As Greater Manchester attracts fresh investment, talent and national attention, Simon Donohue, head of SEC Newgate’s Manchester office, reflects on the people and industries that helped shape its success and why their contribution shouldn’t be forgotten.
Having championed the digital, media and creative sector in Greater Manchester throughout my career as a journalist and then as a communications and public affairs professional, it was exciting to see a recent article in the Financial Times about increased interest in a Greater Manchester presence.
I’ve been singing the city region’s praises forever, with roles at the Manchester Evening News, Marketing Manchester, Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership and Transport for Greater Manchester. Now other people are singing along and I’m taking that as a win.
A key factor in Manchester’s success has always been its warm welcome and inclusive culture.
For generations, people arrived here as undergraduates. Some decided to stay.
For the past few decades, they’ve come for the culture, creativity, collaboration and yes, because it’s more affordable to live here than in London.
Now they are attracted by career opportunities and devolution, including the launch of Number 10 North. They have heard about Greater Manchester’s defiant economic performance in recent years (the UK’s fastest-growing regional economy over the decade since devolution, according to GMCA analysis.) They have heard that the Manchester way of doing things might translate into success elsewhere.
Those arriving more recently are adding fresh energy and ambition to a story that has been decades in the making.
But indulge me in taking time to celebrate how the existing creative, digital and media community helped to build the foundations on which today’s opportunities stand.
Ask those who have spent their careers helping Greater Manchester to get higher – a reference to Oasis, our changing city centre skyline, and growth in comparison to other regions – and they will talk about hard-won battles to secure contracts, inward investment, relocation and devolution, central government funding, and sustainable long-term jobs for creative people.
They will recall dreaming of a day when a career in public affairs, media production or communications didn’t require a move to London.
Some will remember the days when Greater Manchester was the other home of the Fleet Street press, and birthplace of Granada Television, which in turn supported a thriving advertising, PR and media sector.
And how that creative and media sector flexed, evolved and redefined itself as the digital revolution forced firms to transform or die.
It’s brilliant that many of the established and start-up businesses I wrote about back in the day as the MEN’s media business correspondent are still thriving. They have been joined by a new generation of new companies with the same Manchester spirit: The Mill, Place North, The Hut Group, Nine Lives, BBC North, Media City, The Sharp Project and Space Studios. Even the home of Granada TV lives on as Versa Studios Manchester.
More civil service teams and government functions are being established in Greater Manchester, bringing good jobs in communications. There isn’t a day when we don’t see our city on screens large and small.
Our experiences at the heart of traditional media provided a perfect platform for today’s digital and tech sectors too. Started here in print, Autotrader is just one example.
None of this happened by accident, and I’m personally proud to have been part of Manchester’s story, working alongside politicians, business leaders and cultural ambassadors to shape what we now celebrate.
According to Invest Manchester, Greater Manchester is today one of Europe’s most dynamic creative and media ecosystems – a place where global broadcasters, independent producers, digital studios and cultural institutions sit side by side. The digital and creative economy is valued at £7.2bn, with 10,000+ creative and tech businesses, and more than 106,000 people employed in the sector.
Which brings us to the next chapter in Greater Manchester’s story. It’s brilliant to see the public sector supporting the creative and digital sector through initiatives including the Greater Manchester Production Fund, which is making £10.5m available to support local film and television.
If our story began battling back from the decline of traditional media, then walking with a swagger into a new era of digital and tech, we can only wonder what will be next as a city which is now serious global contender.
Of course we face new headwinds: From AI to global political uncertainty and economic instability.
But also new opportunities. The lesson of the past is that Greater Manchester will walk with a “can do” attitude towards whatever happens next.
And that is why we should make room for the spirit and experience that built modern Greater Manchester, while welcoming the people and ideas that will help to shape what comes next.
Simon Donohue is the head of the Manchester office of insight, communications and public affairs consultancy SEC Newgate. He has previously worked with the Manchester Evening News and in strategic communications roles within several public sector organisations in Greater Manchester.
