Sunshine, strategy and (un)certainty: UKREiiF 2025 in review

Attending on behalf of Legal & Contingency, Sam Cherry remarked that "the clear-eyed view many speakers took of the structural barriers we face was ambitious and promising”.

In this article, Cherry captured the headlines from the event and explores the role of legal indemnities insurance.  

From economic growth and infrastructure delivery to planning reform and technological investment, the path to regeneration will be complex. But one message came through clearly: the UK cannot build its way out of these challenges without fixing the systems that underpin delivery. 

Devolution and the Empowered Local Authority  

A key takeaway from a Day One session was the critical role of devolution in driving successful town and cities renewal. Giving local authorities more control over strategy and spend is necessary. But that autonomy must come with stable, long-term funding. One-off allocations won’t deliver the scale of transformation needed, especially when development cycles stretch over years, not months. 

The session also highlighted the structural gap in housing affordability. Despite new supply, pricing pressures are growing. The current model isn’t working for many, and deregulation alone won’t resolve deep-seated cost and access issues.  

Supporting Investor Confidence 

Speakers at UKREiiF were candid about the nature of capital: it’s global, transient, and selective. Projects need to present clarity and certainty. Legal issues left unresolved or simply unexplored, can deter investment or delay lending decisions.  

Global investors are not bound by sentiment. They will take the path of least resistance, and the highest return. If we make the UK harder to invest in through a lack of local authority/Government investment to support schemes and barriers at planning, we can’t be surprised when capital seeks solutions where returns are equal, but the risks are removed. 

ESG 

Understandably, ESG considerations were threaded throughout UKREiiF. The environmental stakes are high, and the property sector has a key role to play in reducing emissions.  

While ESG strategies have long been part of the conversation, leveraging them for a competitive edge is still an emerging trend set to grow as the industry grapples with; retrofitting, embodied carbon, net zero and biodiversity net gain. Prioritising health, wellbeing, and social impact in building design and measurement is also vital in creating public spaces that seamlessly blend with and/ or enhance the existing community.  

AI 

Real estate is a data-driven industry and whilst it has traditionally been slow to adopt technological developments many companies already rely on AI for the delivery and management of development schemes. The introduction of Generative AI will provide further improvements in investing, building, leasing and operating processes within real estate companies. As efficiencies are identified and implemented the demand for generative AI will grow.  

Legal Risks: Often Overlooked, Always Present 

From a legal indemnity perspective, what resonated strongly from discussions with attendees was how often legal and procedural barriers stall transactions and developments. Whether it’s a title issue on an industrial site, uncertain access rights, or lack of searches, these problems are common, especially on older land earmarked for redevelopment. 

We know that landowner agreements, judicial review risks, and mines & minerals liabilities can create red flags that delay finance and ultimately threaten deals. These aren’t just legal problems; they’re commercial ones.  

Legal indemnity insurance provides a practical route through that uncertainty: not by erasing the problem, but by offering protection should a claim arise.  This can be the difference between a viable and an unviable scheme, which, when faced with the competing challenges that developers’ face can offer certainty and security whilst transferring the risk. 

Looking forward 

With the global economic and political scene in a state of uncertainty (isn’t it always?) The UK’s property industry continues to face a period of flux. In the same way that nature abhors a vacuum, real estate detests uncertainty. But there continue to be areas of the market that thrive, student accommodation and renewable energy projects amongst them. And as we turn to the second half of 2025 it seems one key word is flexibility and having the ability to pivot to areas of the market that continue to provide acceptable returns. One thing UKREiiF highlighted in abundance is: the property industry + sunshine = success.