The Greater Manchester delegation made a powerful case for the city-region's growth potential across two days in Leeds at UKREiiF 2025.

With the MIDAS team of Joe Manning, Niamh Keane, Kathryn Williams and Ian McCavery leading the charge, we connected with investors, developers, and policymakers to showcase the wealth of opportunities that continue to define our city-region as a national leader in inclusive growth and innovation.

The event began in style, with Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham welcoming attendees to a reception at The Canary. From there, Greater Manchester's senior leadership dispersed across the programme to engage with some of the most pressing challenges facing UK cities today.

Day One Highlights

The opening day delivered a series of compelling discussions that highlighted Greater Manchester's position in the national conversation around devolution, investment, and sustainable development.

One of the sessions saw Cllr Bev Craig tackle "The Politics of Devolution Development and Directives, Progress or Paralysis?" - a wide-ranging panel that explored the intricate relationship between local power and national policy. Craig's contribution was particularly noteworthy as she advocated for a more integrated approach to regional development.

“I would welcome a more holistic discussion on how devolution and collaboration can bring the plans together," she said during the panel.

“Plans on what we do with our brownfield and how to deliver the housing targets. To grow the economy, you have to work together and not be limited to borough and political boundaries.”

The day continued with the Greater Manchester Investor & Developer Afternoon Tea at Stanley House, where public and private sector leaders came together to explore the synergies that can accelerate regeneration and drive sustainable growth across the city-region. The gathering provided an intimate setting for conversations about the investment landscape and the collaborative frameworks that have made Greater Manchester a standout performer.

Caroline Simpson, Chief Executive for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, used the occasion to reflect on the city-region's journey and its foundations for future success.

“We're proud of the distance we've come over the last decade and we are bringing more and more productivity across the region,” she said.

“We've built strong consistent leadership with public and private partnerships that are dedicated to growth. I'm standing on the shoulders of brilliant public sector leaders who have laid the foundations for what we have now.”

The day concluded with a panel on "Translating Local Growth into Investment Opportunities", where Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham reinforced Greater Manchester's readiness to scale inclusive investment at pace. His contribution highlighted both the city-region's achievements and our determination to maintain momentum despite potential future challenges.

“It has been a successful decade for Greater Manchester, we are taking all that learning and taking it through to the next decade with the 10-year growth pipeline," Burnham explained.”

“With any hard turbulent challenges that may come on the horizon, we will fight to preserve what Greater Manchester has achieved, as the fastest-growing city-region in the country.”

Day Two Highlights

The second day maintained the momentum, with Greater Manchester continuing to lead important conversations about the future of investment, innovation, and infrastructure development across the UK.

A highlight was “The Future of Investment and Regeneration in the Great North”, where Cllr Bev Craig once again took centre stage.

Cllr Craig said: “What we've done now is shift the dial on that narrative, we're no longer talking about potential but achievements."

“The pride in our area, the work ethic of our people and our depth of history is proof of why we're the fastest performing economy in the UK.”

Another standout session explored “What The Cambridge and Manchester UK Innovation Partnership Means For The Science and Tech Industry.”

Lou Cordwell OBE from The University of Manchester discussed the groundbreaking collaboration between two of the UK's most dynamic innovation hubs, and how this partnership model could be replicated elsewhere.

“We've been on quite a journey to wire this partnership and this idea of wiring places together based on complementary, in terms of the clusters, similarities and ambitions,” Cordwell explained.

“The kind of partnership we're looking at is to build an ecosystem of connectivity with existing clusters - which is a real win for the UK not just Greater Manchester and Cambridge.”

This partnership exemplifies Greater Manchester's approach to growth through collaboration rather than competition, with the panel discussing the thriving life science sectors in both cities.

The day's discussions also addressed the critical importance of transport infrastructure in supporting sustainable growth.

Mayor Andy Burnham participated in a session exploring "new approaches to transport infrastructure in a decade of National renewal," examining the integrated thinking needed for future transport delivery across road, rail and joined-up solutions in this decade of national renewal.

Mayor Burnham, said: “We need clarity and certainty now so that we can start bringing the growth in for the likes of Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport and we need commitment from the government for the Liverpool-Manchester line to be built in the 2030s - with clear dates on when it will be ready, which will help drive the growth.”

A Platform for Continued Success

As the event wrapped up, the Greater Manchester delegation demonstrated across the two days, why our city-region continues to attract investment and attention from across the UK and beyond.

For MIDAS and our partners, UKREiiF 2025 provided an invaluable platform to strengthen existing relationships and forge new connections that will support Greater Manchester's continued growth trajectory.

The conversations, insights, and partnerships developed over these two days will continue to contribute to the city-region's ongoing success as the UK's fastest-growing city-region.