£150bn of investment opportunities in the UK set to be discussed as political, real estate, and investment leaders confirmed to speak at industry leading event

Around £150 billion worth of investment opportunities are set to be showcased and discussed at UKREiiF (The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) this coming May as towns, cities, and counties across the UK look to meet investors and developers to bring forward sustainable and inclusive growth within their regions.

Almost 12,000 domestic and international attendees will head to Leeds in May 2024 for a three-day event where UK cities and regions will highlight opportunities and ambitions across numerous sectors, including housing, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, technology, healthcare, energy, retail and high streets, infrastructure, leisure, and hospitality, industrial, and more.

This week, numerous speakers have been confirmed, including senior figures from the public sector and government, including:

Kerry McCarthy MP – Shadow Minister for Climate Change
Cllr Liam Robinson – Leader of Liverpool City Council
Rachel Fisher – Deputy Director at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Cllr Satvir Kaur – Leader of Southampton City Council
Duncan Wilson OBE – Chief Executive at Historic England
Natalie Forrest – Senior Responsible Officer for New Hospital Programme, NHS
Cllr Alan White – Leader of Staffordshire County Council
Cllr Claire Holland – Leader of London Borough of Lambeth
Robin Dobson – Group Property Director at Network Rail Property
Graeme Craig – Chief Executive of Places for London (formerly Transport for London Property)
Ludo Tolu – Deputy Director at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Cllr Bev Craig – Leader of Manchester City Council
Amanprit Arnold – Property X-Change Lead at Greater London Authority
Lara Newman – Chief Executive of LocatED (Department for Education)
Michelle Humphreys – Director of Strategy Projects at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Sarah Shaw – Head of Planning at Glasgow City Council
Mark Bourgeois – Interim Chief Executive of Government Property Agency
San Ting Gilmartin – Director of Capital Planning and Developments at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Mel Barrett – Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council
Ahmed Goga – Director at Great South West
Roger Mendonca – Chief Executive of Midlands Engine
John Wilkinson – Director at Western Gateway
Dr Richard Hutchins – Managing Director of the Oxford to Cambridge Pan-Regional Partnership
Clare Hayward MBE – Chair, NP11
Charlotte Goy – Chief Executive of Destination Lincolnshire
Dipti Patel – Corporate Director of Place at London Borough of Harrow
Deborah Cadman OBE – Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council
Kate Willard OBE – Chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board
Julia Prescot – Deputy Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission
Tom Riordan – Chief Executive of Leeds City Council
Andy Williams – Director of Investment at Coventry City Council
Sarah Horden – Chair of the NHS Homes Alliance
Becca Heron – Strategic Director for Growth and Development at Manchester City Council
Mayor Tracy Brabin – West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Mayor Nik Johnson – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Dame Linda Pollard – Chair of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Jonathan Martin – Director of Inward Investment at London Borough of Waltham Forest
Ben Still – Managing Director of West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Pat Richie CBE – Chair of Government Property Agency
Cllr Kay Mason Billig – Leader of Norfolk County Council
Lord Iain McNicol, Vice-Chair of the APPG for ESG
Amira Amzour – Deputy Director for Water Strategy and Environment at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
James Heath – Chief Executive of the National Infrastructure Commission
Lord Andrew Stunell, Vice-Chair of the APPG for Healthy Homes and Buildings
Angela Barnicle – Chief Officer for Asset Management and Regeneration at Leeds City Council
Paul Richards – Director of Development and Regeneration at Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Amy Butterworth – Chief Executive Officer at Make It Happen Birkenhead
Mayor Paul Dennett – Salford City Council
Kate Kennally – Chief Executive of Cornwall Council
Maria Machancoses – CEO at Midlands Connect
Mayor Oliver Coppard – South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Ravi Chand CBE – Senior Responsibility Officer at the Cabinet Office
Prof Julienne Meyer CBE – Chair of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Charlotte Glazier – Programme Manager for Greening the Public Realm at the London Borough of Islington
Lord Richard Best OBE – Co-Chair of the APPG for Housing and Care for Older People
Lydia Lee – Assistant Director for Culture and Regeneration at London Borough of Bromley
Caroline Pillay – Interim Director of Regeneration and Development at London Borough of Newham
Alice Lester MBE – Operational Director for Regeneration, Growth and Employment at London Borough of Brent
Matin Miah – Assistant Director of Development and Economy at London Borough of Barnet
Kate Josephs – Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council
Donna Nolan – Chief Executive of Watford Borough Council
Melissa Roman Burch – Chief Operating Officer at New York City Economic Development Corporation
Garry Taylor – Assistant Director for Major Projects at Hull City Council
Jason McEwen – Deputy Director for Real Estate and Capital Investment at Government Property Agency
Jane Meek – Assistant Director for Thriving Place and Investment at Cumberland Council
Amy Harhoff – Corporate Director for Regeneration, Economy and Growth at Durham County Council

In addition, the private sector is set to feature heavily, with the first confirmed speakers including:

