An insider’s view on UKREiiF: what’s got the construction industry talking?

Here at Harris Creative, we’re proud to share a home with the UK Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Forum: better known to those in the know as UKREiiF. Our joint managing director Kirsty Scott brings us her take on the hot topics from this years’ forum.

An insider’s view on UKREiiF: what’s got the construction industry talking?

For the built environment sector, there’s no event bigger or better. Estimates said that around 16,000 people were in town for the event, with UKREiiF itself saying that it clocked 24,000 visits to the pavilion itself.

What’s interesting is that UKREiiF is an event that takes place in the north – but is not necessarily of the north. Neil Craven and I met people from Dorset, Norfolk, Bristol, Somerset, Manchester, Liverpool and of course London. We were out and about at various panels and events throughout the three days so were well-placed to pick up on the talking points.

So – other than the price of hotel rooms and the surprisingly glorious sunshine, what were the big conversations at this year’s UKREiiF?

All roads lead to devolution

Once again, UKREiiF kicked things off with a high-profile speech by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. In her keynote, the Deputy PM joined the eight northern metro and combined authority mayors – including our own Tracy Brabin – to launch the Great North, a new initiative designed to boost opportunities and prosperity for the north of England.

Her biggest talking point was devolution, and a hope that the whole of the north would benefit from devolved powers by the end of the current parliament.

It’s a topic that cropped up again and again at UKREiiF, including on a panel discussion I attended at KPMG’s Leeds offices. And while I am in favour of more power and funding being allocated to the regions and less concentrated in Westminster, I was interested to learn that devolution does not always result in increased funding for the regions.

What it does guarantee is more control over budgets – as the representative of Norfolk County Council pointed out, the government is not only handing over the funds, they are also stepping back from assigning what the money should be spent on.

The feeling at UKREiiF was that the ‘devolution revolution’ is certainly a positive step, but that all eyes are fixed on the upcoming spending review for what that means for devolved authorities in reality.

Growing confidence – but will there be growth?

On Wednesday, UKREiiF managing director Nathan Spencer shared an encouraging stat: 70 per cent of UK real estate professionals have a positive outlook on the year ahead, with those working in housebuilding feeling the most optimistic about the industry’s outlook. This marks a significant uptick in confidence from last year, when just over half reported feeling positive about the prospects of the year ahead.

The survey was one of the largest of its kind, asking 10,000 people who were heading to the event – so all people who are at the heart of the real estate and infrastructure sectors – to share their sentiments.

It’s great news that confidence is high – and there really was a good vibe around the forum this year. But my first event, hosted by the wonderful Women In Property network, had some sobering stats, with Gareth Harrison from the Bank of England outlining how they were expecting growth prospects to be dampened by factors like inflation and tariffs.

Gareth shared the stage with Jennifer Winyard of Barratt Redrow plc, who outlined the barriers that still remain for housebuilders, including a lack of qualified planning officers to get developments to the starting line, and slower that desired demand for new homes.

Still, as an eternal optimist, I remain hopeful that confidence will translate into positive action, and that the construction and housebuilding sectors can gain momentum as the year progresses.

The race to net zero

Net Zero was one of the themes of the 2025 UKREiiF and, again, it remains at the top of the agenda for the wider industry as well.

At Tuesday’s Women In Property Event, panellists mentioned a point that is often skimmed over: the possible tension between the need to build more social and affordable housing, and the need for housing associations and local authorities to decarbonise their existing stock. To achieve both of those aims requires a great deal of collaboration and political will – not to mention money.

Elsewhere at the conference, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) picked up the theme, hosting a panel titled ‘How can we deliver homes and places while also meeting our climate goals?’. This looked at another area of tension: can the UK build 1.5 million new homes AND achieve its legal obligation of reaching net zero by 2050?

RIBA used the panel to call for a National Retrofit Strategy, which would fund and incentivise upgrading the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock.

UKREiiF returns to Leeds in 2026 – we hope to see you there! And if you want to continue the conversation, get in touch.