Over the past decade, the city has attracted major global players, produced a new generation of high-growth scaleups and built expertise in areas ranging from AI to cyber to healthtech.
A recent report from innovation specialist Capital Enterprise named Manchester the most popular UK city outside of London to start a tech business, with respondents citing its unique blend of world-class research, public–private partnerships and purpose-built infrastructure.
We sat down with Katie Gallagher, Managing Director of Manchester Digital, and Joshua Whiteley, Commercial Director at innovation-focused property developer Bruntwood SciTech, to find out why fast-moving tech companies are setting up shop in the city.
A growing tech ecosystem
Over the past two decades, Manchester has quietly established itself as one of the UK’s most credible tech hubs outside of London. But this wasn’t an overnight success.
“It’s definitely having a moment,” says Gallagher. “It’s a perfect storm of things that have been building for years.”
Much of Manchester’s strength lies in its unusual combination of historic homegrown sectors — such as fashion-focused ecommerce, rooted in the city’s heritage in textiles — and other curated specialisms.
That cross-cutting strength has allowed it to thrive.
The BBC’s 2011 relocation to Salford turbocharged the region’s creative and digital industries; meanwhile intelligence agency GCHQ’s 2019 opening of a new hub in the city seeded a fast-growing cyber cluster.
Today, the region also boasts strong fintech, healthtech and AI communities, reflecting both local university research excellence and a steady stream of homegrown founders.
“It doesn’t really have one specialism — it has lots,” Gallagher says. “That cross-cutting strength has allowed it to thrive.”
The talent pipeline
Talent is consistently cited as one of Manchester’s biggest draws for businesses. Not only is there a huge number of skilled potential employees being churned out of the region’s universities, but many choose to remain in the city after graduating.
With one of the UK’s largest student populations and universities specialising in relevant fields, Manchester is one of the UK’s best cities for graduate retention.
It's an attraction for inward investment into the city as well on a larger scale.
“The breadth of academic research being undertaken in the city makes it a bit of a hotspot for spinouts,” says Whiteley. “It's an attraction for inward investment into the city as well on a larger scale.
“And when you get those larger players inwardly investing in a place like this, and you're managing to retain those startups as well, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in terms of talent, it becomes self-generating,” Whiteley adds.
The density of research and industry has created a cycle that reinforces itself: large global players — from Accenture to Disney — invest in the city because of its talent pipeline, while their presence in the city helps convince graduates to stick around.
As a result, Gallagher says the local talent pool has expanded well beyond standard entry-level jobs. “Five years ago, a chief technology officer or tech lead might have struggled to find roles here,” she says. “That’s not the case anymore.”
Infrastructure built for innovation
If Manchester has the talent and the heritage, Bruntwood SciTech has been building the infrastructure to match. The company operates through a “triple helix” model, working hand-in-hand with universities, the NHS and local government to develop campuses designed specifically for high-growth and innovative companies.
Bruntwood SciTech’s approach is unique in property. Rather than providing generic office space, its innovation hubs and campuses run from a single coworking desk to enterprise HQs — with a strong focus on businesses in technology and science.
Our partnerships with the universities and the city allow us to tailor these ecosystems from the ground up.
“We’ve played a long, patient game,” Whiteley says. “Our partnerships with the universities and the city allow us to tailor these ecosystems from the ground up.”
Their latest development, a £1.7bn innovation district named “Sister”, aims to transform the former Manchester university campus site into a 4m sq ft innovation district with a focus on areas such as biotech and materials science.
A city that wants you to succeed
Beyond the data, buildings and investment flows, both Gallagher and Whiteley point to something harder to measure but impossible to ignore: Manchester’s attitude.
“It really feels like people want you to succeed,” Gallagher says. “It’s connected, collaborative, and genuinely supportive.”
You’re also in a city that’s pro-business, forward-thinking and incredibly welcoming.
Whiteley echoes this and adds a small Tourist Board–style flourish: “You’re an hour from three national parks, but you’re also in a city that’s pro-business, forward-thinking and incredibly welcoming.”
For founders choosing where to build, that combination of talent, infrastructure, community and quality of life is very hard to beat.
For more information about available workspace with Bruntwood SciTech, click here.
