Changing demographics, social and economic drivers are fuelling investor decisions across broader Urban Living asset classes, and with the recent pandemic even more convergence and shifts have begun to occur as we begin to emerge, re-set and focus on the new normal.

ULF places the spotlight directly on investment, development, supply, operations, brands, distribution and demand generators in the age of convergence.

Curated with an intense focus on collaboration and debate, the festival brings CEO’s, ‘best of breed’ speakers and attendees, sponsors and solution providers to collectively share best practice, network, map the industry’s future and do business within: 

• Hotels and serviced apartments
• Aparthotels / extended stay hotels
  • Hostels and co-living
  • Build-to-rent (BTR) and student accommodation
• Short-term rentals
• Assisted living
• Co-working
  • Healthy Buildings, sustainability and wellness
  • PropTech

Incorporating IHM events: Boutique and Lifestyle Hotel Summit; Serviced Apartment Summit Europe; and the ENGAGE corporate travel buyer forum.
The market
• 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, this is expected to reach 68% by 2050.

• In 1950, 79% of the UK population lived in cities; this will rise to 92.2% by 2030.
• 40% of the urban areas required by 2030 are not yet built.
Sub-sectors
Student Housing
• 1.7m students are studying full time in the UK with applications rising 7% year-on-year. • International student numbers have grown by 70% in the last ten years.
Build-to-rent & PRS
• The number of build-to-rent homes in the UK has increased by 30% in 12 months. (The British Property Federation / Savills, April 2018)

• The UK rental market will grow by 2 million+ by 2030, driven primarily by 'Generation Rent'

Co-living & co-working
Landlords and developers now creating spaces for particular demographic groups.
• Demand drivers are housing shortage, rising housing costs ageing population & more mobile working population.
Serviced apartments
• Global apartment totals have reached 1,096,547 with the number of destinations/locations up 22%.
Short-term rentals
• UK Airbnb listings rose by 200% between 2015 and 2017 (Residential Landlords Association)

• Global vacation rental market will close in on £170 billion by 2019. (Research and Markets)
Assisted living
• Global ambient assisted living market to reach USD 13.74 billion by 2027 • Demand drivers include costly complex/health care needs.
Apartment Living
• 4.6 million new apartments are needed by 2030 to meet US demand for rental living • In 2017, apartment completions topped 345,000, up 21% on 2016.

PropTech
• 93% believe "Traditional real estate organisations need to engage with PropTech companies in order to adapt to the changing global environment" (KPMG Global PropTech Survey 2018)

Hosted over two days, London will have the opportunity to showcase its status as a “living and breathing” world-class metropolitan hub for real estate investors, developers, owners and operators.