UKREiiF 2025: BNG grows up
We headed to Leeds last week for UKREiiF - the UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum - and came back energised.
The event felt bigger and busier than ever, with a notably different dynamic this year: much of the action was happening outside the main venue. Fringe events, side meetings, and impromptu networking were running all week. And a lot of the best conversations happened in those spaces.
Inside or outside the venue, the atmosphere was excellent, and from a BNG perspective, two things stood out.
The conversation has matured
Twelve months ago, many attendees were still asking what Biodiversity Net Gain actually was.
This year, that baseline understanding is largely in place - and people are now grappling with the real strategic questions: do we create our own biodiversity units, find a land partner, or buy from an established broker?
That's a meaningful evolution, and it tells us the market is maturing fast.
NSIPs are on everyone's radar.
The other major thread running through BNG discussions was NSIP’s - Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects - coming into play towards the end of 2025.
There's increasing awareness that large-scale demand needs to be secured early, and that BNG works best when it's considered at the very beginning of a development project, not treated as a compliance checkbox at the end.
As always, the face-to-face time was worth every minute. So much of what we do nowadays is remote - emails, calls, decks - that actually meeting people, having a coffee, and deepening real relationships is something you can't replicate on a screen.
Leeds, we'll be back!
Commercial Director
Biodiversity Units UK