UKREiiF, often searched as "UK REIFF", is the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum. It is a property and infrastructure forum held in Leeds that brings together investors, developers, local authorities, mayors and government. The first forum ran from 17 to 19 May 2022. The 2026 forum took place in the week of 19 May 2026, with the Chancellor, the Housing and Planning Minister and Homes England all making announcements. This guide explains what the forum is, what came out of the 2026 event according to government sources, and what the announcements mean in practice for property and infrastructure businesses.
What UKREiiF is
UKREiiF is a forum for networking and deal-making in real estate and infrastructure, rather than a trade show for a single sector. It is hosted at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds. Homes England described the 2022 event as the "inaugural UK Real Estate investment & infrastructure Forum". At the 2026 forum, the Housing and Planning Minister called it "a domestic forum for discussion, networking and deal making between investors, developers and local authorities", noting that it had been launched four years earlier.
For businesses, the forum matters mainly because public bodies use it to announce sites, funding and partner searches. In 2026, for example, Homes England used it to launch market engagement for a development partner in Nottingham.
What the government announced at UKREiiF 2026
HM Treasury's summary, published on 21 May 2026, put regional growth at the centre. The main points are set out below as they were announced in May 2026. Several had timetables that have since passed or are still to come, so check the current position before relying on any of them:
- City Investment Funds. The Chancellor confirmed a tranche of regeneration projects in Greater Manchester, Liverpool, the North East, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. Examples include extending the Oxford Road Corridor in Manchester (225,000 sq ft of office space, almost £120 million of private investment) and unlocking Temple Works and the wider Temple District in Leeds (around 3,500 homes);
- Fiscal devolution. The Chancellor reiterated her commitment to deliver a fiscal devolution roadmap at the Budget, with the Treasury saying it would publish an interim progress report in the summer of 2026;
- Mass Transit Taskforce. An independent taskforce chaired by Bridget Rosewell CBE will look at barriers to delivering mass transit, with first recommendations expected in six months;
- Transport and Works Act Orders. Plans to devolve these decisions to mayors, with a consultation to be launched in autumn 2026 on the scope of the powers;
- Civil Service estate. Investment outside London, including a Digital Campus in Manchester and a hub in York Central linked to 2,500 more homes;
- Royal Armouries expansion. Confirmed earlier that week by the Exchequer Secretary: around 3,500m² of new conference and exhibition space at the venue, supported by the Leeds City Fund.
Housing and planning announcements
The Housing and Planning Minister's speech on 19 May 2026 included:
- Small Sites Aggregator. The national rollout was confirmed, following pilots in Bristol, Lewisham and Sheffield. It aims to bring forward small brownfield sites for 10,000 social rent homes a year;
- Pattern book. Work with 23 local authorities on standard house designs, which the government intends to publish by the end of 2026 to support modern methods of construction (MMC) and SME developers;
- New Homes Accelerator. It is currently supporting 28 sites, and its scope has been widened;
- Homes England's record. Over 40,000 completions supported in the last financial year, with £22.6 billion of private investment leveraged;
- Planning timetable. The minister said a final revised National Planning Policy Framework would be published in summer 2026, and also committed to bringing in a National Scheme of Delegation and reforming the role of statutory consultees.
Homes England also used the forum to start preliminary market engagement for a master development partner for the former Broad Marsh shopping centre in Nottingham, a site it bought in March 2025.
What it means for property businesses
Announcements made at a forum are policy statements, not law. Funding, devolved powers and planning changes take effect only when the relevant legislation, grant terms or procurement documents are published. Treat UKREiiF announcements as a pipeline to watch, not as terms to rely on. In practice:
- Developers bidding for public partnerships should expect detailed financial due diligence on their accounts, cash flow forecasts and group structure. Preparing audited or reviewed accounts and a robust financial model before a procurement opens saves time;
- SME housebuilders targeting small sites or pattern-book schemes should model viability with realistic tax costs: stamp duty land tax on acquisition, the VAT position on construction and sales, and corporation tax, plus the Residential Property Developer Tax for larger groups, which is charged on top of corporation tax;
- Investors in regeneration should decide early whether to hold through a company, a joint venture vehicle or a REIT, because the choice affects tax on rents and exits. Our guide to REITs in the UK covers one route;
- Businesses in growth corridors or freeport areas should check whether location-based reliefs apply. Our guide to freeports explains how those reliefs work.
Following up after the forum
The most useful step after UKREiiF is to track how each announcement becomes binding: the Budget for fiscal devolution, Homes England procurement notices for partner searches, and published planning policy for NPPF changes. Where a scheme you are interested in depends on one of these, build the timing risk into your forecasts.
Primary sources: HM Treasury, Chancellor puts regional growth at top of the agenda at UKREiiF (21 May 2026); Housing and Planning Minister speech to UKREiiF 2026; Homes England, Broad Marsh development partner search and Homes England at UKREiiF 2022.
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