Highland Council is using Ukreiif 2026 in Leeds this week to put its Invest Highland programme in front of investors, developers and public sector partners, as the authority steps up its push to attract long-term capital into the region. Leader of the Council Cllr Raymond Bremner is attending the three-day forum with council officers and Calum MacPherson of Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, alongside partners from the Scottish Cities Alliance.
The council is presenting a coordinated pitch under the Team Scotland banner, with the Scotland Pavilion co-hosted by Highland Council and national and regional partners. The effort is aimed at drawing national and international investment, backing the green economy and building partnerships around sustainable, place-based growth.
More than 275 councils are gathering at the event, which is described as the UK’s leading investment and regeneration forum and is designed to connect people, places and businesses to speed up investment and development. For Highland Council, the forum is a chance to showcase opportunities in renewable energy, infrastructure, housing and the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, while promoting the Highlands as a destination for sustainable investment, innovation and inclusive economic growth.
The Invest Highland prospectus sets out a vision for the region as a globally competitive location for investment and points to opportunities across clean energy, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, tourism and data innovation. The programme includes more than £40 billion in planned renewable energy investment, the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and major infrastructure developments.
Bremner said Ukreiif provides an important platform for the Highlands to connect with investors and decision-makers from across the UK and beyond. He said the prospectus shows the scale of opportunity the region offers, from world-leading renewable energy projects to innovation in key growth sectors, and added that the Highlands is playing a vital role in the transition to a net zero economy.
He said the council is ambitious about delivering sustainable growth that benefits communities and that it is in Leeds to build the partnerships needed to realise that potential. During the forum, the council is meeting investors, developers and strategic partners directly to strengthen relationships it says can drive inward investment and long-term economic growth.
The timing matters because the council is making its pitch now, when competition for investment, infrastructure backing and new projects is intense and when the UKREiiF stage gives the Highlands direct access to the people who can move ideas forward. On Tuesday morning, 19 May, Bremner will support a panel of speakers from the Scottish Cities Alliance, giving the council another chance to press its case in front of a national audience.
For the Highlands, the message in Leeds is clear: the region is not just seeking interest, but trying to convert a pipeline of clean energy, industry and place-making projects into backed delivery. The test after Ukreiif will be whether those conversations turn into commitments that reach communities at home.
