A Leeds business festival designed to help founders access funding, networks and growth opportunities is returning next month with a renewed focus on tackling the UK’s regional investment imbalance.
Climb26, which is created by ClimbUK, will take place at the Royal Armouries Museum and Leeds Dock on 1 and 2 July, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, operators and business leaders from across the UK.
Now entering its fourth year, the festival was established to address some of the barriers facing ambitious businesses outside London, particularly around access to investment and influential networks.
Recent industry data continues to highlight significant disparities in funding, with all-female founding teams receiving around 2% of UK venture capital investment and the majority of UK funding concentrated in London and the South East.
Organisers say Climb26 has been designed to challenge those trends by creating opportunities for founders to connect directly with investors, mentors, partners and peers.
Unlike traditional business conferences centred around high-profile keynote speakers, the event focuses on founders, operators and investors sharing practical lessons from their own growth journeys.
Over two days, attendees will have access to more than 40 workshops, masterclasses, open-mic pitch sessions, meet-the-buyer opportunities and networking events covering topics including fundraising, scaling businesses, team building, emerging technologies and international growth.
The programme also includes a female founders reception, investor speed networking sessions and sector-focused meetups.
Gordon Bateman, founder of ClimbUK, said: “We created ClimbUK because we believed ambitious businesses outside London deserved better access to investment, expertise and opportunity.
“Too many business events feel predictable and inaccessible, with the same speakers and the same audiences year after year.
“ClimbUK was designed to be different and our goal is simple: for every attendee to leave with new ideas, valuable connections and greater confidence to take the next step in their business journey.”
According to ClimbUK, previous events and regional tours have led to attendees securing investment, commercial partnerships, customers and long-term mentoring relationships, with some deals originating from pitch sessions, roundtable discussions and informal networking conversations.
New for this year’s festival is an AI-powered event app designed to recommend relevant sessions, facilitate introductions and help delegates build personalised schedules aligned to their business goals.
Climb26 takes place on 1 and 2 July at Leeds Dock and the Royal Armouries Museum.
