Event Programme
We are excited to be back in Leeds for UKREiiF 2025! This year, we're proud to be a Pavilion Partner and present a three-day programme of events.
Our team is gearing up for a dynamic week of insightful discussions, networking, and opportunities to collaborate with industry leaders and influencers.
Across the three days, we will bring together leading thinkers, doers, and policymakers with opposing views to explore the trends taking shape today that could define how we live tomorrow. Expect strong opinions, critical examination, and bold new ideas – all aimed at bringing a fresh perspective on creating a better future.
Join us to gain insights and share ideas on how we can create a better built environment for everyone.
Monday 19 May
FRINGE EVENT
Skyline Soiree
LOCATION
Rider Levett Bucknall, 11A Platform, New Station Street, Leeds , LS1 4JB
MONDAY 19 MAY
17:00 - 20:00
Fully Booked
DESCRIPTION
RLB would like to welcome you to UKREiiF with drinks, canapes, music and networking on the rooftop of our office building.
Not been to UKREiiF before? We can give you some tips and advice to make the most out of the conference. Our friendly team can also introduce you to our network and help foster connections.
Tuesday 20 May
DESCRIPTION
Rethinking PPPs for a new era
With the UK fast earning a reputation as a country that can’t actually build anything, could a new public private partnership model actually be the answer? Was PFI really that bad first time round? What lessons do we need to learn to evolve the PPP model so that it can deliver better for the public good? And if PPP is the saving grace for the UK’s crumbling infrastructure, how do we ensure more flexibility while focusing on quality and recognising the value of sustainable design, to restore public trust in this model?
HOST
Sonia Mcrobb
Senior Associate
PANELLISTS
Mike Reader
Northampton South
Labour MP
Robert Wotherspoon
Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures
CEO
Lesley McGregor
Eric Wright
MD
Rosemary Jago
Bevan Brittan
Infrastructure Partner
Colin Marrs
Construction News
Editor
Colin Sinclair
Knowledge Quarter Liverpool
CEO
DESCRIPTION
What will it really take?
To build 1.5 million homes by 2030, the UK must rethink how we deliver housing at pace and scale, without sacrificing design quality, liveability, or sustainability. How can smart infrastructure, transport and energy investment, and new technologies be integrated from construction to operation? What policy, planning and funding reforms - including public-private partnerships - are needed to hit targets within limited timescales? How do we protect cultural heritage while creating inclusive, futureproofed places? And how should we define and measure successful placemaking to ensure maximum community value?
HOST
Carolyn Brady
Partner – Belfast
PANELLISTS
Suzy Jones
Urban Splash
Director of the Future
Damien Martin
Belfast City Council
Strategic Director of Place and the Economy
Lisa Gledhill
Muse
Managing Director of National Partnerships
Gerry McFall
Labour Infrastructure Forum
Director
Emme Batten
Hines
Director
FRINGE EVENT
Sports and Major Venues Networking Lunch
LOCATION
Royal Armouries Museum - Pavilion Avenue - RLB Pavilion
MONDAY 19 MAY
13:00 - 14:00
This event is invite only. Contact matt.christie@ukreiif.com for more information.
DESCRIPTION
UKREiiF and RLB team up to convene estates leaders and senior management from the world of sports and entertainment for an interactive networking lunch and a chance to swap ideas on how these institutions can drive regeneration in UK places. Tom Wagner, Chairman of Birmingham City will speak to RLB Chief Executive Andrew Reynolds about his ambitious plans for the club.
HOSTS
Andrew Reynolds
UK & Europe Chief Executive
DESCRIPTION
The future of entertainment venues as community gamechangers
Stadia, entertainment and leisure venues have always been praised for their vital role in bringing communities together, but are they truly serving this purpose? This session will explore the strategic decisions of repurposing versus building new spaces for sport, entertainment and leisure, focusing on the economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as the importance of accessibility, transport links, and multi-purpose use.
HOSTS
Jonathan Edwards
National Head of Sport
PANELLISTS
Andy Burnham
Greater Manchester
Mayor
Colin Chong
Everton Football Club
Chief Executive
Lindsay Johnston
BDP Patten
Director
James Saunders
Quintain
Chief Executive
Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE DL
The Piece Hall
Chief Executive
Richard Kenyon
Sports-Led Regeneration Specialist
DESCRIPTION
The risks and rewards of data centres in kickstarting growth
This panel will dive into the critical role of data centres in powering the UK’s £30bn AI growth ambitions and the challenges that could impact the nation’s digital future. Key issues include balancing data centre expansion with housing needs amid grid capacity constraints, fostering public-private collaboration for investments, and aligning data centre growth with the government's sustainability and inclusive growth priorities.
