- Mayors and local leaders will help identify opportunities as government works to unlock up to 10 major industrial and commercial sites across the UK.
- The Strategic Sites Accelerator will deploy around £700 million, alongside expert support to tackle barriers including planning, grid connections and access to finance.
- Programme aims to crowd in up to £2 billion in private investment and could support tens of thousands of jobs over time.
Tens of thousands of jobs and up to £2 billion in private investment over time will be targeted across the UK, as our regions are backed with a £700 million package of support to help drive reindustrialisation.
Starting today [Monday 2 November], the Strategic Sites Accelerator will deploy around £700 million alongside expert support to help unlock up to 10 major industrial and commercial sites across the country, helping some of the UK’s most promising investment opportunities get off the ground.
The Accelerator will focus on commercially viable sites with strong investor demand, where government backing can help overcome the barriers stopping development from moving ahead.
It will tackle the key barriers holding back high-potential sites that could support Britain’s reindustrialisation. That includes everything from access to finance, grid connections, and planning constraints, removing the blockers that can cool would-be investors.
The Accelerator will support sites in a range of ways, from loans and equity and targeted grant funding to technical expertise, bringing government, local partners and developers together to tackle specific barriers.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said:
Local leaders know their communities best. Only by trusting them with real power and resources will we see change.
This £700 million package is helping break down the barriers to local growth, so people can feel the benefits of a growing economy and love where they live.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
Britain’s potential is everywhere, but we hear the same old arguments all too often – outdated infrastructure, insufficient access to finance, and problems with planning.
These are barriers that hold back investment, block new jobs, and shackle our potential, and we need to do more to empower our local leaders and help drive the growth their communities deserve and expect.
This programme will get the ball rolling for up to 10 of the UK’s most important potential sites, attract billions in investment, unlock tens of thousands of good-quality jobs in the years ahead, and bring good growth to every postcode.
The Accelerator is already engaging on potential sites in Glasgow, Burgess Hill and Sheffield with technical support and expertise, and will back our Mayors and local authorities with blended finance across the country.
This includes exploring investment opportunities in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, the North East, Glasgow City Region and Cardiff Capital Region – building on the National Wealth Fund’s strategic partnerships in these regions.
The Accelerator will also be open to sites across every nation and region of the UK, from science parks and manufacturing sites to innovation districts held back by viability constraints.
Bringing together the Office for Investment and the National Wealth Fund, with CBRE as its National Delivery Partner, the Accelerator will work with investors, developers and regional partners on commercially credible sites where there is genuine market demand, using finance and technical support to tackle the specific barriers preventing investment or development from going ahead.
No10 North will work alongside the programme and local leaders to support the government’s wider drive to identify investment opportunities across the country. This includes working closely with the Accelerator to exchange pipelines of priority projects in support of the National Economic Council.
Marking a major step forward for the Government’s Industrial Strategy, the scheme aims to unlock up to 10 strategic sites across the UK’s high-growth sectors like advanced manufacturing, digital and tech, defence, and life sciences.
Jobs in tech and digital in particular can attract salaries upwards of £45,000 – well above the UK national average. That means secure, good paying jobs that will put homegrown talent at the heart of the industries driving growth and create new opportunities for business and communities for decades to come.
The Accelerator marks the latest step in government’s drive to see good growth in every postcode following the Chancellor’s Budget last week, alongside new powers and resources for mayors and local leaders to attract game-changing investment into their communities.
It will also help drive the growth of sectors which are already transforming our economy. In Life Sciences for example, £4 billion of investment has flooded into the sector since July 2025, while our technology sector is currently valued at more than £1 trillion.
Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester said:
Powered by our trailblazing Good Growth Fund, Greater Manchester’s integrated pipeline will turbocharge £10billion of investment over the next decade in sites that will support new investment across the whole city-region, create high-quality jobs and drive long-term economic growth. But too often viable developments are held back by complex infrastructure, remediation or delivery challenges.
The Strategic Sites Accelerator is a welcome step in helping to address those barriers and support places across the UK to bring forward nationally significant opportunities more quickly. We look forward to continuing to work with government and partners to identify sites that can unlock growth and benefits for communities and businesses.
