on the Strand in Covent Garden, the property is situated directly opposite Charing Cross mainline and underground stations.  The original building was constructed in the 1830s and formed part of the famous London 'improvements' designed by British Regency architect John Nash. The Grade II Listed building was completely renovated in the 1970s and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978.

Legal & General acquired the property earlier this year as part of a portfolio of 55 assets backed by Royal Bank of Scotland which it purchased from Telereal Trillium for a total consideration of £550 million.  In order to meet the scale of investment required to purchase this rare portfolio on behalf of its annuity business, L&G Retirement, it used combined investment from its shareholder funds, L&G Capital, on behalf of whom this asset is now being returned to the market.

Occupying a 1.29 acre triangular island site, the property provides a total net area of 180,480 sq ft, including 138,290 sq ft of Grade A office, ancillary and banking space and 42,190 sq ft of high quality retail and restaurant space. The offices are let to the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, on assignment from Coutts & Co, until 17 December 2037, equating to an unexpired lease term in excess of 23.5 years. The thriving retail accommodation comprises 18 units at ground level together with a further five units at concourse level, occupied over 22 tenancies.

Notes to editors

Social Enterprise Assist: SE-Assist is an innovative scheme to support social enterprises that are anchored in communities, contributing to local economic regeneration. The scheme is funded and delivered through a partnership between Legal & General, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), Croydon Council and the Coast to Capital Local Economic Partnership (C2C LEP). Social enterprises are a key element of the future economy. SE-Assist delivers support to social enterprises that have clear opportunities for success but require additional support that is not available elsewhere. SE-Assist provides a blended package of support for social enterprises in Sussex and Croydon, which will include interest free loans, mentoring and access to expert business advice.

Legal & General: We know that financial services organisations have to show and understand their economic impact, social value and environmental efficiency. As a socially useful company, we play a wide role in providing financial services to our over 7 million customers at the most exciting, critical or difficult moments in their lives, and by providing investment and associated growth for the wider economy, through our CSR work in many of the communities in which we operate. We have a number of UK hubs, (Birmingham, Cardiff, Kingswood, in Surrey, Central London, Ipswich, Hove in Sussex, Edinburgh and Dublin), as well as, Netherlands, France and the USA. In those offices are employees who live and work in those communities and know best on the local community issues and inequalities that we can contribute to fixing through funding, volunteering and gifts in kind typically within 10 miles of those offices.

Legal & General has been working with the Charities Aid Foundation, CAF, and the Cabinet Office to set-up the programme with SE-Assist over the past year and was the sole supporter of the pilot scheme. Legal & General and their staff provided a package of mentoring, finance and consultancy for the social enterprise businesses who were successful in their applications in the Brighton area.

Social Enterprises:

A social enterprise is a business that trades for a social and/or environmental purpose, rather than to maximise profits for external shareholders.

  • It will have a 'social mission' so it will be clear about what difference it is trying to make, who it wants to help and how it will to do it.
  • It will bring in most or all of its income through selling goods or services and it will reinvest its profits to further the 'social mission'
  • Social enterprises range from large national and international businesses to small community based enterprises.
  • Well documented examples of social enterprises include the Eden Project in Cornwall; Jamie Oliver's Fifteen; Netmums; Divine chocolate, The Big Issue. For case studies of social enterprises previously supported by the SE Assist scheme in Brighton visit https://se-assist.co.uk/index.php/profiles/

About Coast to Capital: Coast to Capital is the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for Brighton and Hove, Croydon, Gatwick Diamond, East Surrey, Lewes and West Sussex. It takes a strategic lead in ensuring that the infrastructure and conditions for economic growth are in place across its diverse region.  Formed in 2011 as one of the UK's new Local Enterprise Partnerships, its dynamic team is focused on delivering growth for one of Britain's most economically important areas which includes the airport economy surrounding London Gatwick. Coast to Capital represents a population of 1.6 million people, more than 79,000 businesses supporting more than 721,000 jobs and 131,000 self-employed individuals.

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