UKREiiF

UKREiiF has quickly become a must-attend in the industry calendar for Government departments and local authorities.

But what is it, and why has it become the fastest-growing real estate and investment event in Europe?

The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) is an annual 3-day event taking place in Leeds, the concept of which was created during the pandemic with an Advisory Group chaired by the late Lord Bob Kerslake, alongside other politician representation, including Manchester City Council’s Chief Executive Joanne Roney and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Regeneration and Development’s Chair Gagan Mohindra MP.

The mantra was clear from the outset: to create an event that connected people, places, and businesses to accelerate and unlock sustainable, inclusive, and transformational investment. It would be the place where regeneration was brought forward, but the type of regeneration that has communities and social mobility at the forefront.

Skip forward to 2024, and the event is now into its third year, with 12,000 attendees expected and representation from almost 280 councils, almost every Government department, and every combined authority and devolved administration in attendance.

What are they looking to achieve?

Firstly, there is the audience. The event is bustling with investors, from sovereign wealth funds to pension funds, all looking to deploy capital into the UK. This, coupled with the high number of developers, housebuilders, and occupiers, creates the perfect ingredients to bring real opportunities forward. Torbay Council recently announced a £100 million development landed through UKREiiF, down to the facilitation that UKREiiF offers to truly connect investors, developers, and councils together to bring projects forward. And they’re not the only ones.

There is also an ever-growing international feel to the event.

In 2023, the UK Government brought a trade mission from Asia to the event, with the 60-person delegation visiting Manchester and London, with a two-day trip to UKREiiF in Leeds sandwiched in the middle. This was the perfect opportunity to showcase what the UK has to offer. And in 2024, the overseas interest is growing, with locations such as New York, South Africa, Illinois, Iceland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Austria, and Australia all confirming international representation from their countries.

This will also enable thought leadership and knowledge sharing. UKREiiF will welcome the State of Illinois’s Department for Transport, creating a programme of activity to enable best practice and case studies to be shared amongst regions in the UK and the State itself.

The success of the event can also be attributed to looking beyond buildings.

The built environment is crucial to all of our lives. It affects where we live, where we work, how we travel, where we get our healthcare, and so much more.

That’s why the event delves into almost every sector across the UK economy—not just looking at traditional assets like housing, infrastructure, and offices, but exploring the built environment across logistics/industrial, culture/arts, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and more. All of these job-creating sectors need the built environment and need investment, and therefore we’re placing these topics at the centre of our discussions.

The event is also having a major economic impact.

Cities and regions have often travelled overseas to attend events to engage with investors and developers, although it’s an open secret that the majority of the time they’re engaging with UK businesses at these events.

Therefore, UKREiiF has created a unique offering in the UK—one that has an economic impact locally rather than overseas. The event has so far generated over £17 million in its first two years for the local economy in Leeds, according to a report by ARUP, while social measurement tool Loop stated the event created £3.3 million in social value.

If we look beyond this, the event in 2024 is likely to create £20 million in local economic impact for the city of Leeds, creating an additional £3.5 million in social value.

Who’s involved?

The event is described as being ‘client heavy, meaning there are a large number of local authorities, government departments, investors, developers, and end-users who are easily visible and easy to engage with.

From a government perspective, this includes Homes England and the UK Infrastructure Bank, who have dedicated areas alongside the Government Property Agency, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.

In addition, local government is heavily represented, with most regions having their own dedicated pavilions or spaces, including Opportunity London, who represent all 32 London Boroughs, and the City of London, who team up alongside Manchester for their space. Others, such as the Oxford to Cambridge Pan Regional Partnership, Invest Newcastle, Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough Combined Authority, Western Gateway, Great South West, and the West Midlands Growth Company, and some of those with heightened visibility.

And it’s clear that investors, developers, and occupiers are easy to connect with—with pension funds like Legal and General and Pheonix Group, and occupiers like Aldi with large spaces to host delegates and connect. Wates Residential, Prologis, Mountpark, Tritax Symmetry, Harworth, MODA, Caddick Group, Muse, and British Land are other examples of those who can be found with dedicated areas and are looking to connect.

What are people saying about the event?

President of international investors Amro Partners said: “UKREiiF tells me that the UK is open to business, and as an investor, that is a fantastic message. The event brings together government ministers and officials, people from Whitehall, local authorities, investors, and developers; it’s a phenomenal representation of the real estate sector.”

Alan Denby, Director of Pride in Place at Torbay Council, added: “Being at UKREiiF has enabled Torbay to have discussions with investors, developers, and occupiers, and from these discussions we’ve announced the preferred development partner to work with us on four key development sites worth over £100m to the local community, and that investment is a direct result of being involved in UKREiiF.”

Alastair Campbell, Former Director of Communications for No. 10 Downing Street, said: “UKREiiF brings together all the different parts of the equation that are needed to regenerate regions and the economy successfully. And it’s changing people’s views of the industry world.”

Greg Ward, Principal Regeneration Office for Economic Development at North Northamptonshire Council: “I was unsure of the opportunities UKREiiF would bring, but I decided to attend, and our council was pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of learnings to have, but the dedicated investment and development facilitation sessions were excellent, and we had five prospects come from this, which has led to follow-up meetings in North Northamptonshire.”

How do you get involved?

Details can be found on their website at www.ukreiif.com.