All week we were at UKREiiF, meeting friends, partners and clients from across the industry.
Our Executive Director Tom Wheldon, who also sits on the Humber Freeport board, shares his highlights and takeaways from the event.
I’ve been coming to UKREiiF since it started… back when it felt like a regional get‑together of a few thousand people. The scale since then has changed entirely – from around 6,000 delegates in earlier years to roughly 16,000 this time, and with that has come a broader, more ambitious agenda.
This event is no longer just about regeneration and development; it now spans the whole built environment and attracts mayors, senior local authority figures and national investors. That breadth is a real strength.
What I value most is the ability to have so many focused, meaningful conversations in a very short space of time. There’s an atmosphere of practicality and collaboration: people are tired of the downturn, and they’ve come to get things done. That shift was clear in the presence of local authorities and city leaders who were actively looking to work in partnership rather than simply observe.
A highlight for me was the Savills Future Space event on industrial and logistics viewings; at the briefing Savills reported a recent impressive statistic, that last month was their highest number of I&L viewings for a single month since they started recording the data. Of course, viewings are not the same as transactions, and the real test will be how that pipeline converts over the coming months. Still, it was encouraging to see signs of demand in the market.
My visit to UKREiiF came shortly after a trip to Shedmasters in Lisbon. The contrast was useful; Lisbon was very investor and delivery‑focused, whereas UKREiiF brought together a wider set of stakeholders – local authorities, politicians and the delivery community. For our work on FREEPORT 36 at Goole, that wider stage matters. Goole has the potential to be transformational for the Humber and the wider north‑east logistics network, and I was struck by how what the sector would have once perceived as ‘rivals’ are increasingly taking a collegiate approach on projects of national significance. That willingness to work less tribally and more collaboratively is exactly what will make the UK competitive on the world stage.
I also took part in a roundtable on the skills gap. Apprenticeships and alternative career routes to degree courses are essential if we are to broaden access to the industry. There was a powerful moment when two apprentices on the panel spoke about diversity and opportunity and it underlined how urgent change is. We need more degree apprenticeships, clearer work‑experience pathways and better articulation of what careers in property actually look like. Right now, the industry’s profile is obscure to many young people; we must do better at showing them the possibilities.
Partnerships are central to how we operate at HBD. We run 27 partnerships around the country, and that partnership mindset resonated strongly at UKREiiF. With the complexity and viability challenges developers face today, collaboration is not optional – it’s the only realistic route to delivering strategic sites and maximising regional benefit.
There was plenty of fringe activity and lighter moments too, a lunch with DLA, and the usual jokes about the large number of similar‑looking property people in our industry ‘outfits’ at these events.
Looking ahead, UKREiiF is now so large that organisers and attendees should think carefully about how to get the most from it in future years. For me, this year delivered excellent meetings both in the main programme and on the margins, and left me with practical takeaways on demand signals, skills, and the power of partnership – all things we can act on back in the office.