Jeremy Wrathall – Founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium
Sarah Windrum – Future Mobility Cluster Lead at HORIBA MIRA
Gerraint Oakley – Executive Director of Growth and Development at Platform Housing Group
Michelle Lewis – Director at Essar Group
Lohan Presencer – Chairman of Minister of Sound
Emma Cariaga – Head of Residential at British Land
Stephanie Hyde – Chief Executive at JLL
Honor Barratt – Managing Director at Birchgrove
Shuen Chan – Head of ESG at Legal and General
Melanie Leech CBE – Chief Executive of British Property Federation
Damien Sharkey – Managing Director of HUB
Gemma Bourne – Investment Director at Big Society Capital
Lynda Shillaw – Chief Executive Officer at Harworth Group
Rebecca Milne – Transformation and Operations Lead for Workplace Solutions at Haleon
Shivani Goolab – Director at Investec
Bay Downing – Investment Director at Downing Group
Tom Almas – Joint Founder and CEO at Wizu Workspace
Jo Barnes – Managing Director at Sewell Estates
Anna Strongman – CEO at Oxford University Development
Nicola Shaw CBE – Chief Executive at Yorkshire Water
Olaide Oboh – Executive Director at Socius
Andrew Taylor – Planning Director for Countryside Vistry
Imogen Ebbs – Head of UK Funds at Aviva Investors
Clare Miller – Chief Executive at Clarion Housing
Tony O’Brien – UK Development Director at Travelodge
Hayley Rees – Managing Director of Pension Insurance Corporation
Shane Paull – Chief Operating Officer at McCarthy Stone
Tim Seddon – Development Director at Retirement Villages Group
Sarah Jones – CEO of Anchor Hanover
Ben Rosewall – Head of Investment for Later Living at Legal and General
Nick Sanderson – CEO at Audley Group
Katerina Papavasileiou – Director of ESG at Federated Hermes
Paul Pavia – Head of Development at MEPC
Nikki Bains – Head of Planning, Transport and Strategy at Birmingham Airport
Samantha O’Dwyer – Managing Director at Cornwall Airport Newquay
John Irving – Chief Executive of Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Charles Crowe – Managing Director and Head of UK Investment at PGIM
Isobel Dench – Associate Director at Intermediate Capital Group
Erin Peart – Director of Campus at Northumbria University
Nicola Cameron – Director of Property Joint Ventures at University of Glasgow
James Dunne – Head of Operational Real Estate at abrdn
Prakash Krishnamurthy – Director at IHG Hotels and Resorts
Lloyd Lee – Managing Partner at Yoo Capital
James Craddock – Managing Director at SEGRO
Alison Dowett – Managing Director for Planning and Policy at Berkeley Group
Paul Brocklehurst – Chair of the Land, Planning and Development Federation
Nora Senior CBE – Chair of the East Midlands Freeport
Kate Howe – Development Director at Tritax Symmetry
Edmond Leahy – Head of Estates at Evri
Tony Mannix – Strategic Advisor for Retail Logistics at GXO
Rachael Dennis – Chief Executive of InCommunities
Yvonne Westhead-Fyles, Director of Development at Livv Housing
Phil Marsden – Director of Projects at Muse
Chris Santer – Fund Manager for Positive Impact Investments at Schroders
Jackie Sadek – Chair of the UK Innovation Corridor
Sandi Rhys Jones – President at CIOB
Brett Ormrod – Net Zero Carbon Lead at LaSalle Investment Management
Shamez Alibhai – Managing Director and Head of Community Housing at MAN GPM
Matt Webster – Head of Environmental Sustainability at British Land
Yohance Harper – Partner at Quadrant Estates
Charles Royce – Executive Director at AEW
Mark Williams – Executive Director at RivingtonHark
Ami Kotecha – Co-Founder and Group President at Amro Partners
DJ Dhananjai – Head of Living at Royal London Asset Management
Gemma Smith – Chief Executive at Strata Homes

With over thirty stages, the event has been described at the Glastonbury of the real estate industry as bringing a mixture of content, activity, and fringe events together to create an inspiring and creative way to make connections, tackle challenges in the sector, and create investment opportunities to drive inclusive and sustainable prosperity across the UK.

Event Background

Launched in 2022, the event is held over three days and brings together the public and private sectors, with all of the UK’s cities and regions represented alongside the UK Government and the numerous governmental departments. Over 700 speakers will be involved across 30 stages, with speakers already confirmed including The Rest Is Politics stars Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, in addition to the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Kerry McCarthy. Mayors from numerous devolved authorities have already announced they’ll be attending, including Mayor Tracy Brabin of West Yorkshire, Mayor Oliver Coppard of South Yorkshire, and Nik Johnson of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Having grown from 3,500 attendees in 2022 to 7,500 in 2023, the event in 2024 is set to attract over 12,000 to Leeds. In addition to 12,000 attendees, the event is set to attract a further 3,000 people to the city to enjoy the fringe events across the city, with £20 million set to be generated for the local Leeds community. The event generated £2.25 million in social impact in 2023 for the local economy.

Facilitation and Investment

The event has already been lauded across the UK by many cities and regions, with Torbay Council recently confirming a major £100m investment into the seaside destination, which is set to create jobs, homes, and revitalise the leisure offering in the region, all happening directly because of the event. In addition to this, there are several other schemes totalling over £500 million of investment known to be in the pipeline across other cities following direct facilitation and introductions at the event.

During UKREiiF, international and domestic investors, developers, and occupiers will be invited to meet and greet UK cities and regions to understand their requirements and see if there are any natural collaborations and partnerships that can be brought forward.

High Praise

The sudden emergence of UKREiiF as Europe’s fastest-growing real estate and built environment event comes with much high praise from senior figures in the industry:

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, in which we had five prospects come from this, which has led to follow-up meetings in North Northamptonshire.”

International Delegates

Around 1,500 delegates are expected from overseas, including a trade delegation from Asia headed up by the Department for Business and Trade. European capital investors and developers will be in attendance, attracted by the strength of the UK’s market, especially in new and emerging sectors such as Agri-Tech, Life Sciences, Aerospace, EV and Data Centres.

International cities and regions are also signed up, with those registering early including Illinois State, New York Economic Development Corporation, Choose Paris, Business Iceland, and the Municipality of Genoa, with many more set to announce their attendance as they look to share best practices amongst UK regions while sharing their own case studies and success stories.

To find out more, visit www.ukreiif.com