The Gatwick region will pitch more than £1.4bn of investment opportunities to developers and investors next year as local authorities and businesses seek to capitalise on the expansion of the UK’s second-largest airport.
Invest Gatwick Region, a coalition of public and private sector organisations, will launch an updated investment prospectus at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum in Leeds in May 2027.
The partnership, led by London Gatwick, includes Croydon and Kent councils, the Sussex & Brighton Strategic Authority, education providers, property companies and professional services groups.
It will use the event to promote development and regeneration projects across a broad area stretching from Croydon through Surrey and Sussex into Kent.
The initiative comes as Gatwick prepares for a significant expansion of airport capacity. The government granted development consent for its Northern Runway project in September 2025, allowing the airport’s existing standby runway to be brought into routine use alongside its main runway.
A subsequent legal challenge was dismissed in August 2026, clearing the way for the project to proceed. The government estimates the £2.2bn privately financed scheme could support 14,000 jobs and generate an additional £1bn in economic benefits annually, with the first flights from the expanded runway expected in 2030.
Gatwick handled 42.8mn passengers in 2025, slightly below 43.2mn a year earlier, according to airport figures. It is the UK’s second-largest airport and has direct rail connections to more than 120 stations.
The wider Gatwick Region generated an estimated £165bn in gross value added in 2023, equivalent to about 7 per cent of the UK economy, according to the regional economic partnership.
Richard Lennard, economic and community partnerships manager at London Gatwick, said the airport’s expansion was “strengthening global connectivity and creating significant opportunities for businesses and communities across the wider region”.
Brett North, executive director of Gatwick Diamond Business, said collaboration between public and private organisations was helping the region present a more coherent proposition to international investors.
The 2027 appearance will be the partnership’s fourth consecutive year at UKREiiF, with dedicated representation from Kent and the Sussex and Brighton area planned alongside the main Gatwick presence.
