Economy of Manchester

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See also: List of companies based in Greater Manchester

This article is about the economy in Manchester

The CIS Tower is one of the many company Headquarters in the city

Manchester's Central Business District is in the centre of the city, adjacent to Piccadilly, focused on Mosley Street, Deansgate, King Street and Piccadilly. Spinningfields is a large new business centre west of Deansgate that will serve as home to several headquarters, squares, and cafes. The first building on the site was the Royal Bank of Scotland's new headquarters^{[1][citation needed]} on Deansgate. The project is being spear-headed by Sir Norman Foster. Other buildings include a 110 metre tall office building, a new justice centre and new Crown Court, to be built over the next few years.

Just outside the city boundaries, a new business district is appearing in Salford Quays, featuring regenerated ex-shipping docks similar to London's Docklands, and headquarters and call centres for major companies. In June 2006, the BBC announced its hopes to relocate several departments to the Quays from London. Recently, Manchester has been regarded as the best and second best place to locate a business in the UK, ^[2][3] and the eighteenth best city in Europe. ^[4]

[edit] Shopping

The pedestrianised Market Street forms the core of the city centre's retail area. It is dominated on the north side by the Manchester Arndale and a branch of Debenhams. The city centre also has smaller centres including The Triangle, which caters to youthful and upmarket clientèle, and the Royal Exchange Centre. The Shambles includes Harvey Nichols, Marks and Spencer, and Selfridges stores, as well as a number of designer boutiques.

Sir William Siemens House on Princess Road, West Didsbury. It is head office for Siemens Automation and Drives

Deansgate also has many shops, including department store House of Fraser (formerly Kendals), along with pubs and bars. King Street is an affluent shopping area with exclusive fashion brand stores, as well as many notable buildings preserved in a conservation area. Other hubs in the centre include St Ann's Square, and Exchange Square.

Former stores include Lewis's, Henry's, and Affleck and Brown (now Affleck's Palace).

There are various markets^[5] held regularly within the city.

In the run up to Christmas, the Manchester Christmas Markets^[6][7] take over Albert Square, St. Ann's Square and surrounding streets. It started as a traditional German/French Christmas market, hence the large number of Glühwein & sausage stalls. This has grown year on year and boasts an increasingly wide range of stalls from Western Europe (such as Holland, Italy, Spain). The markets provide food and drink into the evening extending the use of the city centre and lending a friendly spirit to Christmas shopping.

[edit] Infrastructure

Main article: Transport in Manchester

Manchester is a central hub in the North of England for transport with the largest airport in the UK outside of London, Manchester Airport, and a very complex motorway network. The city is served by the Metrolink system which stretches from Bury in Greater Manchester through to Salford, Altrincham and Eccles.

[edit] Food and drink

Main article: Food and Drink in Manchester

Manchester has a range of restaurants, bars, and clubs, spanning the famous "Curry Mile" in Rusholme to traditional ‘grub’. The Chinatown area of the city features many oriental foods. Modern bars and bistros line Deansgate Locks in the city centre. In addition to these there are many independent fast food retailers throughout Manchester. There are now many top class restaurants.

[edit] See also

• List of companies based in Greater Manchester

[edit] References