Legal & General (L&G) has signed a deal with Newcastle University to supports its £350 million Newcastle Science Central regeneration project.

The firm will provide £65m to fund the completion of two key buildings covering 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.

In addition, the investment will open up opportunities for further commercial and residential developments.

Work is already underway on the 24-acre Science Central project, which will generate over 4,000 jobs, 500,00 sq ft of office space and 450 new homes.

Nigel Wilson, CEO at L&G Group, said: "I am thrilled that Legal & General is investing in the future of Newcastle. This investment is further evidence of the power of ‘bulldozer money' to deliver high-tech growth and jobs through regeneration in the North. Whatever the EU Referendum outcome, we need growth in the UK – and this is the way to deliver it."

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Professor Chris Brink, Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, added: "Today's announcement by Legal & General Capital is a reflection of what has been achieved so far and testament to the potential of Science Central as an exemplar of sustainable urban development.

"Building on our recent outstanding research successes, with the announcement of our three National centres – the National Centre for Ageing Science and Innovation, the National Institute for Smart Data Innovation (NISDI) and the EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration – this investment will take us a step closer to realising our vision for Science Central."

This is the fourth major investment by L&G, support by UKTI's Regeneration Investment Organisation as part of its £1.5 billion UK Regeneration Co-Investment fund, which provides early stage investment capital into large scale UK regeneration projects.

(LM/MH)