Paul Bristow, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said:
Delivering growth in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough means tackling the viability challenges that can prevent major developments from going ahead. Viability remains one of the most pressing concerns in the market, and the Strategic Sites Accelerator, alongside the Government’s commitment to working in partnership with regional mayors and local leaders, is a welcome step towards unlocking strategic sites with significant economic potential.
By removing barriers, accelerating development and attracting investment, we can bring forward projects sooner, create jobs and ensure Cambridgeshire and Peterborough realises its full economic potential.
Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands said:
Sites with strong development potential need flexible support to bring them into productive use. As Mayors, we are always looking for ways to deploy that support in a way that works for our business, places, and economies – and the Strategic Sites Accelerator meets that mark.
It will help us to bring forward strategic sites, create jobs, and support a more resilient, green industrial future. I look forward to working with the Office for Investment to unlock opportunities across the EMCCA region.
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire said:
South Yorkshire is a place where we make things happen. I’m proud we’re already trailblazing a new approach, working alongside Government to unlock opportunities across the Don Valley Corridor, including at Runway Park.
We know what long-term investment and partnerships can achieve. We’ve built a world-leading advanced manufacturing cluster around the AMRC, which is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. It’s already home to companies like Boeing, Rolls-Royce and McLaren, who are all growing their presence in South Yorkshire.
Now we have an opportunity to build on our success, bringing the public and private sectors together to attract investment and create new opportunities.
Government backing through the Strategic Sites Accelerator, alongside our new strategic partnership with the National Wealth Fund, will help us unlock the potential of Runway Park.
We can grow the industries of the future and create more good jobs, giving people across South Yorkshire the chance to stay near and go far.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
Our West Midlands Growth Plan and new Reindustrialisation Blueprint set out how we intend to create economic growth in our region. We want to take the great ideas being developed here, turn them into successful businesses and make sure the jobs that follow stay here.
We have the right ingredients. But too often major investment opportunities are held back by practical barriers, whether that’s infrastructure, access to finance or getting sites ready for development.
This Strategic Sites Accelerator is exactly the kind of partnership we need with Government to remove those barriers. We can then attract private investment and turn our ambitions into good, well-paid jobs for local people.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
Building on brownfield land can bring real challenges, but strategic investment develops enormous opportunities – worth tens of billions in the West of England. Regional funding is already enabling the regeneration of an old diesel depot in Bristol and a former gasworks in Bath.
The national Strategic Sites Accelerator and our new Future Places Fund can together transform the future of what is already the country’s fastest-growing regional economy. With the right support from government, working for the West Country, we can go even further to create more jobs, get more homes built, and drive good growth.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said:
Our West Yorkshire Local Growth Plan is unlocking sites for new homes and commercial development across the region, backed by a £450 million capital fund made possible by devolution.
The new Strategic Sites Accelerator will help turbocharge our ambitions, and provide space for businesses to grow and create high-quality jobs for local people.
Using innovative funding approaches to unlock development, we will give businesses across our region the support they need to continue to succeed.
Iain Jenkinson, Head of UK Public-Private Capital at CBRE said:
This is the first time in a generation that a UK Government has backed an industrial strategy with the funding and support needed to unlock strategic sites, especially those with prevailing viability challenges. A fit-for-purpose real estate proposition is essential to drive productivity and support high-value business investment.
The Office for Investment deserves great credit for launching the Strategic Site Accelerator. Working alongside the Office for Investment and the National Wealth Fund, CBRE is delighted to support this initiative as the programme’s National Delivery Partner.
Background
- The Strategic Sites Accelerator is designed to unlock strategically important commercial and industrial sites where credible market demand exists but barriers are preventing development.
- Around £700 million will be available through equity, debt and targeted grant funding, alongside technical and advisory support. The ambition is to crowd in up to £2 billion of private investment.
- The Government’s public ambition is to support six to 10 sites. Individual investments will be subject to the necessary commercial assessment, due diligence and approvals.
- Employment will depend on the sites and investments ultimately brought forward. The agreed formulation is that, if sites address their viability constraints, tens of thousands of jobs could be created directly and through the wider economy over time.
- Government is also giving mayors a greater stake in the growth they generate, with a share of business rates from 2027 and an assignment of income tax from 2028.
- A further £285 million will support areas moving towards devolution deals or Strategic Authority status, including £120 million of capital funding to help places develop and deliver investment opportunities.