West Midlands to showcase ambitions at investment and infrastructure forum

Led by Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, the region's delegation will rally behind a mission of mobilising economic growth across the West Midlands at the UKREiiF event, running from May 20 to 22 at the Royal Armouries Museum and New Dock, in Leeds.

The West Midlands pavilion at the three-day event will showcase the scale of regeneration opportunity across the region’s £117bn economy, with panels, keynotes, roundtables and networking sessions targeting the developer and investor community.

Housing delivery and infrastructure, including decarbonisation strategies, the HS2 growth corridor, West Bromwich Town Centre procurement and the Birmingham Sports Quarter vision, will be discussed on May 20.

On May 21 the conversation will shift to investment and occupier trends and innovation including Birmingham Knowledge Quarter ambitions and Coventry’s innovation ecosystem.

Finally, on May 22, policy and the West Midlands Local Growth Plan will be the subject of discussion.

The event will also feature announcements linking to the region’s investment portfolio, Birmingham Sports Quarter, West Bromwich Town Centre, and Smithfield Birmingham.

There will also be food and music as the event concludes in celebration of Birmingham’s next chapter.

Richard Parker - Mayor of the West Midlands - will be among those attending along with Joanne Roney - managing director of Birmingham City Council; Greg Clark - executive chair of the University of Warwick’s Innovation District; Tom Wagner - co-founder of Knighthead Capital, and Huw Edwards - executive director of Stations at HS2. 

Mr Parker said: "The West Midlands is already one of the UK’s most attractive destinations for investors but I’m committed to accelerating that economic growth so it benefits all our communities sooner.

"That means forging partnerships with forward looking investors and developers whose ambitions support my own key priorities of growth, jobs, affordable homes and better transport. UKREiiF offers a golden opportunity to do that and change thousands of lives for the better.

"And with some of the country’s most important regeneration schemes in the pipeline, and the added benefit of the West Midlands’ Investment Zone status, there has never been a better time to become part of our shared success story.” 

Organised by the West Midlands Growth Company – the region’s investment promotion agency - the delegation will include local authority figureheads from Birmingham, Coventry and Warwickshire, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council leader, said: “Wolverhampton is a city that delivers. Just look at what’s been achieved - and what’s on the way. A new city centre transport interchange, award-winning office developments, thousands of new city centre homes, and a state-of-the-art City Learning Quarter opening this year. With bold regeneration plans and strong regional partnerships, now is the time for investors and developers to take a closer look at the opportunities here and in the West Midlands." 

Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, added: “Spanning three major cities and four thriving towns, the scale of opportunity in the West Midlands is on par with entire countries in mainland Europe. The region has a rapidly growing population, has secured its largest share of UK FDI on record, and remains a thriving start-up ecosystem.

“The byproduct of this evergreen demand is an enormous opportunity for developers to seize. The region’s position as the first HS2 station outside of London will expedite its growth potential even further, spurring existing industries of strength, like Life Sciences. I look forward to meeting the real estate community at UKREiiF to reinforce that transformational development starts here.” 

Private sector partners championing the West Midlands include: E.ON, Lendlease, Arcadis, Arup, Apsley House Capital, Agilyx Group, BDP (Building Design Partnership Ltd), Construction West Midlands, Cundall, Deloitte, Hammerson, Indurent, Keon Homes, Lovell, Mott MacDonald, Muse, Pinnegar Hayward Design, Prior+Partners, Shoosmiths, Stoford, Stonebond, Woodbourne Group and WSP.UKREiiF follows the West Midlands’ successful presence at MIPIM 2025 and comes ahead of the launch of the West Midlands Local Growth Plan on June 30.