Legal & General : achieves a BREEAM first

27 April 2015

Legal & General Property's building at 740 Waterside Drive in Bristol is the first ever building to be certificated under the BREEAM UK Refurbishment and Fit-Out scheme, the newest of the internationally recognised BREEAM standards for rating the sustainability of building projects.

An office building in Bristol's Aztec West business park, 740 Waterside Drive has been awarded design stage 'Very Good' ratings against Parts 2 and 3 of the scheme for the refurbishment and fit-out of its core and local services.

The £5 million, 30-week project encompassing 51,000 square feet is undertaking an extensive range of refurbishments and improvements. These include fully replacing the mechanical and electrical systems, installing photovoltaic panels on the roof, enhancing the airtightness of the building and improving its EPC rating. The building has now achieved an EPC A.

The project also involves the replacement of window and curtain walling, a Category A fit-out to floor plates, a new steel-frame reception extension, the reconfiguration of the core to include new toilet facilities, floor, ceiling and wall finishes to the new reception extension, and improvements to the site's landscaping.

"The BREEAM success of 740 Waterside Drive is testament to the commitment of Legal & General and the entire project team to addressing the challenges of improving existing buildings," says Gavin Dunn, Director of BREEAM. "Our congratulations to the team who have worked together to deliver a building that will not only be more sustainable, but also offers opportunities for making savings on running costs and a highly attractive workplace."

Debbie Hobbs, Head of Sustainability at Legal & General Property, said: "Constantly looking to push boundaries on what we can achieve in the sustainability arena, we believe that improving existing assets, where we have the opportunity to do so, is pivotal to reducing the impact that the built environment has on our fragile eco-system. This can only be achieved by working with forward thinking third parties who demonstrate skills and understanding in this area."

Frances Pearce, Project Manager of JLL commented that, "Legal & General has a strong commitment to sustainability across its entire asset base. With minimum requirements of EPC B and BREEAM 'Very Good' on all construction projects, the design team had clear direction from inception of the project.

"We worked closely with BRE Global to apply the new Refurbishment & Fit-Out standards to the project and believe this is a valuable tool now in the market place, particularly given the building refurbishments likely in the run up to 2018". In the UK the Energy Act 2011 will make it unlawful to lease a property from 2018 below a minimum energy rating of "E".

The 740 Waterside Drive project team is:

· Owner: Legal & General UK Property Fund

· Project Manager: JLL

· Architect: Stride Treglown

· M&E Consultant: Hoare Lea

· QS: Sweett Group

· Contractor: Midas Construction

· BREEAM Assessor: Sustainable Construction Services

· Joint Agents: Knight Frank & JLL

Notes to editors Legal & General Property (LGP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe's largest institutional asset managers and a major global investor. LGIM manages approximately £476.8bn in assets on behalf of over 3,100 clients (30 June 2014) and provides products and solutions spanning all asset classes. LGP is the third largest institutional property fund manager in the UK, managing or co-managing 17 separate funds or vehicles including three segregated mandates with an aggregate asset value of £14.5bn as at 30 October 2014. These funds include:

Balanced Funds
Life Fund; Linked Pensions; Linked Life; Managed Fund; Legal & General UK Property Fund; UK Property Income Fund I; UK Property Income Fund II; LPI Income Property Fund and the Hybrid Property Fund

Specialist Pooled Funds
The Leisure Fund Limited Partnership; Industrial Property Investment Fund; Arlington Business Parks Partnership; and the English Cities Fund

Single Asset Vehicles
Bracknell Regeneration Partnership; Central Saint Giles Partnership

LGP's UK-focused fund management platform has built and retained a strong track record of out-performance. Owing to its size, diversity and penetration, it benefits from best-in-class banking and property contacts which, along with its wealth of in-house skill and expertise, have enabled it to continue to attract and secure high quality market opportunities.

Taking a client-centric approach, the business places the highest priority upon integrity and transparency, leveraging the significant resources provided by the wider LGIM platform. Protecting the medium to long term value of its portfolio, as a leader in sustainability, green principles are embedded into every property and investment decision.

Sector specialists cover each sphere of the market and are supported by LGP's market-leading research capability. In particular, the Company has a major development platform, responsible for delivering community-focused projects ranging from West End landmark buildings to significant town-centre retail and leisure regeneration schemes.

Forming part of the Group's larger UK housing and infrastructure investment strategy, LGP also continues to participate in a growing range of supply side housing activities, including financing affordable homes, the house building sector, urban regeneration, student accommodation and care homes.

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