Manchester’s inward investment agency, MIDAS, has announced its half year results and claims to have facilitated the creation of 2,093 jobs in Greater Manchester across 48 projects during the first.
It says they are on track to exceed last year’s record of 4,067 jobs and more than half (1,114) came from priority sectors of creative and digital, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing
MIDAS chief executive Tim Newns, said he was delighted to report continued progress in what was still a tough but growing market.
“For the remainder of the financial year, as Manchester continues to establish its self-sufficiency on the national stage, we will focus on continuing to grow the pipeline and increasing activity in our priority sectors in order to bring vital new investment opportunities into the region.
“In recent months Greater Manchester has been at the heart of the Government’s attempts to establish a Northern Powerhouse, and developments such as the £235million Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials Research and Innovation and the £60million Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) will play a significant part in cementing Greater Manchester’s position as a global leader in advanced materials. This will enable us to attract innovative companies from a number of sectors who are looking to develop disruptive technologies in this field.”
The number of jobs created, safeguarded and relocated with support from MIDAS during the first six months of the financial year was 3,372, with a GVA (Gross Value Added) economic impact of over £197million.
Financial and business services saw the highest growth with 575 jobs created in the sector, more than half of which were the result of Towergate Insurance’s new offices in Spinningfields. This is also on the back of the recent investment by Ford Credit Europe.
It is notable that there has been a significant rise of investment from the three priority sectors of life sciences, creative and digital, and advanced manufacturing.
Creative and digital businesses have now risen to the second most valuable investment sector in the city region, with 522 jobs created. Bright Future Software, based in MediaCityUK, created 200 jobs alone.
