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The Great Vepple Diamond Heist: a gem of a day

On Thursday 9th July 2026, Leeds became a playground for the criminal underworld as we hosted our annual Vepple Team-Building event!

At Avenue HQ, in Leeds, we welcomed over 120 players representing 25 rival crews from across the Higher Education sector to pull off the ultimate caper: The Vepple Team-Building Diamond Heist.

We’ve been Pirates, Detectives, and now in its third year, our annual pre-Heist Awards team-building event has officially reached mastermind status. Our mission this year? Go bigger, get louder, and make it more thrilling than ever before.

The Diamond was moving across the City, but which of our crews had the clout and intelligence to pull off the perfect heist?

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Why do we do stuff like this?

Simply, this event is our favourite day of the year! Budgets and resources within university marketing teams are tight, which is why we’re proud to offer this massive, high-energy day of networking and competition at absolutely no cost to our attendees.

And, of course, there was £3,000 on the line for the winning university to spend on their own team-building activities.

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On the grid, off the rails

By 12:45 PM, crews were on the move.

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Teams didn’t just have to rely on their wits; they had to navigate the streets of Leeds using the Vepple platform itself. The city became a giant, interactive game board.

We didn’t make it easy for them, though, and teams found themselves blindfolded, screaming directions to guide remote-controlled getaway cars, belting out classic heist tracks in public, and testing their tactical precision with Nerf gun shootouts. Between snack treats throughout and scanning padlocks to receive specialist intel, our teams took the sweltering heat in their stride!

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Group playing with Nerf guns in a brick-walled café, as a woman aims at a seated man posing with his phone, others watching and laughing.
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Hands scanning a QR code on a red padlock attached to a black metal gate with a smartphone.
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On the spot

Before we headed off to get suited and booted for the Heist Awards later that evening, we had to recognise some of our standout players with our coveted mini-awards:

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Elite Safecrackers: Won by The Avon Syndicate (UWE) for keeping their cool in the summer heat.

Master Hackers: Won by The Tyne Thieves (Northumbria University) for keeping the entire sector updated on social media in real-time.

Best-dressed syndicate: Won by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn from The Code Crackers (UCAS).

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Crowd at an outdoor gathering, with two people wearing printed face masks among seated attendees near glass windows.
Group of people in colourful Hawaiian shirts chatting at a casual indoor gathering, some holding beer bottles and smiling.
Man in a colourful patterned shirt wearing pink sunglasses, a fake moustache, and a navy cap that reads “Diamond Fest.”
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But who got away with the loot?

As the sun set, the action moved to the Heist Awards main stage. The tension in the room was palpable as the final scores were calculated.

First up, the supplier category. In a stunning display of criminal dominance, Prospects (The Future Felons) secured the supplier trophy and luxury hamper for the third year in a row! A legendary treble.

Three people in bright orange jumpsuits talk while one holds a navy drawstring bag reading “The High Rollers Club DAVID HEST.”

Then came the grand prize. The room erupted as we presented a giant £3,000 cheque to our overall champions: Nottingham Trent University (The Robin Hood Raiders).

Group of people on stage smiling with trophies and a giant cheque for €3,000, standing before a large illuminated “H” backdrop.

We caught up with Elliot Newstead, Associate Director, Global Student Recruitment at Nottingham Trent University, before he sailed off into the sunset with his team’s haul:

“I loved taking part in this year’s Vepple Diamond Heist with the rest of the fabulous Robin Hood Raiders’ squad! We had such fun completing the challenges, the riddles and exploring (VERY!) sunny Leeds all in the name of collecting gems and clues.

I’m over the moon that we were able to come out as the ultimate heisters amongst such an esteemed HE criminal community, and the departmental team-building we’ll be able to do with the prize will add great value to our work back in always-sunny Nottingham.

Roll on 2027 and defending our crown/trophy/oversized cheque!”

The chasing pack… where did they finish?

You can see how the rest of the teams got on below. Hit ‘Run the race’ to reveal the race, or select ‘Skip to final standings’ to see the final leaderboard.

See you in 2027?

A massive, heartfelt thank you to every single felon who took part, smiled, ran, sang, and took shots in the name of team-building. You made this an absolutely unforgettable day.

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A huge thank you to our headline sponsors, Havas People and the Heist Awards, who championed the chaos with us. We also want to give a huge shout-out to our brilliant co-sponsors: Prospects, IDP, the SHE Network, UCAS, Find a University, and Education Cubed.

If your team missed out on this year’s energy, or if you are already plotting how to steal the crown from Nottingham Trent, don’t get left behind next year. The planning for 2027 is already underway.

Check out the highlights reel

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