9 Reasons Manchester is the Ideal Base For Your Business

London is sooooo last year. Are you an up-and-coming entrepreneur with a gold-mine idea you’re ready to bring to fruition? Or an already established business leader looking to relocate? Here’s why Manchester is the business base for you.

1. Manchester’s Lower Operational Costs 💰

Those Londoners may brag about the big smoke, but at a tenner a pint, it’s not worth more than a weekend visit in our eyes.

While the average house price in London in 2022 tallies up to an eye-watering £789,604, Manchester is sitting at a far more respectable £248,145. Great news for northern worker bees, as chances are you’ll be able to afford to live much closer to your workplace than the average Londoner.

It’s not just the cost of living that’s lower up north, but the cost of running a business too. In this era of flexible working, co-working spaces are in high demand, so you’ll be pleased to hear that in Manchester they can cost up to half the price of those in London.

This is also reflected in standard office prices, with the average sitting at a whopping £10,000 more than the UK average in London. While Manchester prices are rising (like everywhere in the UK), they’re still significantly lower, ringing in at an average of £6,500 to the capital’s £25,000.

This could all well be why,

“In the European Digital City Index 2016, Manchester was considered the 16th best city out of 60 for startups.” (Talk Business)

2. Manchester’s Rich Talent Pool 🎓

If you’re looking to recruit, you’re in luck too. Boasting a grand total of five universities and drawing in students and graduates from all over the surrounding regions and beyond, Manchester is a hub for highly educated young talent.

In addition to the 100,000 university students, 44.1% of Manchester’s working-age population have an NVQ Level 4 qualification or higher, making rich pickings for employers.

It’s no surprise that Manchester is experiencing unrivalled economic growth when it draws in more skilled workers and education-seekers each year. We’re now ranked the third best student city in the UK!

3. Manchester’s Efficient Transport Infrastructure 🚈

We’ve all experienced, or at least heard, the horror stories of trying to get from A to B in London. There's nothing worse than cramped tube rides with dodgy characters, rush hour road rage, cyclist drama and ignorant bus drivers on your daily commute.

You’ll be pleased to hear that the transport situation is a far cry from London’s overpriced congestion in Manchester. The city’s your oyster, and you won’t even need an oyster card to see it 😉

If you take public transport, a weekly bus pass spanning the whole city will set you back only £15, while the London equivalent comes in at £21.20. Plus, northern bus drivers have even been known to smile, if you can believe it!

It doesn’t stop there, though - Manchester also runs on trams, which operate on an affordable zone-based system that should prove familiar to Londoners. It’s as simple as tapping in with your card or phone at the station you get on and tapping out when you alight.

If you prefer to travel solo and you’re up for a short morning walk into the office, many car parks on the outskirts of the city centre offer prices as low as £4 a day!

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4. Manchester’s Creative Industries Hub 🎬

MediaCityUK, located in Salford Quays, is our crowning glory of creative and digital innovation. It’s home to big shots, including the BBC and ITV studios, and constantly attracts fresh talent and other businesses to the area.

MediaCity is perfectly located, as Manchester’s universities push out some of the strongest creative talents in the industries each year, from the creative departments of MMU and UoM to graduates of Manchester College of Music.

Whether your business is creatively oriented or not, being close to such a hub is an undeniable benefit, providing opportunities for media coverage, collaboration and network building.

5. Manchester’s Extensive Tech Infrastructure 💻 

“Manchester’s reputation as one of the foremost tech hubs in the world is evident by its 34th ranking among 500 countries in the 2018 Innovation Cities Index.” (Talk Business)

As well as our knack for creativity and the arts, we are an undeniably digital city, which we owe to our extensive technology infrastructure. There’s no need to worry about broadband speeds around here; in 2015, Virgin Media invested £75 million to bring the city unrivalled high-speed internet access.

On the data side of things, Manchester also boasts the status of being one of only six UK cities on a 5G network, ensuring you’ll never be caught without connection while on the go.

6. Manchester’s Thriving Working Culture 💪

Alongside the aforementioned MediaCity, Manchester is home to several other centres for business in different locations in and around the city centre. 

Unlike its almost solely textile manufacturing past, Manchester is far from focused on a single industry. Fashion, finance, tech, marketing, media, retail, hospitality, tourism, construction, legal and business services and more all thrive here.

But don’t feel intimidated by the crowd; there’s always room for more movers and shakers!

Whether you prefer to operate solely in-office, on a hybrid or flexible model, or a work from home basis, Manchester can work with you. There’s no shortage of co-working spaces. Plus, networking opportunities abound at the city’s many expos, events and conventions, held at high capacity venues, including a total of 15 arenas!

7. Manchester’s Government Support 🤝

Getting started, establishing your business, or getting an ambitious project off the ground sometimes needs a little help. Don’t worry; Manchester has you covered.

The Northern Powerhouse is a government-funded vision for a super-connected, globally-competitive northern economy, supported by initiatives to boost economic growth. Manchester has and is benefiting massively from this, making it the ideal environment for start-up success.

‍8. Manchester’s Lively Social Scene 🕺

Good news for those who like to play as hard as they work; when Manchester isn’t too busy being a serious business hub, in its spare time, it loves to entertain.

With countless bars, pubs, clubs, cafes, music and entertainment venues, restaurants and hotels, Manchester is a playground day and night. You could even take the team to see a Manchester United or Manchester City football match.

A city built for after-work drinks, bottomless brunches, and team-building events your employees really will thank you for, there’s no better place for blowing off steam.

It’s safe to say that with a move to Manchester, Christmas do’s get a serious upgrade.

9. Manchester’s Next-Level Digital Marketing📍

Last but not least, the most crucial motivation to make the Manchester move is a superior digital marketing strategy courtesy of dmt! 

With our comprehensive multi-channel approach to your online presence, we can help to grow and scale your business in style through paid social and Google ads, email marketing and Shopify web development. Plus, did we mention we’re the only official Meta Business Partner based outside of London? This allows us to offer an unrivalled agency experience at a much lower cost than competitors located down south.

With a five ⭐️  rating on Clutch & Trustpilot, as well as being a Drum Recommended Agency, you don’t even have to take our word for it!

So, when’s your moving date? 

Seriously though, we can’t rave enough about Manchester’s virtues or resist a shameless pro-Northern plug 😉

Whether you’re an intrepid start-up making disruptive moves or a big-money brand dominating the industry, a Manchester move is bound to be the making of your success. We can’t wait to welcome you to Manny! 🐝