Land Securities builds brand with Hat Trick

Land Securities, the £14bn property developer, has launched a redesigned corporate identity this week, created by Hat Trick Design Consultants.

The consultancy was appointed to rebrand the UK’s largest listed property developer following a paid pitch against Williams Murray Hamm and SAS Design in January last year. Its logotype design replaces the previous ‘block’ identity, originally designed by SAS five years ago.

Land Securities is rebranding to coincide with its conversion to a real estate investment trust, or Reit, which gives it certain tax incentives. The rebrand is also a reflection of how the nature and structure of the business has changed over the past five years, according to Hat Trick director David Kimpton.

‘Its previous identity, which uses building blocks, is based on an old idea of the company being focused on bricks and mortar. There has since been a big increase in service delivery, including building sourcing, refurbishment and maintenance, as well as construction,’ says Kimpton.

A bracketing motif is built into the new logo system, allowing a space or object to be defined in visual material. The main logo also allows the name of Land Securities sub-divisions, such as its Capital Commitment programme in London, to be incorporated into the logotype. The previous marque could only be used independently, according to Kimpton.

Hat Trick’s work includes an on-line interactive set of brand guidelines and ‘spirit of the brand’ document for staff and suppliers to reference.