A Year of Innovation, Growth, and Breakthrough Moments for Greater Manchester  

 

As 2024 draws to a close, we are thrilled to present a celebration of Greater Manchester's proudest achievements of the year.  

Just like Spotify offers a nostalgic look back, we're bringing you Greater Manchester Wrapped – a tour of the city-region's most impressive milestones, groundbreaking innovations, and game-changing developments. 

The past year has been a remarkable year for MIDAS and the city-region, showcasing why Greater Manchester continues to be a powerhouse of innovation and creativity.  

From being a global leader in advanced manufacturing, to pioneering life sciences research to the cutting-edge creative, digital and tech sector, to the ever-growing world of financial and professional services, our city-region has demonstrated resilience and growth. 

Here’s a lookback and some of MIDAS’ key news highlights of the year: 

Openings and Expansions  

Greater Manchester welcomed a host of businesses to the city-region in the last 12 months, these included:  

 

February  

April  

  • Stockport Welcomed Valloop: Leading the Way for Employee Ownership: Valloop chose Stockport as its newest location, underscoring the area's growing appeal as a hub for innovative businesses.  

May 

  • Aira's Clean Energy Hub: the Swedish clean energy-tech company established a new hub in Trafford, aiming to create hundreds of highly skilled jobs and contribute to their goal of hiring 8,000 clean energy experts across the UK. 

June 

  • DB Schenker's strategic investment: the logistics company opened a £11 million purpose-built facility at Trafford Park, demonstrating its commitment to the Greater Manchester area. 

September 

  • ID Manchester announced its new name as Sister: As well as a new name, the £1.7bn innovation district welcomed its first customer, Sustainable Ventures, transforming the University of Manchester's former North campus into a globally competitive innovation hub. 

 

  • BNY’s landmark move: the global financial services chose NOMA in Manchester as its new location, securing the largest regional office deal in a "Big 6" city in the past four years, signalling a significant vote of confidence in Manchester's business potential. 

October 

  • Channel 4's continued presence: the broadcaster expanded its footprint in Greater Manchester, occupying space in the No.1 St Michael's development and boosting the city-regions creative, digital, and tech sector. 

 

  • Virgin Media and O2 headquarters: announced plans to relocate approximately 1,500 employees to a new net zero carbon workspace on John Dalton Street in central Manchester by late 2025. 

November 

  • IBM's strategic move: reinforcing its commitment to the Greater Manchester region by establishing a new office in Manchester City Centre. 

 

  • Teltonika's UK expansion: the multi-national Lithuanian tech business opened its first UK base at Exchange Quay, marking a significant investment in localised support for the UK and Irish markets.  

 

  • Seda's Life Sciences breakthrough: A landmark expansion in Stockport, inaugurated by Mayor Andy Burnham, is projected to generate 100 jobs and strengthen the UK Life Sciences sector. 

 

These businesses choosing Greater Manchester as their location, underscores the city-region's continued growth and appeal as a business destination across the four key sectors. 

 

What’s to come in Manchester 

2024 brought a wave of new announced projects and developments to Greater Manchester. The significant investment announced across the key sectors, solidifies the future of city-region as a place to invest.  

Key announcements included:  

  • Atom Valley Expansion: Atom Valley is a £1billion megaproject which aims to create 20,000 jobs and boost Greater Manchester's economic clout. Rochdale Council this year approved a 42,700 sq ft sustainable materials and manufacturing centre at Kingsway Business Park, creating advanced manufacturing jobs. Atom Valley will partner in a national research hub with £11m in funding over seven years.  

 

  • £1bn Mix Manchester Scheme: The Manufacturing Innovation Exchange (MIX Manchester) adjacent to Manchester Airport is a major science, innovation and manufacturing campus. Manchester councillors approved the transformation of Airport City into an advanced manufacturing and R&D hub. 

 

  • Oldham’s 2,000-Home Plan: Oldham Council approved a 15-year framework for a residential-led town centre regeneration, with the first 295 homes’ proposals already in development. 

 

  • Kao Data’s £350m Centre: it was announced that construction has started on a £350 million AI and advanced computing data centre in Stockport, with the data centre set to become the largest facility in the North of England.  

 

  • SafetyCulture becomes a Unicorn: The global technology company, SafetyCulture, which helps organisations improve their daily operations, including workplace safety, announced they raised £85m, reaching a £1.3bn valuation to become a Unicorn, with 25,000 UK businesses using its platform. 

 

 

  • Manchester Digital Campus: A new Government hub will consolidate 7,000 civil servants in Manchester, enhancing its digital government role. 

 

 

  • Canopius Tech Hub: Canopius is set to open a tech and data hub at WeWork, St Peter’s Square, boosting Manchester’s tech sector. 

 

  • Manchester Airport Transformation: Manchester Airport Group (MAG) announced a £440m investment in its £1.3bn airport transformation, set to create 500 jobs and a number of new routes. 

 

Academia  

Greater Manchester made significant progress in education through new initiatives and partnerships. 

  • Cisco launched the Cybersecurity Skills Programmes: Cisco joined the Greater Manchester Digital Security Hub (DiSH) to enhance the region’s cybersecurity resilience, drive innovation, and support economic growth, making it a secure place to live, work, and study. 

 

 

 

  • New Weight Loss Medication Study: Health Innovation Manchester and The University of Manchester, in partnership with Eli Lilly, have launched a five-year real-world evidence study to better understand weight loss medication. 

 

Accolades  

It’s been a year of great achievements for Greater Manchester, including: 

  • Appeared in the 15 Best Places to Visit in the UK - TimeOut   

  • Manchester (alongside Liverpool) - ranked the 5th highest-ranking emerging ecosystem out of the top 100 (top 5%) based on performance, funding, talent, market reach, and knowledge, according to The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024  

 

If you’re looking to invest in Greater Manchester and be part of the 2025 MIDAS journey, please contact info@midas.org.uk to find out more.