UKCAP’s fourth UK Investment Pavilion brings together more than 40 delegates, 24 investment opportunities and senior leaders from across the public and private sectors.
UK Cities & Partners (UKCAP) has concluded its fourth year leading the UK Investment Pavilion at EXPO REAL, bringing together UK cities, regions, investors, developers, advisers and professional partners to showcase the scale and diversity of investment opportunities across the country.
Taking place in Munich from 5-7 October, EXPO REAL provided UKCAP with a platform to connect international capital directly with UK places and projects, representing £100bn+ of investment opportunities across its partner network.
This year’s UK Investment Pavilion brought together a 40+ strong delegation, with 24 hero opportunity sites featured across six key asset classes: Living; Transport, Infrastructure & Energy; Industrial, Data Centres & Freeports; Innovation Economy; Experience Economy; and Commercial.
For 2026, the Pavilion also moved to Hall A2, Stand 335, giving the UK proposition a more prominent position within the exhibition and creating a stronger platform for partners to engage with the international investment community.
A core part of the Pavilion programme was a series of six invitation-only senior roundtables, bringing together investors, policymakers, city and regional leaders and industry experts to examine the conditions needed to unlock the next generation of UK investment.
Across the programme, discussions covered macroeconomics and capital markets; industrial strategy and AI data centres; living; transport and infrastructure; energy; and city centres, sport, culture, hospitality and leisure.
The conversations focused on the practical issues shaping capital deployment and delivery, from policy and planning to infrastructure, viability, energy, housing, new financing models and stronger public-private partnerships.
Gavin Winbanks, Inward Investment Advisor at UK Innovation Corridor, chaired the opening roundtable on Macroeconomics and Capital Markets – What is driving global capital and is the UK well placed for reallocations?
Reflecting on the discussion, Gavin said:
“Lots of interest in different parts of the country, lots of sectors that I wouldn’t have necessarily have thought would have been of interest, but also some very clear warnings around making sure that government interventions doesn’t suck the life out of the investment that’s happening.”
He added:
“What I heard was a willingness for the private sector and the public sector to come together. I think what we’re seeing more of as well is people working out ways to get stuff done.”
The roundtable explored investor sentiment towards the UK, sectors and locations attracting international capital, barriers to investment and the role of stronger collaboration between investors, government, local authorities and delivery partners.
For UKCAP, EXPO REAL is designed not simply as a showcase, but as a platform for building the relationships and conversations that can progress into real investment.
That was reflected in comments from Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive of Opportunity London, who highlighted the tangible impact of returning to the event.
Jace said: “In fact, this show led us to a deal this time last year. We started speaking to an investor. It actually closed a week ago, £47 million on the back of coming to EXPO REAL.”
He added that the event was an important opportunity to understand what investors are looking for in London and across the UK, while learning from other cities and exploring how different public-private partnership models can help crowd in investment.
The example highlights the wider purpose of UKCAP’s presence at EXPO REAL – connecting investors with the organisations behind UK opportunities and creating the relationships needed to move projects from proposition to delivery.
Alongside the Pavilion and roundtable programme, UKCAP launched its 2026 UK Investment Prospectus, providing a curated overview of 24 hero opportunity sites drawn from the wider £100bn+ investment pipelines represented by its partner cities and regions.
The prospectus gives international investors a clear route into opportunities across the UK, while the Pavilion provides a physical platform to meet the people and organisations behind them.
The programme also included a UK Investment Pavilion drinks reception, sponsored by Devonshires, and an invitation-only investor dinner in central Munich, creating further opportunities for senior investors, city leaders and partners to continue conversations outside the formal programme.
UKCAP’s presence at EXPO REAL is part of its wider year-round programme to promote UK city-region investment opportunities to global capital and strengthen collaboration between cities, regions and the private sector.
The 2026 UK Investment Prospectus is available to explore at www.ukcitiesinvestment.co.uk/investment-opps/