Reflecting on housing 2025: insights, connections, and collaboration

As the UK’s leading conference for the housing sector, Housing attracts thousands of professionals every year, making it a standout event in the housing sector calendar. This year Housing 2025 once again drew large crowds who sought to collaboratively explore the future of housing and share ideas to tackle the sector’s biggest challenges.

Our team was proud to be part of the conversation, with a strong presence across the three-day event. From thought leadership sessions to meaningful networking and making new connections, here are some of our highlights.

Championing leadership and inclusion

The event began on a high note as our Business Development and Marketing Director, Claire Bailey-Jones attended the Senior Women in Housing Breakfast Briefing at the Leadership Symposium on Tuesday 24th June. This session set the tone for the event, offering powerful insights into inclusive leadership, sector innovation, and the importance of diverse voices in shaping the future of housing.

Claire said of the event: “The briefing gave a clear call for stronger collaboration between local authorities, housing associations, and central government. The mayors also highlighted the need for devolved powers and funding to address regional housing challenges more effectively. I’ll be really interested to see the impact on the housing sector should these recommendations be implemented.”

Creating space for connection

On Tuesday afternoon, we were honoured to host the Women in Social Housing (WISH) drinks reception from 12–2pm. The event brought together women from across the sector to connect, share experiences, and celebrate the impact of supporting a female presence in housing sector roles.

Later that same evening, we welcomed over 180 guests to our own drinks reception at Dear Sailor, a new venue near Manchester Central. It was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our clients, partners, and peers in a relaxed and informal setting.

We were also pleased to support Housing Rocks, the charity music night held on Wednesday evening which raised funds for the More than Homes campaign.

Sharing our expertise on retrofit challenges

On day two, our Head of Operations, Gary Clay, joined a panel discussion on the Unlock Net Zero stage. Speaking to a packed audience, Gary and fellow industry leaders explored the barriers to delivering high-quality retrofit projects such as the misalignment between retrofit goals and broader housing strategies which can lead to siloed delivery, and, crucially, how to overcome them.

The session sparked valuable conversations around decarbonisation, funding, and the skills needed to future-proof homes. For example, the panel touched on how to frame retrofit around its tangible benefits to residents using relatable language like “creating a warmer, drier, more comfortable home”, rather than focusing on technical jargon associated with retrofit. They also discussed the fact when it comes to retrofit projects, vulnerable residents and leaseholders require individual, bespoke engagement strategies to ensure inclusivity and legal compliance.

As we reflect on another successful year at Housing and the new connections we made during the event, it’s made us more determined than ever to continue working together to drive positive change across the housing sector. We hope to see you all there again next year!

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