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Wallace Whittle at UKREiiF 2026: Key TakeaWWays

UKREiiF 2026 brought the industry together for three packed days in Leeds.

Our Wallace Whittle team was out in full force throughout the week, contributing to key conversations around housing, planning, infrastructure, and sustainability, while reconnecting with clients, collaborators, and colleagues from across the UK.

UKREiiF, organised by the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, is an event which serves as a platform where industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders meet, exchange insights, and investigate collaborative opportunities that shape the future of Real Estate and Infrastructure across the entire country.

We caught up with our delegates to hear their take on the key themes and standout conversations from the week.

As host city to UKREiiF, Leeds once again proved itself as a vibrant backdrop for the event, with the city’s ongoing regeneration and development activity on full display throughout the week.

For our Leeds Director, Andrew Smith, being at UKREiiF on home turf brought a slightly different perspective, offering not only the opportunity to engage with industry-wide conversations, but also to showcase the progress happening locally.

Reflecting on the event, he said:

“It’s always great to see UKREiiF return to Leeds, there’s a real energy across the city when the event is on. Being based here, it’s particularly rewarding to see the spotlight on the scale of development and investment happening regionally, and to hear the conversations taking place around the future of our cities.

Overall, there was a strong sense of optimism despite the geopolitical challenges we currently face, with open and constructive dialogue and a clear level of momentum, exactly what these events are intended to foster.”

Craig Robertson, Director, England, captured a prevailing mood across the event: that the time for talking has passed, and delivery is what matters.

“In reality, and being brutally honest, my main takeaway is that the construction & property industry is in a difficult place. Schemes are just not as viable due to many reasons, and unless the Government are willing to make funding available to bridge the gap in the short-term at least – it will continue to stall.

There are still opportunities that exist, they are just harder to find. No point in greetin’ about it – everyone is going to have to work harder to make them work..”

For Stephen Osborne, Location Director, Edinburgh, looked to the positives of Scottish representation and shared:

“UKREiiF delivered again this year as an excellent opportunity to network and take stock of the market and our industry. Development continues to face challenges but there appears to be universal determination to adapt to the new normal.

It was also positive to see the public sector well represented with Scottish Local Authorities working together and open to investment opportunities and initiatives to support development.”

Colin Preston, our Business Development Director in South England, was focused on discussions around different sectors and their challenges.

There still appears to be a strong sense of activity across the industry, particularly within the public sector, including healthcare, DfE education and defence. The residential and co-living sectors also remain active, although clients are understandably cautious as viability becomes increasingly challenging, mainly due to rising build costs.

The life sciences sector appears to have picked up again, with demand for these developments holding up better than expected. Meanwhile, the workplace sector was described by one client as “a little sticky”, in the sense that developments are taking longer to gain approval to proceed. Nevertheless, there remains a clear appetite to design and build new office space.

UKREiiF 2026 reminded us what’s possible when the industry comes together with shared purpose and an ability to candidly speak whether that be on a panel or with a pint. Across the three days, our delegates engaged in some of the most pressing conversations shaping the future of our towns, cities and communities.

We’d like to thank everyone who made UKREiiF such a productive event, and we look forward to continuing the conversation!

Get in touch with our attendees below:

Craig Robertson, Director, England – [email protected]

Connect with Craig on LinkedIn.

Carl Saxon, Director, South England – [email protected]

Connect with Carl on LinkedIn.

Paul Dean, Director, Manchester – [email protected]

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

Colin Preston, Director, London- [email protected]

Connect with Colin on LinkedIn.

Andrew Smith, Director, Leeds- [email protected]

Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.