The North West
GREATER MANCHESTER A CITY REGION BUILT FOR LONG-TERM INVESTMENT
Andrew McIntosh
Central Manchester
Greater Manchester has long been one of the UK’s most attractive des- tinations for investment. Over the past decade we’ve become the coun- try’s fastest growing city region, with strong public-private collaboration unlocking opportunities for investors.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and our 10 council leaders have now set out a vision for a new decade of growth, with no one and no place left behind, which is backed by an innovative new approach to public investment through our pioneering Good Growth Fund. Crucial to this plan is delivering the right commercial space in the right locations.
What makes Greater Manchester an attractive destination for investment?
Greater Manchester has a diverse and resilient economy, access to talent, exceptional connectivity and a great quality of life.
Our £100 billion economy is the UK’s largest city region economy out- side London, and since 2015 our economy has had average growth at double the UK rate – 3.1% compared to 1.5%. Over the same period, we’ve attracted more foreign direct investment than any region other than London and the South East.
Our five universities support a student population of over 120,000, and our graduate retention rate is one of the highest in the UK. Manchester Airport is the UK’s largest airport outside London and one of Europe’s best-connected international hubs, with flights to more than 200 desti- nations worldwide. And Manchester has been named by The Economist as the UK’s most liveable city.
Greater Manchester’s commercial property market has always been dynamic, but can the current supply keep up with the fastest growing economy in the UK?
Demand for commercial space continues to outpace supply in several key sub-markets, though that demand reflects the pace of growth in our econ- omy, rather than constraint to development. We are seeing particularly
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strong demand for grade A office space, industrial and logistics facilities, and specialist lab space to support innovation-led activity and the life sciences and advanced materials and manufacturing sectors.
Businesses want to locate and grow here, and our challenge is to ensure the market can respond at pace and at scale. Working with Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities, we have developed a 10-year pipeline of investment projects – our Integrated Pipeline – which maps out the development we need to continue to grow our city region core, as well as the new employment and innovation sites that will help our businesses to grow and create high-quality jobs.
By sequencing development through our Integrated Pipeline, we can ensure supporting infrastructure and public services are delivered along- side new homes and employment sites, creating well-connected, low-car- bon communities with access to green spaces.
Strategic locations, including our Growth Locations, industrial clusters, and Mayoral Development Corporations and Zones, like Atom Valley across Rochdale, Bury and Oldham, or Northfold across Bolton, are key to this approach.
Greater Manchester has launched a new Good Growth Fund – how will this support commercial property projects?
We launched the Good Growth Fund in late 2025 to accelerate housing and employment development across the city-region. It represents an innovative approach to public investment, enabling us to bridge viability gaps to unlock projects where the market has not been willing to lend.
The Good Growth Fund has been built up through our integrated settle- ment, adding investment from the Government and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, and borrowing against future growth in our retained busi- ness rates. It also includes up to £500 million made available through a new partnership with the National Wealth Fund, taking our initial invest- ment pot to nearly £2 billion.
The Good Growth Fund allows us to, using a blend of loans, grants, and equity to unlock private sector investment that would not otherwise come
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2026
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