Legal & General's (L&G) regenerative housing investments has won it Insurance Asset Risk's 2025 investment innovation of the year award.

The insurer brought a long history of developing high-grade, multi-sector regenerative projects in UK boroughs to its work with the council, residents, and other stakeholders of London's Newham borough.

A £750m data centre was a key part of the development, which L&G said would "attract top technology companies and employers to the area," and enhance the borough's gross value added (GVA) by £88m, by generating 1,000 jobs to build and operate the centre in tandem with Goldacre and sineON. Servers generating heat for "thousands of homes" nearby will make the centre "one of London's first major strategic decarbonised heat sources".

Other developments in the vicinity include affordable homes, office/commercial properties and student accommodation. Since 2015, LGIM Real Assets has funded three developments nearby for L&G's annuities book.

"We're long-term patient capital investors and partners, committed to driving positive change through the whole investment cycle. Through the investments we make and the economic activities we fund, we play a proactive role in the social and environmental development of the markets where we work," the insurer said.