The UK’s largest built environment and real estate investment event generated more than £2.25m in social value, according to economists at social value consultancy Loop.
The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) made a return to central Leeds for a second year this May, doubling in size from its inaugural outing. The three-day event saw more than 7,500 people descent on Leeds Dock to hear from more than 500 expert speakers across more than 20 stages.
Intended to connect people, places and businesses to accelerate and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment across the country, UKREiiF brought together the public sector — with every core UK city and region represented — alongside government, investors, funders, developers, housebuilders and more.
The forum’s operations — both in the lead up to and during the event — were closely analysed by social value economists at Loop, covering a range of social, environment and economic measurements to help the organisers demonstrate the true impact the event creates. The report has now been released, showing that the 2023 outing of UKREiiF generated £2,259,358 in social value.
Ethan Campbell, Social Value Economist at Loop, said: “Where possible, the impacts in our analysis have been monetised with proxy values in order to demonstrate the scale of impact the event has had in more relatable terms. Our measurement framework is able to incorporate more than 800 different types of metrics — 90% of which can be monetised — covering the five key areas of employment, training and skills, supply chain, community and charity, and environmental.
“Monetising social value is the process of attaching a proxy financial value to an outcome. That value does not show an actual financial return but represents the relative importance of that change to those impacted. The results speak for themselves when it comes to the significant impact UKREiiF has.
“Not only is the event bringing together the parties who will together make a difference to the future of the built environment and economy, it’s creating positive impact for the Leeds area and its communities now. It’s always a pleasure to work closely with the UKREiiF team to help demonstrate the fantastic work being done – and we look forward to continuing this into a successful 2024 event next year.”
Loop’s analysis uses the National Social Value Standard (SVS), which is a measurement framework designed specifically for the appraisal of social value. Developed by specialised economists, it incorporates the latest government and academic best practice, including the HM Treasury Green Book.
The organisation created a similar report on the inaugural UKREiiF event in 2022, which showed social value generation of just above £1m.
Nathan Spencer, Director at UKREiiF, said: “We’re incredibly pleased that as the event grew in its second year, the positive impacts created also increased, with the proxy monetary values more than doubling.
“Since the outset of creating UKREiiF, we were clear that it was intended to be a platform for change. Its aim it to facilitate positive regeneration and development across the whole country, aligning with the government’s levelling up agenda — but crucially doing this in a way that maintains a focus on sustainability and generating positive impact for communities.
“This will remain at the core of the organisation for next year’s event, which will return to the Leeds Dock once again in May 2024. Plans are already progressing at pace with big name businesses already committed to helping us further our positive impact into another year, including the creation of Team Leeds which will look to utilise the UKREiiF platform to develop more all year round activity that further enhances the social value we generate for local people and places.”
The full report can be downloaded from Loop’s website here: https://loop.org.uk/ukreiif-social-value-report/
