From market trends to investment strategies, sustainability, urban logistics, and technology innovations, the 2026 agenda covers a wide range of topics designed to tackle the issues shaping the sector.
Whether you’re seeking insights or looking to learn strategies for the future footprint of industrial space, this programme has everything you need to stay ahead of the curve.
*Agenda subject to change
Thursday, 26 February 2026
This high-level opening session explores the structural shifts redefining industrial and logistics. Sector leaders assess how policy, economics, land competition, and global forces are reshaping demand and strategy- setting the strategic context for the day.
- How UK policy direction and national growth ambitions are influencing future space requirements
- Intensifying land pressures and the growing impact of competing uses - from urban logistics to data centres
- What the latest budget signals for market sentiment, development appetite, and investment strategy
- Navigating policy uncertainty across local planning, national regulation and global geopolitics
Moderated by: Dwynwen Lewis
A series of fast-paced insights highlighting the innovations, pressures and opportunities set to redefine industrial and logistics in 2026. Experts explore how technology, energy, and operational strategy are driving change across the sector.
Talk 1: Electrification: Meeting new energy demands across fleets, buildings and estates
Talk 2: AI adaptation: Practical applications for optimisation, forecasting and workforce productivity
Talk 3: Energy: What’s changing, and what isn’t, in the race to overcome grid delays and power constraints
This data-driven session examines how shifting demand drivers, supply dynamics, and occupier sentiment are reshaping the industrial and logistics landscape. Panellists unpack the macro forces influencing location strategy, space requirements, and long-term market confidence.
- Tariffs, geopolitical realignment, and macro uncertainty - implications for manufacturing, nearshoring, and occupier choices
- Occupier behaviour in 2026: consolidation vs expansion, efficiency-led vs growth-led take-up
- Supply, vacancy, and regional contrasts as the market moves toward stability
- The rise of defence and the nuances of defence-related supply-chain demand
- How Chinese e-commerce platforms are reshaping UK and European space needs
The sub-100,000 sq ft industrial and logistics sector, often referred to as the small to mid-box property market, underpins the everyday UK economy. Representing 95% of industrial and logistics units, these properties play a vital role in supporting the operations of fast-growing SMEs and established companies across a vast array of industries.
In this session, Jason Rockett, MD of Potter Space, discusses key findings from the company’s latest “BIG things in SMALL boxes” report. Drawing on comprehensive market data, Jason will shed light on the sector’s performance examining emerging trends that are shaping occupier demand, investor sentiment and developer activity.
Attendees will gain an understanding of the sector’s current health, the pressing challenges faced by owners and occupiers and the opportunities for future growth.
This session delivers a clear-sighted view of investor sentiment and capital flows as the industrial and logistics market enters a new phase of maturity. Panellists explore how pricing, risk appetite, and sustainability expectations are shifting- and what this means for value, underwriting, and long-term performance.
- The return of core capital and what it signals for risk appetite and income stability
- Shifts in REIT activity- from fundraising and repricing to strategic repositioning
- Debt availability, lender expectations and covenant scrutiny in a tighter financial environment
- Evaluating long-term resilience: tenant strength, operational risk and supply-chain exposure
- ESG today: how sustainability factors are influencing valuation, demand and due diligence in practice
A focused, expert-led briefing on one of the sector’s most significant constraints: energy. This session cuts through complexity to outline the true state of grid capacity, costs and delivery- and what it means for industrial and logistics growth.
This session examines how policy shifts, commercial pressures, and carbon commitments are shaping the next phase of industrial and logistics delivery. Panellists explore where friction points remain, what’s changing on the ground, and the practical steps needed to bring viable, future-ready schemes forward.
- Key pressure points between national ambitions and local delivery realities
- Timelines, costs, and the practical barriers to unlocking new industrial and logistics capacity
- Cost escalation, labour constraints and the tension between commercial viability and ESG commitments
- Speculative vs build-to-suit: risk, return and evolving occupier expectations
- The rising importance of retrofit, refurbishment, and adaptive reuse under carbon and cost pressures
This session explores how occupiers are reshaping their real estate strategies in response to technological change, cost pressures, ESG expectations, and evolving supply-chain demands. Experts in this session will unpack how occupier priorities are shifting, what challenges they face, and how they are adapting to shifts in the current market.
- What are the key priorities and challenges for occupiers in today’s market?
- How are occupiers adapting to cost pressures, labour challenges, and supply-chain constraints?
- How AI, robotics, and automation are being adopted in practice, and what it means for wider real estate strategies
- Sustainability in action: energy efficiency, emissions reduction and ESG compliance influencing site selection
This candid conversation examines the rapid acceleration of data-centre demand, cutting through hype and uncertainty to assess the sector’s long-term trajectory. The discussion explores the fundamentals shaping investment appetite, power requirements, and the risks emerging as growth intensifies.
This session explores the growing interface between industrial logistics and data-centre development, examining how competing land uses, infrastructure demands, and policy considerations are reshaping the sector. Panellists assess the strategic implications for occupiers, developers, and investors navigating this evolving landscape.
- Understanding the competition for land, location and power
- Identifying emerging data-centre hotspots and the implications for logistics
- The potential for co-location, hybrid estates, and shared infrastructure
- National infrastructure requirements and the role of policy in managing competing demands