World Reports: Manchester Carving Niche As Euro Financial Base — Site Selection Magazine, January 2006

anchester, England, likely rings best in American ears as home to a renowned soccer team — Manchester United — or as a launching pad for rock bands — Oasis, The Smiths, Herman’s Hermits and The Hollies to name a few. In earlier years, the city was one of the world’s great textile manufacturing centers.

   City leaders are now seeking to build a perception of Manchester as a burgeoning European hub of financial activity. They have a foundation to build on as the sector employs more than 200,000 people, a figure projected to grow by 20 percent over the next decade. Co-Operative Financial Services has its headquarters in Manchester and employs 6,000. The city also has a Royal Bank of Scotland regional headquarters with 5,000 employees.

   The largest recent investment involved Bank of New York, which opened a major securities service center in 2005 and already plans to expand its original employment goal of 350 to 750 within the next few years. The city is targeting new investment from New York as well as London.

Donald Monks, Bank of New York senior vice president, says Manchester is an appealing location for financial services operations due to its communications and transportation infrastructure and its top-quality universities that provide 28,000 graduates annually. Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, believes the U.K.’s success is tied to the economic development of Manchester.

   Donald R. Monks, Bank of New York’s senior vice president, operations and technology, says his company’s journey to Manchester began several years ago when the bank formed a strategy for growth outside the U.S.

   “After 9-11, we became very big believers in the need for diversity of our operations,” Monks says. As part of that strategy, the company already had moved 1,400 people to a new 10-story building in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as selected Syracuse, N.Y., in 2004 for an $18.6-million, 800-employee service center.

   Monks tells Site Selection that the search for a new European growth center focused on finding a site in the same time zone as London, where the bank has major operations. Incentives were part of the equation, but not the deal sealer, Monk says. Without detailing specifics, he says they involve job creation and provision of job training.

   Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of the Manchester City Council, says for the U.K. to achieve its full economic potential, Manchester must do the same.

   “We see ourselves as filling an entirely complementary role to London,” Bernstein says. “Our continued success means it’s possible for London to go on to greater success.”

   New office space is plentiful in the city center with 5 million sq. ft. (464,500 sq. m.) in various stages of development since 2000. The financial services sector isn’t the only growth engine in the city. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) has big plans to create a BBC North complex which could create 4,000 jobs over the next decade.

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