The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) London, enjoyed its busiest-ever edition in its four-year history, when it made a welcome return to ExCeL last week, with a string of exclusive launches, in-depth CPD education programme, international exhibitors from across the globe, and a host of new features.
Sponsored and supported by some of the industry’s biggest names, including Build Warranty, Hotel Planner, Speedy Hire and Safetytech Accelerator, UKCW London witnessed the launch of two new major features – HVAC+R and Onsite On Hire.
HVAC+R, focused on the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries, and was held in partnership with Datateam Business Media. It was supported by key industry associations including Building Engineering Services Association, Federation of Environmental Trade Associations, Heat Pump Association and Institute of Refrigeration.
Onsite On Hire, a dedicated feature spotlighting the latest in plant, tool, equipment and eco hire innovation, came to London following a successful debut appearance at UKCW Birmingham last October. Hosting over 30+ leading hire companies and equipment suppliers, Onsite On Hire was sponsored by Speedy Hire and supported by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA).
With key focuses on Net Zero and transformation, UKCW London’s seminar programme was fully CPD accredited by the CPD Group, solidifying the show’s commitment to providing high-quality educational experiences for industry professionals.
With over 160 hours of workshops and seminars, UKCW London featured an array of industry thought leaders, including Mark Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, MACE; Andrew Watkin, Transport and Estates Development Manager, Aston Villa FC; Alan Heron, Director of Procurement, Places for People; David Philp, Chair, CIOS Innovation Panel; Kerry O’Driscoll, Head of Built Heritage, Blenheim Palace.
Neil Gaisford, Divisional Director, Construction, commented: “The theme for this year’s show was ‘where decisions are made’, and that’s been borne out by the exhibitor feedback, with lots of high quality conversations over the three days. It was a great start to our 10th anniversary year – we look forward to more of the same at UKCW Birmingham in the autumn.”
UKCW London highlights included:
● The co-located Stone Show & Hard Surfaces, which featured a range of innovative initiatives and exclusive product launches. Supported by show partner, Stone Federation Great Britain, it attracted architects, specifiers, designers, wholesalers, fabricators, installers, stone maintenance professionals, and more.
● More than 7,000 products on display from over 300 exciting exhibitors including JCB, Milwaukee Power Tools, Fisher Future Heat, MERS, Rubberseal, O’Reilly Concrete, Kingspan, Viessman, Carrier/ Toshiba, Creagh Concrete, Conquip Engineering, Husqvarna, BRE Group, TATE, HSS HIRE, Beorol, Hahn Plastics, and Metrotile.
● A major coup for UKCW London was the return of the Sicilian Pavilion, which featured an array of high-end interiors companies, many of which are family-owned, showcasing a range of products including marble surfaces, decorative paints, flooring, and windows.
● The winning exhibitors for this year’s Stand Awards were announced, and included:
○ Best Space Only Stand: Sage
○ Best Shell Scheme Stand: HSS Proservice
○ Best Sustainability Initiative: Air Quality Improvement
○ Best Marketing: BRE
● Shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes and talented professionals in the construction industry, the Role Models Campaign, now in its eighth year, announced the shortlists for the three new categories, with the winners to be revealed at UKCW Birmingham in October:
○ Rising Star: Emily Ray, Interior Designer from Lorenc Design Associates; Rekiya Shodunke, Technical Coordinator from Berkeley Homes; Tegan Johnson, Associate from Charles Russell Speechlys LLP; Virtue Igbokwuwe, Graduate Civil Engineer from Taylor Woodrow; Rohit Malhotra, Project Manager, from AtkinsRealis UK.
○ Pioneer: Averil Young, Senior Lecturer, from West Suffolk College; Issie Barrett-Kearns, Supply Chain Executive from Veriforce CHAS; Queralt Goni, Associate Designer from Lorenc Design Associates; Rachael Gilbert, Building Services Engineer from Troup Bywaters + Anders LLP; Joshua Cross, Regional SHE Advisor from MV Kelly; Olayemi Usman, Cost & Carbon Consultant, Turner & Townsend; Simon Hancock, Managing Director, Quantum Acoustics; Zoe Hiller, Building Surveyor, Gateley Smithers Purslow; Aman Chahal, CEO, TaperedPlus; Carl Wales, SHE Manager, Wates Group Ltd; Adrian McLean, President, Institute of Demolition Engineers; Carly Hughes, Director, Immerse Safety; Chiedza Mupfumira, Social Impact Specialist, CEMEX UK Operations; Iona Lennon, Capital Project Manager, Gloucestershire Managed Services; Sian George, Senior Associate, Lorenc Design Associates.
○ Icon: Tim Siddons, Principle from Baker Wilkins & Smith; David Stevens, Director of Estates & Capital Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust and CIBSE; Jodie Sawyer, Bid Manager, Tarmac; Josephine Neill, Design Lead for Healthcare, McLaughlin & Harvey; Anthony Anderson, Contracts Manager from Harkmac
Construction; Daniel O’Neill, Project Buyer, CField Construction; Gemma Rees, Project Director, McLaren Construction Group; Joanna Brooker, Managing Director, C2C Group; Mandip Bhamra, Head of Business Development, MPB Structures; Rob Charlton, CEO, Space Group; Konstantinos Tsavdaridis, Founder & CEO, Efestos Hub.
Roisin O’Gara, PR & Events Manager, Speedy Hire, commented: “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to bring all our suppliers together in one place to showcase the full range of products we offer. At our first UCKW in Birmingham we had eight exhibitors, and we’ve now grown to over 20 in London. Our sales team have also used it as a great opportunity to connect with their customers in the VIP lounge.”
Will Jones, Event Lead, Octopus Energy, said: “We’ve had the highest footfall and level of engagement at UKCW compared to any other expo we’ve attended since we began exhibiting last year. It’s been great for brand awareness for us!”
Adrian Wilson, UK Business Development Manager, Creagh Concrete, added: “We’ve had an excellent number of quality leads on good projects. It’s all about quality over quantity for us and we’ve certainly been put in contact with the right people. We will definitely be back!”
Maximus Hammond, Fleet Sales, Toyota, said: “It’s a really well put together event. There’s a nice, open layout where you can clearly see all the other exhibitors, which encourages visitors to explore. We’ve had really good engagement with plenty of strong leads – our team’s already started processing them all.” Dates for the next two UKCW shows have already been announced: UKCW Birmingham runs from September 30th to October 2nd 2025; UKCW London returns from May 12-14 2026. Registration for the Birmingham event is now live: click here to register.