Speed dating at the UK’s biggest investment fair: Did Gloucestershire get lucky?
Innovation, engineering, tech, cyber, agri-tech, culture, heritage, tourism: But did investors at the UK’s biggest investor speed-dating event fall in love with the many faces of Gloucestershire?
Dear reader,
Representatives from Gloucestershire were up in Leeds this week at the biggest speed-dating event of its kind, where UK investors with the deepest pockets rub shoulders with construction giants and sit down with punters pitching for partners to make their development dreams happen.
If you think of a major development project pending or underway in Gloucestershire, the kind that get called ‘transformative’, all of them depend on investment from outside of the county.
The question is, how did little old rural Gloucestershire get on – was it love at first sight?
We asked two of those doing the pitching, David Owen, Julian Tooke, backed by the Invest in Gloucestershire and Golden Valley teams and CyNam’s Hollie Wakefield.
Speaking of investment, we’ve got news on Gloucester Rugby’s Martin St Quinton on how investors are circling PREM Rugby, a record turnover for fast-growing Cotswold plc Hercules, and at last – official recognition of the tireless work of the face and one of the driving forces of the Public Hearts CIC campaign to install defibs across Cheltenham, Clare Seed.
And that’s not all. Have a great bank holiday weekend.
Best regards,
Editor | 07956 926061 | LinkedIn: Andrew Merrell | andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk
Your briefing notes…
🏉 Owner of Gloucester Rugby, Martin St Quinton, has said he would be willing to move on if a “big corporate” came along. But St Quinton, who was talking to the BBC, said it would only be if such a move looked like it could take the club to a new level and win trophies - and only if all the shareholders in Kingsholm agreed. If that was the case “we would talk to an external investor”. And he said there was now more appetite to invest in rugby after the threat of relegation was scrapped. Has PREM Rugby turned a corner? You can find out his view here.
📈 Revenue rose to record levels for Cotswold-headquartered Hercules plc, with turnover up 19 per cent to £121.2m. Underlying pre-tax profits rose to £4m from £2.6m with EBITDA up 34 per cent from £4.7m to a record £6.4m. The figures were for the year ending 30 September 2025. The Cirencester-based business is a leading UK construction company that provides labour to civil engineering and power and energy solutions businesses. The figures make it part of our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series, which tracks the fortunes of the county’s biggest firms by turnover.
🥇 For those who have followed the incredible efforts to install lifesaving defibrillator machines across Cheltenham the campaign’s driving force, Clare Seed, has long been worthy of some official recognition. She got it this week. Seed was among three to be awarded the title of Honorary Freeman of Cheltenham. The Public Hearts CIC has established a network of 116 defibs to date, many bought by generous donations from the businesses and individuals in a movement that’s brought communities together. Steve Cotterill was also awarded Honorary Freemen in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Cheltenham Town Football Club. And Dave Bath received the honour for the many years of selfless service as a volunteer supporting his local community, not least Saracens Football Club and St. Peters and the Moors Big Local project.
Worth knowing about…
🎶 It’s already a choice food and drink and location with its views across the historic Docks, but Gloucester Food Dock is gearing up to add music to its menu. Every Thursday evening until August 6 the waterside location will stage its Sunset Sessions, from 7pm to 8.30pm. The gigs are in partnership with The Music Works charity, which supports talented young people who have a passion for music. Sessions are free. Expect an eclectic mix through the summer season. More on the Food Dock website.
💻 On Thursday, 4th June 2026, CyNam is supporting Licence to Innovate at Cheltenham Science Festival. The event explores breakthrough technologies, from advanced manufacturing to AI, and how innovation can support the UK’s future technology capability. It includes networking and a panel discussion, with ticket proceeds donated to Cheltenham Festivals. Find out more via CyNam’s events page.
💻 CyNam is also hosting In Machines We Trust? Our summer headline event is on Thursday, 11th June, from 6:00 pm at Hub8 MX, Cheltenham. The event will explore how trust is built, tested, and engineered in machine-driven environments, examining autonomy, accountability, and control as AI systems increasingly influence decision-making. Tickets are just £5. Find out more via CyNam’s events page.
Speed dating at the UK’s biggest investment fair: Did Gloucestershire get lucky?
Innovation, engineering, tech, cyber, agri-tech, culture, heritage, tourism: But did investors at the UK’s biggest investor speed-dating event fall in love with the many faces of Gloucestershire?
More than 4,000 institutional investors and developers – some of the biggest in the UK – have just spent a week being tempted by a catalogue of possible projects from counties across the UK in Leeds, and Gloucestershire was one of them.
This was the UKREiiF, which draws the likes of JP Morgan, Allied Irish Bank, AstraZeneca, Barratt Redrow, Premier Inn, The Co-operative Bank, Specialized Funds and initiatives like the £2bn City Investment Funds (which is bolstered by £95m from the government).
Organisers claim the forum connects the kinds of organisations described above to £300 billion-plus of opportunities like affordable housing, green energy, logistics, and coastal regeneration, with a particular emphasis on viability and public-private partnerships.
