Number of Digital Jobs
Digital GVA
Digital Tech Turnover (millions)
Startup Births
High Growth Firms
Average Advertised Digital Salary

What's there

Manchester – mad for music, football and now, digital tech too.

Three universities have attracted big names including LateRooms and Auto Trader to the city, while according to GP Bullhound 28% of the 50 fastest growing digital tech companies in the North are located in Manchester.

MediaCityUK, home to the BBC and ITV Granada, draws in yet more talent. Manchester Science Partnerships’ Central Campus is home to more than 170 companies in the life science, healthtech, biotech, ICT, digital and creative sectors.

Elsewhere, The Sharp Project, SpacePortX and Innospace Manchester all provide space for digital tech entrepreneurs, while Rise Manchester hosts many local startups.

What's new

Last year, Manchester made it into the top 20 in the European Digital City Index for starting and scaling a digital tech business.

Two new accelerators, Wayra and Ignite, were launched, while Manchester City Council awarded two £2 million grants for the creation of two new technology hubs.

What's up next

Mi-IDEA, a new facility for tech startups and entrepreneurs is soon to open, while the £235 million Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials Research and Innovation is expected to open in 2019.

In other news, £10 million in government funding is being channelled into the CityVerve project to test IoT technology.

  • Paul Haydock

    CEO & Co-Founder, DueCourse

    What we do

    DueCourse lets you grow your small business by getting paid early on your invoices. Simply sync up your cloud accounting software, choose your invoice and we’ll send you the money the same day.

    Why Manchester?

    Competition in Manchester is low when compared with the saturated London market.This has helped us to establish ourselves as market leaders and attract the best talent early on.

  • David Levine

    CEO, DigitalBridge

    What we do

    DigitalBridge uses computer vision and machine learning to enable consumers to virtually “try on” home décor products. It’s a solution to the £1 billion “imagination gap” problem, when shoppers delay purchases because they can’t imagine products in their own homes.

    Why Manchester?

    Manchester is one of the world’s leading research centres for computer vision and machine learning with a great talent pool coming out of the universities. In addition, costs of living are on average 42% cheaper than those in London. Yet we can get to the capital in just two hours.

Economic stats

62,653 Number of Digital Jobs ?
0.63 Digital Concentration ?
£2.8 billion Digital GVA ?
17% High Growth Firms ?
898 Startup Births ?
£2.9 billion Digital Tech Turnover (millions)
47,349 Average Advertised Digital Salary ?

Standard of living

7.36 Life Satisfaction ?
£186,154 Average House Price ?
3.9 Housing Affordability Ratio ?

Cost of doing business

34 Commercial Rent Per Annum (£ sq/ft) ? JLL Property Data - Manchester

What local startups say is good

85% Tech Sector Growth Potential
75% Overall Quality of Life
69% Strength of Digital Economy

What local startups say is a challenge

69% Lack of Supply of Highly Skilled Workers
34% Retention of Skilled Workers
28% Limited Opportunities to Access Finance
Download more details on survey responses for this cluster