Great Portland Estates has backed the #loveLIVES campaign with a £20,000 pledge, becoming the first developer to support the cause. The London developer has become the first client to get involved with the campaign, showing its commitment to the capital’s property supply chain with a substantial donation.
To date, contractors have been instrumental in getting the campaign off the ground, with major donations taking the campaign past the halfway mark to more than £200,000.
The total amount raised by the campaign now stand at around £220,000.
GPE head of projects James Pellatt said: “Great Portland Estates is proud to support Building Lives and its initiative to assist young people to gain the skills required for fulfilling apprenticeships in the construction industry.
“The aims and aspirations of Building Lives match our own targets to provide apprenticeships via our main contractors on each of our large developments.
“We have a long-term commitment to development in central London and fully support Building Lives ambition to create exciting futures for young Londoners in the construction industry.”
Among GPE’s current developments is Rathbone Square (pictured), a 411,000 sq ft mixed-use development scheme in W1.
The #loveLIVES campaign seeks to raise £400,000 in 50 days in order to stave off the threat of closure from Building Lives, the organisation that trained around 25 per cent of construction apprentices in London last year.
All money raised is ringfenced in an education fund controlled by the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, which pledged £50,000 towards #loveLIVES at the start of the campaign.
The campaign was started by Construction News, KPMG and the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity