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Manchester capitalises on professional services growth

16/04/2008

Once the capital of the industrial revolution, Manchester is now at the centre of a new boom industry - the financial and professional services sector.

The city's renaissance is being fuelled in part by the arrival of financial and professional services companies like the Bank of New York, Credit Suisse and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

A new study by Manchester Metropolitan University has revealed that last year 428,800 people were employed in this sector in Manchester and the wider north-west - up from 315,200 in 1997.

Professional services is now the fastest-growing sector in the north-west and almost a third of people in the region are predicted to be working in the industry by 2020.

University's vice chancellor Professor John Brooks said: "Preparing for the new post-industrial knowledge economy is a challenge the north-west is facing and which Manchester is leading."

Thanks to the successful growth of the professional and financial services sector, Manchester is now the "knowledge capital" of Britain, he continued.

Furthermore, the relocation of the BBC to Salford Quays is a clear indication that knowledge-based industries are central to the future economic prosperity of the city, Mr Brooks added.

According to investment services agency Midas, Manchester's commercial property sector is booming because of quality office space and key developments like Spinningfields, near Deansgate.

"I would say that the financial and professional sector remains strong, as does the potential for public sector relocation and government outsourcing projects," said Midas chief executive Colin Sinclair.