Manchester businesses confident of city's world-class status

Most companies in Manchester would describe the city as ‘world class’ when it comes to business, according to new research.

The study, commissioned by professional services consultancy WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, polled over 600 members of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and found that 78% of those surveyed considered Manchester to be a ‘world-class city’.

Comparatively, the same research was carried out with members of the Chamber of Commerce in Birmingham, where just 60% of respondents considered Birmingham to carry the same status.

Commenting on the findings, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Manchester director, Mark Hurley, said: “These results substantiate the claims that the people living and working in the city have known for a while, that Manchester is a world-class destination for business.

“Manchester has positioned itself at the heart of the devolution debate, and collaboration on improved road networks and high-speed rail featured high on the agenda going forward as local businesses realise how improving the region’s transport infrastructure is key in establishing the city as the heart of the Northern Powerhouse.”

He added: “The need for a skilled workforce is also important, and the opportunities presented by HS2 and 3, the various transport frameworks, as well as the burgeoning property market in the North, are key for us to retain local talent.”

The research also quizzed Manchester businesses on what they believed to be the top three measures that would encourage more enterprises to set up shop in the city. Nearly half (48%) said better road connections to other parts of the UK would strengthen the city’s business community, while high-speed rail came in second at 40%. Skills retention was found to be a priority, as the third-highest answer was maintaining Manchester as a ‘good base of potential employees’.

When asked about the ease of doing business in Manchester compared to other UK cities, 54% of the businesses ranked the city in first or second place. The Birmingham respondents were found to agree, only narrowly ranking Manchester (34%) behind London (at 37%) as a business-friendly city.