Manchester named top northern city in growth potential index

Manchester holds the most growth dominates the North for economic growth prospects

Manchester is the northern city with the best economic growth prospects, according to new research.

The latest UK Vitality Index from Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), the national commercial property consultancy, placed Manchester among the UK’s top 10 growing cities for the first time ever.

The report, which checks the economic health of each town and city outside London, weighing up their suitability for supporting sustained growth using indices such as entrepreneurship and productivity, also found Warrington (at number 13) to be the most improved location in the 2016 index.

The head of LSH’s office in Manchester, Abid Jaffry, said: “It is great to see Manchester in the top ten of this year’s Vitality Index alongside some of the UK’s most affluent commuter towns in the South East.

“Manchester was ranked the fastest growing location in this year’s report, reflecting the strong performance of the property sector, rising population and array of new businesses beginning to flourish in in the city.It was also ranked joint first for productivity.”

He added: “These statistics will give renewed confidence for the year ahead and for an even stronger performance in next year’s Index.”

Warrington’s year-on-year improvement in the index mirrored a trend seen across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse region, where the scores of cities and towns rose by an average of 10%.

Abid continued: “With the Government’s continued commitment to the Powerhouse, and the planned transport improvements coming through HS2 and the electrification of the Trans-Pennine railway, these are only likely to improve further in years to come.”