Manchester's Economy (updates)

[Seasonedbest]

Two banks and two drink manufacturers. It needs to be at top spot to be great again.

We make things, unfortunately for niche markets and in small amounts comparatively speaking. Undeniably, the UK relies on banking and has done for many years, which is why we offer tourism for Chinese people, petrol to get them here, and booze for when they are here.

[WatcherZero]

Originally Posted by iheartthenew

We're the 6th biggest manufacturer in the world, exporting ~ 80%

A quick look at the league table of brands, the UKs biggest global brands are HSBC, Barclays, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker...

Smirnoff may be UK owned but its a Russian brand founded over a century ago.

[jrb]

No stone will be left unturned.

MEN.

Four new advisory panels featuring some of the city’s top professionals are being created by the team behind Manchester’s Green Investment Bank campaign.

The panels will advise the Bank in its mission to fulfil objectives outlined by the Government.

It will include a panel of financial services experts who are being lined up to help leverage the Green Bank investments with structured finance options and help engage with advisors in the sector.

A panel of green economy experts which will include freethinkers and those with technical and engineering skills will work together to ensure the GIB gets the assistance and advice required to make the Manchester location a success.

A separate panel of professional experts, using the existing pro.manchester membership pool, will advise on legal affairs, contract law, corporate compliance, risk management, accounts, treasury management, HR, facilities management, information technology and communications management. A fourth specialist recruitment panel will include a team of advisers and recruitment specialists in financial and professional services familiar with the local and national market place to help appoint a team of over 50 specialists and support staff.

John Ashcroft, chief executive of pro.manchester, which is leading the campaign team, said: "The Government has said the Green Investment Bank will be based in a location that offers close proximity to players in the wider green and financial markets. What could be better than to work with the four key advisory panels already situated here in Manchester.

“We’ve already made headway in appointing some members of the panels from our rich eco system of talent and look forward to announcing key individuals in the near future.”

The team believes that Manchester’s financial and professional services businesses plus the presence of big name players including RBS Global and BNY Mellon means that the city has the right credentials to create strong advisory panels.

Mr Ashcroft added: “There’s an obvious commercial appeal to Manchester that makes it the most viable option for the Green Investment Bank. The city is rich in private sector financiers, green businesses and political decision makers who have a proven track record in working together with success.”

[jrb]

MEN.

Work on The Co-operative's new headquarters on Miller Street, Manchester, has so far provided a £17m boost to the regional economy, contractor BAM said today.

The Salford-based construction firm said the £100m project, which is expected to be finished next autumn, has so far provided work for more than 100 companies in Greater Manchester.

It estimates that £9m of materials have been sourced locally, while £8m of orders have gone to companies in the region.

Construction manager Tony Grindrod, said: “Being an ethical trader, our client is determined that the building is exemplary in both its local benefits and its environmental excellence. BAM has set out to deliver a programme of human investment here at The Co-operative HQ that goes even further than they've asked, and we're thrilled that it's showing some real benefits for the people who live and work here.”

More than 50 per cent of the workforce is based in Greater Manchester and total man hours on the 46,000 sq metres scheme, which is providing 30 apprenticeships, is expected to reach a million before Christmas.

The scheme is also seeking to achieve one of the highest BREEAM environmental ratings ever recorded.

[harryj79]

Interesting piece on the BBC News website about how Manchester is coping with austerity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16262648

There was also a piece on tonight's PM programme on Radio 4 about Manchester's economy, scroll to about 24 minutes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b018fmqb

I believe there is supposed to be a second part to this on tomorrow's PM programme.

[jrb]

Boom!

Place North West

A TRIO of major regeneration projects in Manchester are set to go ahead in the New Year after gaining approval from the city's planning committee yesterday.

Manchester City's plans for the Etihad Campus - containing a series of player facilities, a sports medicine institute, a 7,000-seat arena and a large sixth-form college - on the former Clayton Aniline site on land off Alan Turing Way was approved. A Compulsory Purchase Order for the site has already been issued.



Also, a joint application from the Co-operative Group and Standish-based Denizen Contracts to build a £26m hotel in a curved tower development above City Buildings near Victoria Station was given the green light. The 178-bed hotel will be operated by Liverpool-based Sanguine Hospitality under its Hotel Indigo brand, with a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill at ground floor level.



Finally, Realty Estates' £35m plan to redevelop its Iconic Gateway House building at the approach to Piccadilly station got the go-ahead.

Realty Estates is currently in the final stages of negotiations with two hotel operators. It expects to have a preferred operator in place next month and to make a start on site with the project in May 2012. The redevelopment has been designed by architectural practice Hodder & Partners.



Meanwhile, a decision on a fourth major scheme - a new research lab at Manchester's Christie Hospital - has been deferred until the New Year.

Its proposal to build a new three-storey research lab on an existing surface car park fronting Wilmslow Road and to add a new 752-space car park had received more than 140 objections to it from local residents, some of whom argued that The Christie had not carried out proper consultation with neighbours before submitting plans.

[postal]

Good news from the CEBR about the long term prospects for the NW, of which manchester is the key driver.

The North West of England is one of the three regions which is predicted to have falling unemployment, down from 8.2% in 2011 to 7.9% in 2016. The report comments on an entrepreneurial revival in the North West, partly supported by ethnic businesses.

[heatonparkincakes]

Not a criticism postal as we all know what you mean, but pedantic me would just kindly point out that all businesses are ethnic if owned by a human.

