Legal & General has entered into a joint venture partnership with Cardiff-based developer, Rightacres, to deliver the £400m Central Square masterplan.

Central Square is one of the City of Cardiff Council's priority regeneration schemes on a 12 acre area in the city centre located immediately to the north of Cardiff's central train station.

Laura Mason, Director of Direct Investment at L&G Capital, said: "Cardiff has been hugely successful in establishing itself as real player in the inward investment arena and Central Square represents the most exciting regeneration scheme due to come forward in Wales.

Located in a prime city centre location, it is set to deliver major social and economic benefits, and proves the model for the public and private sectors working together in order to unlock real UK growth. We look forward to working closely with our new development partners and Cardiff City Council to deliver this major project and attract further investment to the area."

The regeneration of Central Square will comprise one million sq ft of space in the heart of Cardiff city centre and is expected to become the focal point of the city's Enterprise Zone. The first phase of the project includes the development of two buildings - the proposed 150,000 sq ft BBC Wales HQ and One Central Square, a 135,000 sq ft office development that is part pre-let to national law firm, Blake Morgan, and due for completion in January 2016. Further phases will include a mix of commercial and residential buildings and will create over 10,000 local jobs.

Paul McCarthy, Chief Executive of Rightacres, said: "Having a funding partner like Legal & General alongside us in Central Square will maintain the momentum we have been building around the scheme. L&G has a real understanding of the Cardiff market and they have demonstrated to us that they are able to react quickly to our proposals which will allow us to deliver the Central Square Masterplan over the next few years."