Report Highlights Strength Of City's Technology Sector

Manchester has fallen outside the top 10 in the league table of fastest growing city economies in the UK, according to a new report published by national law firm Irwin Mitchell.

The UK Powerhouse study is produced by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). It provides an estimate of GVA* growth and job creation within 45 of the UK’s largest cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

According to the report, Manchester’s economy grew by 1.8% in the 12 months to Q2 2017. The slowdown in the rate of growth, which has been attributed to the weak performance of the production sector, resulted in Manchester falling seven places, from 9th to 16th in the league table for GVA growth.

Stockport grew at 1.7% during the period. Across the Pennines in Leeds, GVA grew at 1.7% whilst in Liverpool’s output growth stood at 1.5%.

In a period where locations in the South East and the East of England dominated, Milton Keynes came top with GVA growth of 2.6% in the year to the end of Q2 2017 on the back of its booming technology sector and its track record for encouraging start-ups.

The report does highlight the strength of Manchester’s technology sector, revealing that the value of goods and services produced between 2012 and 2015 grew by 27%. This compares to a national average of 14%.

The report however raises concerns that the true potential might not be realised.

To ensure Manchester benefits from the available opportunities in the tech sector, the report advises a holistic approach and makes a number of recommendations. These include:

• Tackling the shortage of highly skilled employees by encouraging more women to enter the industry
• Investing and opening more ‘code academies’ to increase the number of people with the necessary skills in programming languages
• Establishing a plan that allows the existing data flows between the UK and the rest of Europe to continue before the UK officially leaves the EU
• Expanding the Start Up Loans scheme for new business ideas by providing financing deals which offer higher amounts on lower interest rates
• Changing the current UK entrepreneur tax relief scheme as it encourages small firms to sell out early and inhibits the number of businesses reaching unicorn size
• Funding knowledge sharing and skill building platforms, including events for new businesses to network and discuss ideas with successful technology entrepreneurs