And to be honest if my local Polish shop wants to sell me Zubrowka at £13 not the supermarket £18, then I wish they would multiple.

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Indeed, I wish there was ethnic shops here in York instead of just endless Tesco Express and Sainsbury Locals.

[postal]

The second para including the reference to 'ethnic' was a direct quote from the CEBR report. I should have added quote remarks at start and end of paragraph.

I would have included a link to said report, and would have donew had I been able to find it again!

[LNGCats]

Living standards dropping fast...

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...0111228%20(986)

[heatonparkincakes]

Originally Posted by postal

The second para including the reference to 'ethnic' was a direct quote from the CEBR report. I should have added quote remarks at start and end of paragraph.

I would have included a link to said report, and would have donew had I been able to find it again!

No problems, I guessed as such that it was the source not the messenger.

I can not post links on the iPad, I haven't worked out how to copy and paste links, but Mancon have an article about the local economy.

The curious fact from it is their claim that if the NW was independent, it would be the 14th large
st economy in Europe, bigger than the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and Ukraine!

[Gdogg371]

Originally Posted by heatonparkincakes

No problems, I guessed as such that it was the source not the messenger.

I can not post links on the iPad, I haven't worked out how to copy and paste links, but Mancon have an article about the local economy.

The curious fact from it is their claim that if the NW was independent, it would be the 14th large
st economy in Europe, bigger than the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and Ukraine!

thats probably why the government have started coughing up money for infrastructure projects in greater manchester. i wonder where we will be ranked once the benefits from metrolink 3b and the northern hub have taken effect? maybe this the beginning of a snowball effect for the north west of england.

[heatonparkincakes]

Whitehall coughs up money for Manchester in the same way an old man with a lung disease coughs up phlegm.

Harshly and reluctantly.

[Gdogg371]

if in 20 years time manchester is say, 8th in that list and breaks even on taxes accrued vs spent what excuse can central government use then to avoid spending money on the north west?

[heatonparkincakes]

Originally Posted by Gdogg371

if in 20 years time manchester is say, 8th in that list and breaks even on taxes accrued vs spent what excuse can central government use then to avoid spending money on the north west?

Doubt we will be 8th. If the Mancon figures are to be believed, below the hypothetical NW are states like Ukraine, Romania and the Czech who all have substantial populations and as yet full developed economic resources.

[LNGCats]

Aye, surely the trend is down that list as Eastern europe catches us up.

[neil]

From the MEN

Opportunities ahead despite tough outlook
JAMES FERGUSON
DECEMBER 30, 2011
Greater Manchester is facing another tough year of slow growth and rising unemployment, according to the region’s business leaders.

However, they see opportunities in infrastructure projects and exports to high-growth economies as ways for firms to escape the gloom in 2012, a year which could see the break-up of the euro.

Retail and manufacturing face a particularly tough time, while the healthcare, finance, transport and digital sectors should fare better, they predicted today.

Dr Brian Sloan, chief economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said 2012 is likely to be characterised by a lack of confidence and investment.

And he speculates that more big high street names will fail as household consumption remains depressed and margins are squeezed by discounting. He said: "Growth in the future is going to rely heavily on exports and business investment.

"The latter looks unlikely to become significant in the near term as there is too much uncertainty and a lack of demand."

Publicly-funded infrastructure projects are also seen as key to Greater Manchester’s recovery but there are some concerns about levels of spending.

Baron Frankal, director of economic strategy at New Economy, the body charged with creating growth for Greater Manchester, said Manchester’s Metrolink expansion would bring huge benefits to areas such as Oldham and Rochdale.

He said: "We should also hear some positive announcements in relation to Medipark, which will be a major part of the Airport City enterprise zone and the redevelopment of Wythenshawe." But he added: "Forecasts suggest a tipping point where firms will cut costs even further and let staff go as they prepare for a recession."

But Geoff White, head of public policy and communications at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors North West, said: "For all the talk about infrastructure being a key part of the plan for growth, the total amount of new funding in the area for the forthcoming financial year is a meagre £760m."

However, the city region is identified as having a number of projects that have the potential to generate good levels of employment.

Mike Blackburn, chairman of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "The MediaCityUK project has come to fruition and is likely to offer further employment opportunities."

Forum of Private Business economic adviser Prof Phillip Wyman is forecasting another stormy 12 months for SMEs as private sector expansion stalls in the face of global uncertainty.

He said: "Employers base investment and hiring decisions upon expectations for the future, and these expectations are unlikely to improve in the near future."

Miranda Barker, of Private Sector Partners, said: "What we need to see is the emergence of a cohesive support programme to assist our north west businesses to thrive and out-compete firms further afield."

[Tooner]

Please forgive me, if this is not the appropriate place to ask the following questions, but I am a long time follower but a first-time poster and therefore welcome direction to elsewhere if necessary.

I lived for a number of years in Timperley, but now reside in the States. I am gainfully employed by a software company outside of Salt Lake City. The economy here is well ahead of the national average, particularly in the software realm. But...I really, really, miss the green and pleasant land.

I want to pursue employment opportunities that allow for greater interaction between, "here and there," and even an opportunity to work for a fortnight a year, in Manchester, Chester, and Lancashire et al.

Any suggestions as to where to even start?

Cheers in advance.

[Seasonedbest]

I lived in Logan for a bit. Sooner be there than here. All I can think of is Escrow companies that may do that sort of thing - that being NCC Group, who hire software testers and send them to their various offices around the world. They have their head office in Manchester, but other offices in the states.