Bath and the West of England’s ‘incredible opportunities’ as a investment location are to be showcased to thousands of businesses and developers at the UK’s largest real estate and infrastructure event.
The area will be promoted by the Western Gateway – the partnership covering the ‘super-region’ stretching from Swindon to Swansea via Bath – at next year’s UK’s Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Investment Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds. 
The Western Gateway will have its own dedicated pavilion at the three-day event in May to highlight the best of what the region has to offer, with representatives of local authorities and businesses.
The region, which has a population of 4.8m, boasts the fastest-growing economy of any part of the UK outside London and is home to world-leading engineering, innovative start-ups and world-renowned, research-focussed universities.
It also boasts Europe’s most-developed cyber cluster while14 out of the 15 largest aerospace manufacturers in the world have a presence in the region. 
Last year’s UKREiiF, pictured above – the third attended by the Western Gateway – brought together 13,000 representatives from government, local authorities, construction businesses and investors to discuss how best to unlock investment and drive regeneration across the UK’s regions.
Next year’s event looks to be bigger than before with new floating stages added to what is already an expansive set-up representing the best investment and infrastructure opportunities the UK has to offer.
Western Gateway chair Sarah Williams-Gardener, pictured, said: “By bringing together business and local authorities from across South Wales and Western England, we are able to make sure our area can be recognised alongside the North and the Midlands for the major contributions we want to make to the UK Economy.
“We have incredible opportunities here that we are ready to shout about, and I am so happy to announce our return to UKREiiF next year with an even bigger and better presence than before.
“With our group of committed local leaders and supportive business, we are ready to work with organisations from around the world and across the UK to drive investment and ensure we can continue to be a major driver of our economy.”
Meanwhile, the partnership will stage its Convention for the Western Gateway, presented by SSE Energy, at the ICC Wales, near Newport, on 17 October.
The event follows on from a report published this summer which showed the super-region’s economy is forecast to expand by 1.4% a year between now and 2029, faster than any other part of the UK outside London.
This growth will be triggered by the area’s skilled workforce and its world-leading businesses in forward-looking sectors such as cyber, green energy, aerospace, creative and fintech.
