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3 min read

Why is Manchester the UK’s most livable city?

Manchester is one of the most exciting places to visit and live in Europe. Situated in the north-west of England, Manchester is the second largest city in the UK, and the sixth largest city in Europe. Recent years have seen a dramatic growth in Manchester’s fortunes where urban redevelopment and increased economic prosperity has led to a population boom. Nowadays, the city has been a hot region for international commercial and property investments.

The British government has planned to make enormous investment into infrastructure in order to support the future development of Manchester.

As the largest airport outside London in the UK, Manchester airport is the ideal touchpoint for connecting with key destinations inside and outside the UK, providing up to 20 million passengers with flights to over 200 destinations across the globe.

Manchester Airport’s GBP 1 billion expansion by Manchester Airport Group and Beijing Construction Engineering Group aims to handle up to 10 million extra passengers per year. Manchester Airports Group said the investment will mean it “continues to thrive as a national asset”. The work includes improvements to Terminal 3 and creation of new shopping and leisure amenities.

The HS2 project, a £43m investment, will create 180,000 new jobs in the region, slashing journey times and putting London within one hour. Trains will operate at speeds of up to 250mph – faster than any current operating speed in Europe and would travel up to 14 times per hour in each direction between London and the north.

The transportation network connects Manchester to the world, making Manchester a rising star in the eyes of property investors.

Part of Manchester’s progressive attitude and youthful energy is fueled by the massive amount of students that attend its leading universities and colleges, increased to 400,000 students attending universities within an hour’s drive. Manchester has one of the largest student populations in Europe, this includes 20,000 international students that travel here from more than 180 countries

The University of Manchester is one of the eight most famous universities in the UK. With high ranking in the world, it is the top of the six Red Brick Universities and founding member of the Russel Group. Known by its preciseness in teaching and freedom in academic ambience, University of Manchester has formed its tradition to use innovation as leading thought for education and research. It is noted that many of the key scientific research results for the last century were originated from here, such as aeroengine and the working prototype of first computer in the world.

Apart from the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University owns the largest campus in Europe with 45,000 students.

University of Salford shows great care on graduate employment as its courses are set under the assistance of employer. As a result, 92% of its graduates can get a job or opportunity to study further in six months after graduation.

Royal Northern College of Music is a leading musical college in the world as the first choice for many artists in the world for show and music education.

70% of graduates deciding to remain in Manchester making Manchester the city with highest graduate’s retention rate in Europe. As cost of living here is lower than London, it makes living in Manchester more attractive. That’s a lot of skilled labor at a fraction of the price. The young age demographic is another driving force in creating a supply of rental properties in Manchester which constitute 60% of the city center’s housing stock.

The city has one of the fastest growing economies in the UK, with many major strategic developments backed by investors from around the world.

A key driver of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, it has successfully attracted national and global businesses such as the BBC, ITV, Amazon and Google to establish strategic sites in the city, resulting in real-estate values being among the most stable and rewarding in the world. 80/100 of the FTSE 100 companies have a presence in Manchester.

Just as Sir Howard Bernstein said, ‘’Manchester is increasingly recognized as a compelling proposition for investment and, not just the most attractive option outside of London but a genuine alternative to it. We are recognized as a dynamic, outward-looking international city and we are working hard to continue to attract such investors.”

Rapid development of economy and culture in Manchester attracted people and personnel from all over the world, which causes drastic demand for housing property. There has been 149% population growth in Manchester city centre from 2002 – 2015. In 2015 it stood at 540,000 but by 2022 it is expected to increase to 615,000.

In addition, 22,258 new jobs were created in Manchester by end of 2017. With Tech/Media as fastest growing sector, Manchester is home to the second largest cluster of tech firms in Europe.

Essentially not enough homes are being built to meet current needs.

Manchester council is aiming to build 25,000 new homes over the next 10 years that’s 2,500 per year. 2016 only saw 1,113 completions with previous years lagging much further behind. So, not only are we not meeting current demands but we are also playing catch up from years where there were next to no completions. The situation will not improve any time soon.

Current Rental Market in Manchester:

  • 63% of Manchester city residents center are private renters, 30% higher than the national average.
  • 2016 saw rents increase by 6.9%, with JLL predicting a 20.5% growth from 2017-2022.
  • Low vacancy rates. Currently Manchester’s occupancy stands at 97%.

Manchester has a celebrated history of world firsts, establishing itself as a city that paves the way with a wealth of innovations, economy and the ideas of society, produced over decades. A progressive city that split the atom, created the programmable computer, campaigned triumphantly for women’s right to vote and produced countless musical movements, Manchester is a city united, to be admired and replicated; not just in the UK but worldwide.

Get in touch today for more information about our Manchester developments.

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Mallam Grant
Ginny Wai 2
Conor Armstrong
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