For the second year in a row, Scottish Cities Alliance supported the cities to develop a presence at UKREiiF 2023 which took place in Leeds in May. UKREiiF, The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, is marketed as an event that connects people, places, and businesses to accelerate the Levelling Up Agenda, whilst unlocking sustainable, inclusive, and transformational investment across the UK. It is a 3-day event bringing together the public sector – with every core UK city and region involved – alongside Government, investors, funders, developers, housebuilders and more. 7,000 people registered for the event, with 500+ speakers and exhibitors showcasing their offerings, exceeding the numbers from last year.
The Scottish cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth, and Stirling – all came together via the Alliance amongst 200+ other local authorities from across the UK, to highlight their investment and development opportunities and to showcase the Scottish offering.
The Canal Boat
The Alliance provided a unique meeting space on a canal boat located in the heart of the conference site next to the Royal Armouries, enabling cities to have discussions and bespoke meetings with investors. The collective feedback has been hugely positive with the cities having all reported valuable returns from these meetings, with individual cities reporting numbers of enquiries from investors and developers into their propositions in the double digits. We look forward to watching these investor relations flourish over the coming months and years.
Roundtable Discussion
The Alliance worked alongside Arup, to host a fringe event for city leaders and officers focused on unlocking private sector investment in the cities. This gathering provided a platform for participants to explore innovative ideas and strategies. Organizations like Legal & General, The Scottish National Investment Bank, UK Infrastructure Bank, and 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment) shared their perspectives.
Cllr Susan Aitken, quoted by CoStar speaking at the session said:
“We are actively seeking ways of working with investors and building collaborations that tackle all of [our] challenges, understanding that those collaborations bring the public and private sector together and that we understand as the public sector, that the private sector is also capable and, indeed, does care about place and people “
Roundtable discussions like this help to inspire attendees to think outside the box when it comes to investment, but also to collaborate and share ideas.
Panel Session:
The panel session held on the final day of UKREiiF – skilfully moderated by Iseabail Mactaggart, Deputy Director of Scotland at the Department for Business and Trade – featured Highland Council’s Leader, Cllr Raymond Bremner, and officers from Aberdeen and Dundee. They shed light on the wide array of opportunities available not only within their respective cities and city regions but also across of Scotland.
The Alliance team also secured opportunities for cities to show thought leadership and participate in panel discussions as part of the official UKREiiF programme, as well as facilitate meetings with overseas investors and journalists and support city participation in activity delivered both by the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade and 3Ci.
Continuing the Momentum
At UKREiiF we directly introduced the cities too over 180 investors and developers, these connections and insights established will serve as a springboard for future collaborations and investment opportunities. Here Cllr Raymond Bremner shares exactly why it is the event to be at for Scotland’s cities:
“The UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum provided us a national platform that focuses on connecting people, places and businesses to accelerate and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment.”
He continued:
“I was delighted that the Highlands were represented, recognised, and acknowledged by many delegates that included government representatives, potential investors, financial institutions, their agents and representatives of many sectors of industry“
Cllr Raymond Bremmner
Thus, with the clear successes achieved, encapsulated by Cllr Raymond Bremner, the Scottish Cities Alliance is already working towards a bigger and better presence at UKREiiF 2024, aiming to continue fostering prosperity and growth for the cities. Stay tuned with more details to follow through our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Roll on UKREiiF 2024!!
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