Legal & General has agreed to forward fund a Nottingham office development pre-let to a UK government department.

The UK insurer said it will fund the construction of Unity Square as HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) latest regional hub. HMRC has entered into a 25-year pre-let on the development for its Nottingham Regional Centre.

No financial details were disclosed.

The development is being undertaken by Peveril Securities and its joint venture partner Sladen Estates. 

The hub is expected to open in summer 2021 and Phase 1 will accommodate around 4,000 employees.

Legal & General said it will fund the construction of the development on behalf of Legal & General Retirement.

Gordon Aitchison, a director in charge of investments and development at Legal & General Investment Management Real Assets, said: “This is a great deal for us and will have a meaningful impact on Nottingham, creating new jobs and driving economic growth.

“This deal is the latest in a line of successful acquisitions of such government-backed investments and serves to make a valuable contribution towards matching our continued appetite for secure long income investments.”

This deal represents Legal & General’s eighth government hub forward funding deal.

In June, Legal & General announced its seventh government hub funding deal with an agreement to finance a 300,000sqft office building at 14 Westfield Avenue in Stratford, pre-let on a 25-year lease to HMRC.