UKREiiF confirms Leeds exit
In a move that has been rumoured for some time, the real estate exhibition will leave its home city after the 2027 event, with Liverpool taking over as host from 2028.
The move brings an end to years of speculation over whether the event would remain in Leeds.
UKREiiF, which launched in the city in 2022, has grown to attract more than 17,000 delegates from government, investment, development, local authorities, and the wider built environment and the event’s organisers estimate that more than £4bn of investment and projects are now in the pipeline or being actively delivered as a direct result of the show.
Liverpool’s LEX has secured the rights to host the event from 2028, with organisers citing the venue’s capacity for further expansion and its range of accommodation options.
News of the move comes as the Royal Armouries has been announcing its own expansion plans – a proposed £100m waterfront development will be built on the Tiltyard site in Leeds’ South Bank and centre around a new 38,000 sq ft exhibition and events hall.
The project is moving through the final stages of options appraisal, with the museum also finalising appointments to the project team, expected to be announced over the coming weeks and months.
Creating more than 86,000 sq ft of conference and events space, alongside new cultural, hospitality, and leisure facilities, the wider scheme would more than double the Royal Armouries’ existing facilities.
Cllr James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “UKREiiF’s presence in our city has been a resounding success story, delivering significant economic benefits of around £75m for the economy and raising our profile on a national and international stage.
“We are immensely proud to have played a part in its remarkable growth, from a local startup founded here in Leeds to its current position as the largest property and investor conference in the UK…
“UKREiiF has helped to prove the unique ability of conferencing here in Leeds, with many more larger scale conferences committing to Leeds as a result, and we are excited to now work together with the Royal Armouries towards accelerating the vision for the next generation conference and exhibition centre which will see a significant upgrade in capacity and visitor experience over the next few years.”
Nat Edwards, director general and master of the Armouries, where the event has been held since inception in 2022, said: “It has been a privilege to host UKREiiF here at the Royal Armouries for six remarkable years. What began as a bold new addition to the UK’s events calendar has grown into one of the most influential forums in the country, and we are proud of the role our venue and our team have played in that story.
“The economic impact for Leeds and the region has been significant, and UKREiiF has helped demonstrate the genuine potential of this waterfront campus as a destination for events of the very highest calibre. We wish UKREiiF every success in its next chapter and also look forward with enormous excitement to our own.
“The Royal Armouries Waterfront project will create a world-class venue that will attract the next generation of major events to Leeds for decades to come.”
Nathan Spencer, managing director of UKREiiF, said: “This isn’t a story about leaving Leeds; it’s a story about celebrating everything that Leeds and West Yorkshire has helped UKREiiF become – without the region and the people within it the event wouldn’t have been as successful.”
“When we launched UKREiiF, we wanted to create an event that challenged convention and put collaboration, investment, and opportunity at the heart of the UK’s built environment.
“Leeds gave us the platform, the confidence and the partnership to do exactly that.
“That legacy will always belong to Leeds and West Yorkshire, and we’ll continue to be based here with the region holding such a brilliant talent pool that will help us continue our growth – both within the UK and overseas, which starts with our first event in Australia in 2027.”
The UK’s largest real estate and infrastructure event will return to the Royal Armouries for the final time from 18 to 20 May 2027.
