Global gateway: Enhancing Leeds’s international attractiveness

Leeds has a strong ambition to elevate its standing on a global stage, enhancing its reputation as an international city anchored by a wealth of culture, sport and events. Leeds’s rich cultural offer, diverse attractions, skilled workforce, infrastructure investment and effective local leadership to deliver cohesive place-based strategies are key drivers in enhancing its attractiveness for business, talent, and tourism, with positive implications for the investor market and delivery.

Elevating Leeds’s global standing: Vision and ambition

Leeds is committed to elevating its global standing, evolving beyond its traditional image to become a prominent international city. This ambition is underpinned by a strategic focus on showcasing the city on the international stage through investment in culture, events, and sport, and by strengthening its key institutions and retail and leisure offering. The city aims to attract global attention by drawing in flagship attractions, increasing visitor numbers, and recruiting international talent.

The visitor economy plays a significant role in this global aspiration. Leeds has a strong cultural and events offering, with institutions such as Leeds Museums and Galleries, Opera North, Northern Ballet, and Leeds Playhouse contributing to its appeal. Major events like Light Night and Leeds Festival, alongside the First Direct Bank Arena, demonstrate the city's existing ability to host large-scale gatherings. Further interventions, delivered by LeedsBID (Business Improvement District), the largest multi-sector BID outside of London, also play a key role in boosting Leeds’s global standing, as it continues to invest over £18m back into the city centre through projects, events and activities.

Additionally, Leeds' retail and leisure spaces are undergoing significant transformation, driven by the arrival of new national and international anchor tenants and a shift towards more immersive, experience-led offerings, moving beyond traditional shopping and entertainment. Uniqlo is confirmed to be taking ground floor space at the newly completed Store House student residential development, located at the heart of the city’s retail core.

In the leisure space, several significant pipeline projects look set to take shape across Leeds. STACK is anticipated to begin construction in early 2026, with the venue becoming an integral part of Kirkgate Market. It will feature 10 food outlets, six bars, and a coffee shop, aiming to significantly increase footfall for the entire market site. Elsewhere, Trinity Leeds has announced that Freight Island will operate the expanded Trinity Kitchen as part of a substantial £15 million redevelopment, marking the centre’s largest investment since its opening. The project will convert a previously unused area above Trinity Kitchen into a 63,000 sq. ft. food and leisure space, which will include a new roof terrace offering views across City Square, alongside enhanced indoor dining and social areas.

Leeds welcomed 3.16 million overnight visitors for holidays or short breaks in 2023, and 2.59 million business delegates, with business-related tourism generating £408.2 million for the local economy.

The city is developing a year-round international events strategy, including plans for large-scale events at Roundhay Park and a bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2035.

Following major events like UKREiiF successfully showcasing the city, adding over £38.5 million to the regional economy since 2022, planned investments in key cultural institutions are expected to further boost Leeds’s global perception and visitor appeal. The Royal Armouries Museum is planning a £160 million expansion for new conferencing facilities, which is anticipated to drive business investment and strengthen Leeds’s position as a centre for innovation and industry.

To support a growing visitor economy and the city’s ability to host an increasing number of international events, the city needs a strong pipeline of new hotels. Across hospitality investment, ‘Hotels’ remain the most attractive asset class for investment in 2026 in the UK, with 52 per cent of respondents of Deloitte’s European Hotel Industry and Investment survey 2025 identifying it as such.

While Leeds was absent from the Survey’s top 10 UK regional cities for hotel investment, it moved up one place from 2024 to eleventh. In 2025 there has been limited activity in the hotel sector, with 169 rooms completing and no rooms under construction (in particular, when compared to last year’s high completion levels adding over 330 new beds to the city). Hotel occupancy rates in Leeds City Centre averaged circa 74 per cent in 2025, an increase when compared to the last few years.

The expansion in hotel accommodation capacity is essential to cater to the increasing number of visitors and business delegates, particularly given the well-cited challenges associated with hosting large scale events such as UKREiiF (hotel occupancy rates reached c. 95 per cent on the Tuesday night of UKREiiF 2025). Increased investment in the hotel sector will be a key factor in determining Leeds’s ability to step up onto the international stage to ensure visitor demand can be met and growth supported.

Strategic regeneration and anchor projects

Leeds’s strategic objectives for global standing are supported by a focus on several key regeneration areas and anchor projects. These initiatives are designed to attract investment, stimulate economic growth, and reshape the city's physical and economic landscape. The successful delivery of these projects is important for achieving Leeds’s long-term objectives.

Extending beyond the immediate South Bank area, but connected by this expanding urban core, is Elland Road. This involves the planned expansion of Leeds United's stadium (by 15,000 to 53,000), aiming to bring the venue to the standard of elite, world-class sporting facilities. Planning permission was granted in January 2026 to support Elland Road’s expansion, following a refresh of the 2007 Planning Framework to support its integration with the proposed South Leeds Mass Transit route.

Elland Road is also envisioned as a catalyst for investment across approximately 30 acres of land in South Leeds. The plan includes creating a new neighbourhood, delivering a mix of c. 2,000 new homes, 2,000 new jobs, c. 30,000 sq. m. of commercial floorspace, a new hotel and leisure facilities, thereby enabling Leeds to host major events. As referenced in Deloitte’s 2025 Leeds Crane Survey, the acquisition of a minority stake in Leeds United by Red Bull in 2024 indicates potential to enhance the city's global sporting profile, with the expanded stadium aiming for UEFA Category 4 status.

