Legal & General is teaming up with Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University for the £350m Newcastle Science Central development.

Above: Newcastle Science Central is in the city’s Accelerated Development Zone, next to the St James’s Park football stadium

Newcastle Science Central is one of the biggest urban regeneration projects of its kind in the UK. The 10 hectare science and technology hub is being built on the site of the old Newcastle Brown Ale brewery in Newcastle’s city centre. It is projected to create more than 4,000 jobs, 500,000 sq ft of office space, and 450 new homes.

Legal & General’s initial £65m investment will deliver more than 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, it said.

Gordon Aitchison, director, investment & development at LGIM Real Assets, said: “This partnership with Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University proves the importance of the private and public sector partnerships model in driving forward UK urban regeneration projects. We have been able to provide the necessary capital and skills to bring forward Newcastle Science Central and local government have provided the access and support to create this opportunity. We look forward to working with our new partners on this exciting scheme and attracting further investment into the area.”

Legal & General has plans to invest £15bn in UK infrastructure, direct investments and urban regeneration projects. It has already invested more than £7bn.

The Newcastle deal represents the fourth project to be delivered since the start of Legal & General’s partnership with the Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO) in January 2015.