Manchester’s bid to be the fastest growing UK city in 2024 has been boosted with 142 high-growth businesses announcing office and lab openings, or expansions in innovation hubs across both the city and in Cheshire, this year.
Earlier this year, UK economic forecasting group, EY ITEM Club, projected that Manchester would become the UK’s fastest growing city, with an expected GVA uptick of 1.8%, citing the region’s focus on attracting talent to value-add sectors as an example for other cities to follow.
The coming years are also projected to see the city and surrounding region continue their strong growth trajectory, with GVA in 2026 expected to be £2bn higher than it was in 2022.
Growth in the number of innovative and R&D intensive businesses choosing the city and surrounding region as their home or base for expansion is set to continue cementing the region’s status as leading employment hubs for key sectors like digital technology, life sciences and fintech.
Indeed, in 2023, Manchester rounded out the year with one of the UK’s highest populations of high growth tech companies, with 305 calling the city their home – a figure that’s expected to have risen in 2024 with the new arrivals.
Amongst the cohort of exciting new organisations moving into the region’s city centre innovation hubs in 2024 are global cybersecurity firm SafetyCulture, which has established operations at Bond on Mosley Street, and AO.com, the online electrical ecommerce giant, which has chosen 111 Piccadilly for a satellite creative hub to better leverage the region’s rich skilled talent pool and access direct collaboration opportunities with other like-minded tech businesses based at the building.
UK Biobank, the world’s most significant source of data and biological samples for health research, is also moving its headquarters to Manchester Science Park’s Greenheys development that began construction this year.
The move highlights the potential for such businesses in Manchester with open opportunities for collaboration between researchers and industry.
The ecosystem drawing these rapidly growing businesses to the region is underpinned by key players like Bruntwood SciTech – the UK’s largest property provider dedicated to the growth of the innovation economy.
The company is supporting demand for specialist workspace, having committed £243m of investment in developments across Manchester city centre in this past year alone, including bringing forward projects totalling 727,000 sq ft of new workspace like the redevelopment of Pall Mall on King Street and No. 3 Circle Square.
A joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Bruntwood SciTech is also under way with refurbishments aimed at catering to the needs of innovation-led businesses and disruptors at Kings House, 117 Portland Street and the Renold Building – the first refurb at the newly renamed £1.7bn innovation district and neighbourhood, Sister, formerly ID Manchester, in partnership with the University of Manchester.
Bruntwood SciTech has seen first hand what being part of these supportive clusters can do for growth-oriented businesses, having welcomed 107 new businesses into its workspaces in Manchester and Cheshire and helping to facilitate the expansion of 35 existing start-ups, scale-ups and global companies in 2024 across its 21 city centre innovation hubs and five campuses – including Circle Square, Citylabs, Block, Bond and Alderley Park.
Manchester has also seen many companies establish roots and continue their growth in the city centre with long-standing businesses like Mobysoft, a software provider expanding at Manchester One on Portland Street, and food delivery app Deliveroo at 5 New York Street.
Josh Whiteley, commercial director for Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Manchester and Cheshire are at the forefront of the UK’s science, tech and innovation landscape, and we are proud to play a pivotal role in this growth. The influx of new, disruptive businesses and the expansion of existing ones at our innovation hubs illustrates the demand for high quality workspaces that support the evolving needs of fast-growing companies in the region.
“Continuing to support the needs of high R&D spending and innovative companies is pivotal in maintaining our status as being a major economic powerhouse for the UK.”
He added: “By providing state-of-the-art environments tailored to the needs of both start-ups and established firms, we are not only contributing to the city’s economic growth but also reinforcing its position as an attractive destination for talent and investment.”