Crucially, a considerable opportunity exists to connect the new stadium to the city centre through South Bank, an area recognised as one of Europe's largest regeneration sites and notably recommended as a New Town by Government. This is poised to significantly elevate the impact of sport and leisure opportunities on the city centre, whilst serving as a catalyst for further regeneration. Realising the full potential of this platform will require strategic investments in city centre connections, including through WYCA’s mass transit options, and with the South Bank facilitating this crucial link.

Beyond Elland Road, sports-led regeneration contributes to positioning Leeds as an international city. This is supported by its existing capacity for hosting major sporting events such as Test Cricket and International Rugby League, and other international events like the Tour De France Femmes (in 2027) and the inaugural Iron Man event in 2025. To further this, Leeds is exploring the development of a new 5,000 capacity multi-functional indoor sport arena, following an announcement by WYCA of a capital investment fund to support a scheme in the region.

When combining the South Bank and the broader southern regeneration zone encompassing Elland Road, the south of Leeds City Centre represents a large-scale regeneration area. This combined effort, as part of the "South Leeds Gateway" initiative, is anticipated to deliver over 15,000 new homes for the city, alongside social infrastructure.

Culture-led regeneration is also a significant driver for the aspirations of Leeds, leveraging the city's rich cultural assets to attract investment, talent, and tourism, while enhancing its global brand. This approach is exemplified by two major anchors, the Royal Armouries expansion and the British Library North.

• The Royal Armouries expansion represents a £160 million investment aimed at creating new conferencing facilities. This project is designed to drive business investment and serve as a key anchor for culture-led regeneration within the South Bank area. The expanded facilities are envisioned as a prime venue for major events, including finance conventions, thereby strengthening Leeds’s position as a centre for innovation and industry. This forms part of broader pipeline of proposals for the Royal Armouries, including the redevelopment of the Tiltyard, further expanding its conference and exhibition capabilities.

• Similarly, the British Library North project, located at Temple Works, is set to establish a world-class space for learning, research, and exhibitions. This initiative is expected to unlock significant regeneration opportunities, delivering new jobs and homes in the process. The British Library North is positioned to sit at the intersection of culture, public engagement, research, and innovation, reinforcing Leeds’s cultural identity and global appeal. Funding for the project, which involves converting the Grade I-listed Temple Works in Holbeck, has been secured, with the Government awarding £10 million to the project in early 2025, drawn from the Department of Levelling Up's £100 million culture regeneration budget (with British Library North being one of 16 selected projects). This follows a £1 million boost for repairs to Temple Works in 2022 from Historic England.

Infrastructure and connectivity for global reach

Infrastructure and connectivity projects are fundamental to unlocking the visitor economy and enhancing Leeds’s global attractiveness. Transport is a critical enabler, with significant investment aimed at improving regional and national links. The city is working towards a world-class transport system, including the delivery of Mass Transit and the regeneration of Leeds Station as referenced earlier in this report.

Additionally, airport investment is a critical component in enhancing Leeds’s international connectivity and, by extension, its global reach. Leeds Bradford Airport recently announced an all-time high in passenger numbers, reporting 4.29 million travellers (2024/25 financial year), representing a 6 per cent uplift from the preceding year. Looking ahead, Leeds Bradford Airport's 2030 Vision outlines a significant £100 million programme of improvements, with the initial phase, including a new terminal, completing in June 2025.

Work has also begun on Phase 2 with the refurbishment the existing terminal to further improve passenger experience and modernise existing terminal infrastructure, with the project set to complete at the end of 2026. This strategic upgrade is projected to facilitate substantial growth in passenger numbers, with forecasts indicating an annual throughput of 7 million by 2030.  Such an increase is expected to generate a considerable economic impact, estimated at £1 billion for the regional economy and supporting approximately 5,500 new jobs.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the airport's ambitions extend to expanding its network of direct international flights and improving sustainable transport links, notably through the planned construction of c. £60 million Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway station. The success of Leeds-headquartered airline Jet2, which has significantly expanded its national operations to carry nearly 20 million passengers annually, further underscores the region's capacity and demand for air travel, contributing to the airport's strategic importance.

Leeds’s elevation to a global city is fundamentally underpinned by a strong foundation, with the city’s rich cultural offer, diverse attractions, skilled workforce, infrastructure investment, and effective local leadership. To solidify its standing as a leading international destination for business, talent, and tourism, sustained and targeted investment across these key pillars remains imperative.

To truly solidify its global standing, Leeds must continue to evolve beyond a regional powerhouse, actively pursuing its ambition to become a prominent international city. The planned £160 million Royal Armouries expansion and the British Library North project at Temple Works are pivotal in this, driving business investment, cultural identity, and regeneration.

Concurrently, the Elland Road Regeneration, with its vision for a world-class sporting facility and a new neighbourhood, will further enhance the city's capacity to host major events and attract international talent. Sustained investment in the hotel sector, evidenced by a healthy pipeline of five new hotels, will be vital to accommodate the growing visitor and business economy, ensuring Leeds can effectively capitalise on its expanding international profile and secure its position as a leading global destination.