Posted on Tuesday 25th February 2025
Left to right: Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council; Professor Trevor McMillan, VC Keele University; Alan White, Leader, Staffordshire County Council; Dan Gallagher, Joint MD, Stoford.
Staffordshire leaders marked the official launch of a UK-wide event to boost the county and city’s economic growth on February 24..
Both private and public sector organisations came together for the official launch of the Staffordshire the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF 2025) delegation.
The event took place at Keele University, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, ahead of the three day national expo and conference in Leeds, in May
UKREiiF is an annual investment profiling opportunity for Staffordshire, attracting some 15,000 delegates from pension funds to developers and partners and government departments including Homes England, the Department for International Trade and the Ministry for Homes, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The Staffordshire delegation will put Staffordshire on a national stage, showcasing its investment opportunities and priorities through its ‘Place to Prosper’ campaign, and engage with and meet key investment and sector leaders which may lead to future investment, supporting our economy to grow, creating more jobs and lifelong learning opportunities for Staffordshire people.
Alan White, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said:
I am proud of the partnership approach we have built over the last four years to showcase all corners of the county, and this year, the city of Stoke-on-Trent too, including our wider approach to attracting and securing investment opportunities through our Place to Prosper campaign.
Through our We Are Staffordshire partner delegation, we are collectively and proactively bringing priority sites to market and promoting investment opportunities across Staffordshire.”
Announced last night were key developments that the delegation will take to market in 2025, including further profiling and calls for support for the A50/A500 growth corridor; increased investment and development opportunities adjacent to the i54 development in South Staffordshire and Wolverhampton, known as the economic
growth corridor, and further investment to reimagine our town centres, including significant regeneration plans at Gungate in Tamworth, Burton town centre, and Lichfield.
Professor Trevor McMillan OBE, Vice Chancellor of Keele University, said:
Keele is proud to be playing a key role in the ‘We Are Staffordshire’ delegation, which features all the local councils as well as business leaders and investment partners already working in the county.
UKREiiF is an important opportunity to promote the county we live in and the many investment opportunities we have.”
UKREiiF 2023 marked the inaugural event of bringing all eight district and borough councils together as We Are Staffordshire, proving the strength of a joint approach to investment for the County. Since then, Staffordshire has attended the event under the collective brand ‘We Are Staffordshire’, this year including the city of Stoke-on-Trent as partners, and has attracted significant investment including the £90m Capital and Centric development in
Newcastle-under-Lyme, proving the strength of a joint approach to investment for the County.
Sponsors include headline supporters Keele University and Stoford, Indurent and Harworth, alongside a host of in-kind partners.
The Staffordshire delegation uses UKREiiF as an opportunity to celebrate the county’s creative makers and producers, through a ‘welcome to Staffordshire’ reception that with sample beers from sponsors Best of British Beer, based in Newcastle under Lyme, county-wide treasure Titanic Ales, named after the ill-fated captain of the same, who hailed from Stoke-on-Trent; crisps from Just crisps, and wines grown by Halfpenny Wines, both based in South Staffordshire.