The Government is using five huge projects within Manchester to try and attract foreign investors to the region. The projects, worth almost £2bn, will be used to promote the major opportunities Greater Manchester has to potential suitors by The Department for International Trade.

Some of the projects are set to be discussed at our North West Development Plans Conference in July – where Property Alliance Group are set to speak. Their portfolio is one of five which will be highlighted with the list including:

  • Property Alliance Group Portfolio; their portfolio is hugely impressive, including 55 Portland Street which will be transformed into a four-star 329-bed hotel, Oxygen Tower which will see a 31 storey apartment block being built, and 3 St Peter’s Square, a new 20-storey building with one hotel on top of the other in an ambitious first of it’s kind development in the North West.
  • Trafford Waters; given the green light in 2016 this £1bn scheme on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal will feature 3,000 new flats, 1m sq ft of retail and office space, a 300 room hotel, a car home and a new primary school amongst other things. The incredible development is being built on disused land – and will be connected to Trafford Centre by bridge and Metrolinks.
  • MediaCityUK; already the home to the BBC, ITV, University of Salford and over 250 creative media businesses MediaCityUK has provided an amazing boost to jobs, skills and economic growth of Manchester. The second phases includes a major residential component, including 1,800 private sale and build-to-rent city apartments and town houses. It’ll deliver over 55,000 sq m of office space, retail and leisure space, as well a public space.
  • Future Carrington; a £100m development which will bring a new village of 725 homes to the area and create 1m sq ft of business and employment space. The project will focus on delivering a community feel – with a village centre, parks and a rugby club being created, all of which had planning approved in 2017.
  • Stockport Exchange; when fianlised this will deliver 375,000 sq ft of office space and 28,000 sq ft of commercial floor space this development will give a big boost to job opportunities in the city. The first phase will see a 1,000 space multi-storey car park, operated by NCP, was completed back in 2014 before the next stage of development which will see a 60,000 sq ft six-storey building created – a project set to continue for many years.

These five projects are seen by the Department for International Trade (DIT) as prime examples of developments for global backers – and ones which could entice foreign investors to the region, with the DIT saying Manchester offers ‘a unqiue ecosystem for investors’.

The drive for investment includes 70 projects worth more than £30bn which are open to potential global investors, with other regions within the Northern Powerhouse including Protos in Cheshire, Wirral Waters, Kirkstall Forge in Leeds, Pall Mall Exchange in Liverpool and Liverpool Waters.

High Potential Opportunities (HPO) – a scheme by the Government to focus on areas instead of specific projects – is also a key element of the DIT’s promotion which has already been piloted in Greater Manchester. The regional HPO focused on the research, testing and production of lightweight materials such as alloys, technical textiles and graphene.

Dr Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary, said: ”This is a bold and ambitious programme, building on the UK’s position as the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe through the government’s Industrial Strategy, helping to build a Britain fit for the future. The HPO scheme will deliver growth where it is most needed, ensuring that the benefits of global investment are felt in every part of the country. And with more than £30bn worth of new opportunities, my international economic department’s overseas network is working hard to attract top investors to the UK.”

Make sure you’re at our North West Development Plans Conference to hear more about the exciting developments happening in Manchester and the opportunities to get involved in future projects.