HOST
Jon Clark
Associate – Sustainability and ESG strategist
PANELLISTS
Carly Vince
QUOD
Senior Director
Emma Fryer
Cyrus One
Director of Public Policy (Europe)
Noel Powell
SSE
Head of Regeneration and Data Centres
Tony Doyle
Blackpool Council
Head of Digital and IT Futures
FRINGE EVENT
RLB charity comedy night
LOCATION
Revolucion de Cuba, 64-68 Call Lane, LS1 6DT
TUESDAY 20 MAY
19:00 - 23:00
Fully Booked
DESCRIPTION
Join us for a laugh in support of Regeneration Brainery
- with Barry Dodds, Jamie Sutherland and Ray Bradshaw to keep you entertained!
Wednesday 21 May
DESCRIPTION
Join us for a walk around the beautiful city centre.
This guided tour gives you a chance to speak to industry peers whilst also taking in the sights in Leeds and getting some fresh air before another full day of talks.
DESCRIPTION
Unlocking digital innovation in the public sector
Focussing on the key challenges facing the public sector and the opportunities available to harness data to support cross-organisational collaboration in placemaking.
We will hear from the cross-public sector team behind the recent Place Pilot in Sheffield discussing how the development of their Place_dashboard has the potential to change the way they work across the city.
Breakfast and refreshments provided
DESCRIPTION
With increasingly lacklustre responses to the climate emergency from political leaders, and 2024 seeing global temperatures exceed the 1.5 degree Paris target for the first time, have we already lost the fight against climate change? We explore the need to act faster, and its impact on sustainable development and the huge task of retrofitting old and dated commercial stock.
HOST
Heather Evans
National Head of Sustainability
PANELLISTS
Peter Runacres
Earls Court Development Company
Head of Urban Futures
Tarry Depledge
Moda
Head of ESG
Emma Williamson
M&G Real Estate
Director and Net Zero Investment Lead
DESCRIPTION
Truth, trust and tech in 2050
As AI reshapes professional services, will it enhance or undermine trust in how investment and development decisions are made? With organisations increasingly relying on AI for data management and decision-making, questions emerge about transparency, accountability, and the future role of humans in the built environment. What can we learn from industries already ahead in AI adoption? And where might the built environment need to learn from the error of their ways? This session explores the intersection of AI, trust, and human judgement, asking where quantity surveyors and other professionals will fit in by 2050.
HOST
Matt Sharp
Chief Digital Officer
PANELLISTS
Lisa Johnson
Starship Technologies
VP Corporate Comms and Public Affairs
Natan Lempert
Build AI
CEO
Paul Connell
The Data City
Co-founder
Richard Ford
Pinsent Masons
Partner
Kate Jennings
Association for Consultancy and Engineering
CEO
DESCRIPTION
Does the data tell us to continue with current policy and effort, or do we need a different approach to deliver an inclusive industry?
As the spotlight shines brightly on the different attitudes to DE&I across the globe, what insights can years of data tell the construction industry about progress, achievements and what still needs to change? What action is needed by companies and industry to ensure that they deliver a success story.
HOST
Sarah Draper
People and Culture Director
PANELLISTS
Sharon Slinger
Constructing Rainbows
Founder
Michele Steel
Regeneration Brainery
CEO
Amos Simbo
BPIC
CEO and Founder
DESCRIPTION
Should we abandon our sustainability commitments in favour of achieving our housing targets, or altogether? Is Saudi Arabia’s built environment a model to be emulated in the UK? How do we really make a difference in DE&I? Opposed to the proposed return of public private partnerships to kickstart development?
Come and join the RLB team for a fun drinks reception with lively conversations.
HOST
Andrew Reynolds
UK & Europe Chief Executive
Thursday 22 May
DESCRIPTION
Future leaders hack the future
After all the Boomers and Gen X-ers have gone home, come and join a mix of emerging professionals and industry leaders in an engaging hackathon, answering the question “What should our 2050 look like?”. What should our transport networks, our homes, and our infrastructure look like by this point? Which sectors and industries will be booming, and which will have become relics of the past? And what do we need to do right now to ensure we still have a 2050 to enjoy?
EVENT
White Rose Agreement:
Does Yorkshire offer a blueprint solution for growth that truly delivers?
LOCATION
Royal Armouries Museum - Pavilion Avenue - RLB Pavilion
THURSDAY 22 MAY
10:45 - 11:30
Invite Only
DESCRIPTION
Following the recent signing of a new White Rose Agreement between the Mayors of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and York and North Yorkshire, RLB brings Mayors David Skaith, Tracy Brabin, and Oliver Coppard in an exclusive panel discussion on how Yorkshire could provide solutions for growth that delivers for all places and people.
As a diverse region, encompassing coastal towns, major cities, rural economies, market towns, and everything in between, can collaboration between Yorkshire’s mayors offer solutions that the rest of England can learn from? How can the Government’s Industrial Strategy deliver for all places, not just cities? And how can collaboration between mayors give Yorkshire a stronger national and international voice, ensuring the region gets the transport, infrastructure, and commercial investment to realise its huge potential?
HOST
Sarah Draper
People and Culture Director
CHAIR
PARTICIPANTS
Charanpreet Khaira
ITV
Political Correspondent
Oliver Coppard
South Yorkshire
Mayor
Tracy Brabin
West Yorkshire
Mayor
David Skaith
York and North Yorkshire
Mayor
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