11 Jul 2018

The Social Mobility Foundation has named British Land as a Top 50 employer in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2018, which awards companies that have taken the most action to improve social mobility in the workplace.

The Index is the creation of the Social Mobility Foundation and is published in partnership with the City of London Corporation. It ranks the UK's employers on the actions they are taking to ensure they are open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds.

Measures taken by British Land include new recruitment processes, pro-actively seeking talent at a wider range of Universities and supporting Pathways to Property, a programme that aims to widen access to the industry. Our focus on creating a culture that encourages diversity and inclusion includes supporting associations such as Stonewall, Real Estate Balance, 30% Club, EW Inclusive Culture, OUTstanding and Women Talk Real Estate. Last year we were the first listed property company to achieve the National Equality Standard.

Chris Grigg, Chief Executive, British Land, said:

'Diversity and inclusivity is critical to the success of our business. We're committed to making British Land an organisation where everyone feels comfortable bringing their whole self to work irrespective of sexuality, gender or ethnicity. We're delighted to be recognised as a top employer for social mobility and hope this encourages more people to choose a career in real estate.'

David Johnston, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said:

'We have been very impressed by the efforts employers are making to ensure their organisation is open to talent from all backgrounds. We can really see organisations taking a whole host of actions to try and ensure that they have a diverse workforce in terms of socio-economic background as well as in terms of gender and race; they in turn are benefitting from accessing a much wider talent pool than they have traditionally recruited from. All entrants should be praised for broadening their approach.'

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said:

'Improving the UK's social mobility record requires action by employers and the Index is creating a real momentum. Many leading businesses are showing real ambition in their approach to tackling the UK's social mobility problem and it is important that firms continue to prioritise this area to help remove the barriers holding back the best and brightest in our society.

'Giving young people experience of the work environment and helping them gain skills can boost their career prospects and open up a wide pool of talent for businesses. Everyone has the right to a good career regardless of background and we must remove hurdles for young people who have the talent, but may lack the network of guidance, support and connections to get ahead. They are the future workforce which will make sure that the UK prospers in the long term.'

Sir Nick Clegg, Chairman of Social Mobility Foundation, said:

'I'm delighted that so many organisations chose to participate in the Social Mobility Index this year. Improving social mobility across society is a collective endeavour - with Government, schools, colleges, universities, families and businesses all pulling in the same direction.

This year's Index shows that there is a growing appetite for employers to play their part - I warmly congratulate all those who did so, and I hope they will be joined by more employers in next year's Index.'

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, former Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, added:

'There is a mood for change in the nation. As the Index shows, social mobility is becoming a cause for more and more of our country's top employers. It is welcome that they are stepping up to the plate. They are making these changes both because they see the social need to do so and because they recognise the business benefit that greater diversity can bring.'

About British Land

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on Retail around the UK and London Offices. We own or manage a portfolio valued at £18.1 billion (British Land share: £13.5 billion) as at 30 September 2017 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies.

Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance.

Our Retail portfolio is focused on Regional and Local multi-let centres, and accounts for 49% of our portfolio. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 49% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 46 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing. Our industry-leading sustainability performance led to British Land being awarded a five star rating in the 2017 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for the second year running.

In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com.

The Social Mobility Foundation

The Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) is a charity which aims to make practical improvement in social mobility for young people from low-income backgrounds.

It runs free of charge programmes of mentoring, internships, university application support (including trips to universities and help with personal statements, aptitude tests and interviews) and career and skills workshops to support young people through their sixth-form and university years.

Currently taking on a new cohort of over 1600 young people every year, the SMF has offices in Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle and runs residential programmes for young people from the Isle of Wight to the Western Isles of Scotland across 11 career sectors (Accountancy, Architecture, Banking & Finance, Biology & Chemistry, Business, Engineering & Physics, Law, Media & Communications, Medicine, Politics, and Technology).

The City of London Corporation

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

  • We employ over 100 apprentices in a diverse range of jobs across the capital, supported by the Apprenticeship Levy
  • We sponsor or co-sponsor 10 academies across Hackney, Newham, Islington and Southwark. In 2017, Sutton Trust named the City Corporation as the UK's best academy sponsor for empowering pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform above the national average, and the leading academy sponsor for Progress 8 and Attainment 8, which track pupil progress and achievement.
  • We are sponsoring the Social Mobility Employers' Index to encourage businesses to increase the socio-economic diversity of their workforce
  • We support SMEs to make use of the apprenticeship levy to increase diversity and support businesses to access skills
  • We deliver a Leaders of Tomorrow programme for future City business leaders to enable them to respond to the social, economic, political, technological challenges that are impacting on trust in business
  • We celebrate businesses that are tackling social issues through the Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards
  • We fund Heart of the City a responsible business network to support SMEs to put the foundations of responsible business practice in place

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British Land Company plc published this content on 11 July 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 July 2018 08:03:06 UTC