The Great North confirms first ever Northern Investment Summit

A new landmark investment summit will showcase the North of England on the global stage, to unlock new investment and jobs for regions across the North.

The Great North Investment Summit is announced today by The Great North, a partnership founded by northern mayors to create prosperity and opportunity.

The Summit will take place on Monday 18 May 2026, ahead of UKREiiF, The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, in collaboration with UKREiiF, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Office for Investment (OfI).

The Summit will be dedicated to promoting the North’s investment opportunities, which could add £118bn to UK PLC with the right investments.

Chair of The Great North, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, said: “We are seizing control of the North’s economic destiny, ending the days where our regions are overlooked. By establishing the Great North Investment Summit, we are creating the first ever forum dedicated to promoting the North of England collectively, demonstrating our unrivalled investment potential, and telling our story on the global stage with passion and pride. As Mayors, we are determined to bring jobs and opportunity to the communities we serve, and this Summit is a signal of our intent and ambition.”

Nathan Spencer, Managing Director at UKREiiF, said: “We are proud and delighted to host an enhanced Great North presence in Leeds on the eve of UKREiiF 2026, building on from the activities which took place in the lead up to 2025’s summit. The strategic alignment between what the North’s brilliant towns and cities wish to accomplish and what UKREiiF is trying to do is clear and we are honoured to be supporting all the great Northern Mayors and local authority leaders by hosting their forum on Monday 18^th May 2026 at Leeds Dock, the day before UKREiiF 2026 gets underway.”

The Summit responds to growing calls from business and civic leaders for a dedicated, place-led, investor-focused event to promote the North’s economic potential on a global stage.

It aims to showcase pipeline-ready investment opportunities across the North’s growth sectors, position the Great North as a world-class investment brand for growth, strengthen relationships with sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and international partners.

The event will showcase the North’s creativity, culture and quality of life as part of its offer to investors and talent to locate in the North.

Further details on the agenda and speakers will be announced in due course.