Insights

Five years of Cobalt recruitment data reveal rising demand for specialist talent across the North. As Great North investment accelerates, can the region build the workforce needed to deliver?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is changing how employers across construction, real estate, infrastructure and engineering manage their workforce. Maria Sinclair, Managing Director at Cobalt Recruitment UK, explores the key reforms, implementation timelines and practical steps employers should take to prepare.

One year on, The Great North is moving from ambition to delivery. Explore the region's investment progress, evolving devolution landscape and the skills challenges shaping its future growth.

Cobalt celebrates 25 years in business, from its beginnings in London in 2001 to an international group spanning multiple markets, brands and specialist recruitment services.

Updated August 2026 with the latest Savills and UBS data. Methodology and full sourcing at the end. Discover the world’s 10 most expensive cities to buy property, how the ranking has changed since 2019, and what rising property costs mean for employers hiring and relocating talent

Maria Sinclair, Managing Director UK at Cobalt Recruitment, explores why the built environment skills gap goes beyond recruitment, examining retention, career awareness, AI, apprenticeships and what the industry can do to build a stronger talent pipeline.

Cobalt's read on the UK's leading real estate investment and infrastructure forum, from our team on the ground in Leeds across all three days.

Diversity in the property sector is improving, with gender pay gaps narrowing and greater transparency emerging. However, representation at senior levels, psychological safety and inclusive leadership remain critical to achieving lasting progress across real estate and construction.

Wednesday Market Insights from Cobalt, Edition 1 UKREiiF Review: Realistic, not Optimistic what UKREiiF 2026 actually said.

Featuring insight from industry leaders at the UK’s leading property developers, housebuilders, REITs, and investment firms, The Development Index 2026 is an all-encompassing appraisal of what’s happening across the development lifecycle now, and what employers and employees within it need to know going into 2026 and beyond.

New research reveals that the UK development industry is entering 2026 with cautious optimism but is still held back by deep-rooted staffing challenges that are slowing delivery and squeezing project viability. The Development Index – produced by real estate and construction hiring specialist, Cobalt Recruitment – captures the current challenges, along with the opportunities and pressures shaping the year ahead.

Cobalt is delighted to announce the return of James Wakefield as Executive Chair, effective 1 December.