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Infographic: Manchester - the UK’s startup city

Manchester is fast becoming perceived as the UK’s second city, after a business explosion in the past couple of years, spearheaded by a substantial media boom. As illustrated in this infographic by Alexander & Co, on the back of this rapid development, there are many benefits for fledgling startups in the city.

As referenced in the infographic, Manchester itself has a population of about 500,000, but this increases dramatically to around 2.7 million if you consider Greater Manchester, incorporating closely neighbouring towns such as Oldham and Stockport. All this means that, whatever your line of business, in Manchester there is a ready-made customer base on your doorstep.

The relocation of the BBC can take a lot of the credit for the transformation of Manchester into a city predicted to become one of the top five cities in Europe for startups. Since the corporation switched to Salford - technically a separate city from Manchester but in reality a continuation of the city - more companies dealing with media related functions such as PR and marketing have sprung up. A significant regeneration of many areas of the city centre, including Castlefield, and more recently, the famed Northern Quarter, have helped attract more revenue streams to the city.

A basement-low corporate income tax of 20%, facilitated by the UK government, has also helped turn the tide. But it is not just the financial benefits that make the city start-up friendly. Infrastructure and people power have a massive say, too.

The Metrolink tram system used to be a simple affair, running from Altrincham in the south to Bury in the north. But recent years have seen the station map become more similar to London’s Tube. Passengers can now enjoy links from Manchester Airport direct to the city centre, boosting business possibilities, and all the way up to Manchester City FC’s sparkling new Etihad Campus facility.

If human resources is a concern as a start-up founder, fear not. No less than four respected local universities means you can dip into the stream of graduate talent. Furthermore, as the infographic points out, you can benefit from the high-speed broadband that covers the majority of the city, and is widely available for free in public buildings, on the street and even on the tram - now that makes a change from the tube!

All in all Manchester is a young, vibrant and fast-growing business community which provides a fantastic home for your startup.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kat Kynes .