For the perfect match to take place investors need to look across the table at a county that is united, able to work together to deliver, and which has a menu of opportunities neatly packaged and ready to go.
So how did Gloucestershire fare – with its seven different local authorities all about to enter a devolution, each with major projects pending (not least Cheltenham Borough Council’s Golden Valley Development) and with the UK’s attractive, big-hitting urban cities swaggering about the place?
“This is by far and away the biggest event of its kind in the UK. It’s the Glastonbury of the UK property and investment sector,” said David Owen, director of economy and environment at Gloucestershire County Council.
“I think there are something like 4,500 delegates here – some of the biggest players here – and lots of representatives from investors and developers across the UK.
“I think I’ve also seen four or five of the country’s elected mayors. Steven Reed, the Secretary of State (for housing, communities and local government), has been here, as have other government ministers.”
Owen and Councillor Julian Took (the Liberal Democrat cabinet member for business, economic development, planning and infrastructure) were part of a team from Gloucestershire sent to seek out those potential partners at what was a mixture of ‘speed-dating’ sessions and a Q&A panel event.
In the wings was the Invest in Gloucestershire Team, represented by Suzie Lew and Phil Clement.
“Obviously there is a period of uncertainly at the moment, but the mood overall (at the show) was positive.
“We had a really, really positive response from everyone we talked to about Gloucestershire. Which has been great,” said Owen, no stranger to the event.
He’s the former chief executive of GFirst LEP, the local enterprise partnership that attracted in £100m-plus of money int the county before being absorbed into the county council.
“We have a great portfolio of opportunities across all our local authorities.
“The work that HBD has been doing to promote the Golden Valley has helped, incredibly; Gloucester City Council’s The Forum development, the Royal Agricultural University’s planning permission going through for the UK’s first Innovation Village, and Forest Green FC’s Eco Park stadium and business park near junction 13 of the M5 in Gloucestershire.
“They all make us look good.”
The county’s vital statistics were mapped out in Opportunity Gloucestershire, a catalogue of 23 key investment opportunities designed by county-based brand and marketing experts Mighty.
Its narrative places innovation at the heart of a story of a county bristling with ambition and ready for growth with a strong Local Growth Plan.
At its heart are eight “unique investment opportunities” which, as well as the ones mentioned above, include The Fleece in Gloucester, Tewkesbury Garden Communities, the Severn & Wye Fishery and Smokehouse in Lydney, Dr Jenner’s House and Museum in Berkeley.
Its a story that speaks of a vibrant start-up scene, a history of innovation dating back beyond the invention of the first jet engine, a network of Growth Hubs, strong quality of life and 28,935 registered businesses driving a GVA of £22.1 billion.
Tooke may be a councillor now, but this is his world. He spent a career in the private sector for Kantar Media and then Dentsu Aegis, both at director level global roles, before going on to help make YouGov a worldwide entity.
“The good news is how many investors are here. They clearly have money to spend and are looking to invest,” said Tooke, echoing Owen’s take on the event.
“You have to remember, we are talking about long-term investment here. But we have to think that far ahead.”
He added: “People want to spend, that is apparent. But business craves certainty to do that and you have to bear in mind also we are entering a period of political uncertainty and a period of restructuring here in Gloucestershire. And businesses want that (devolution) done so there is certainty.”
He added: “But when you can talk about projects like the Golden Valley and the other schemes we have lined up in Gloucestershire, that really helps."
“And the projects we listed are across our seven councils. I think that gives a good impression to investors that we’re a county that works together and has lots to offer.
“We have been pitching very hard. We need growth and to do that we need investment.
“We can also talk to investors about the work about to happen around Junction 10, which is brilliant – about how we are already putting the infrastructure in place for these projects.”
It was also about changing perspectives about what Gloucestershire might be to those who don’t know.
Hollie Wakefield, of influential Cheltenham-based cyber-focused networking group CyNam was also at the event.
“There are still a lot of people who view Gloucestershire in terms of its heritage, tourism and cultural offering.
“That is important, of course, but this was a chance to tell the story about the years of heritage we have as an innovator too, to explain how we have many other industries here, including tech and cyber.
“And it was important to tell people that Cheltenham has one of the biggest concentrations of cyber tech in the UK as a result of GCHQ, but neither is Cheltenham all about cyber.”
Tooke added: “We challenged the idea that innovation only happens in big cities. It is happening across Gloucestershire.
“We can point to a high percentage of research and development.
“I think it’s about 3.5 per cent on R&D. It’s something like 2.5 per cent nationally.
“So a higher percentage of companies are doing R&D here – I think it’s about 65 per cent – than many other parts of the UK.
“We have a track record of solving problems here, from GCHQ - which was set up literally to solve problems, to crack codes etc – but also the businesses we have here - like Moog, like GE Aviation, like Dowty Propellers – are brilliant innovators. I think that message was getting through.”