A BUSINESS GUIDE TOENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

Manchester Liverpool Cheshire Lancashire Cumbria

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CONTENTS

IntroductionA welcome to Europe’s 12th largest economy.

Key Sectors 9An insight into the region’s key business sectors.– Advanced Engineering and Materials 11– Biomedical 23– Financial and Professional Services 31– Digital and Creative Industries 39– Energy and Environmental

Technologies 49– Food and Drink 61

Business Locations 65Five sub-regions each contributing to a thriving £120 billion economy.

Knowledge 89Leading universities and high business R&D expenditure.

Connectivity 103Comprising an excellent transport infrastructure.

Workspace and People 115Impressive workspace design and a diverse and well-qualified workforce.

Living 127Attractive landscape and rich heritage plus the cosmopolitan cities of Manchester and Liverpool.

Useful Contacts 151Map of the region.

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*All data correct at time of going to press, June 2009.

A BUSINESS GUIDE TOENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

This guide has been produced by the Northwest RegionalDevelopment Agency (NWDA) to provide a broad overview ofthe region.

It provides summary information and economic data onthe region’s business sectors, key locations, academic andresearch infrastructure, connectivity and quality of life.The guide is designed to provide at-a-glance informationwithin a handy pocket-sized format. It should be viewed as aprecursor to our Investment Services team offering potentialbusiness investors more detailed regional intelligence relativeto specific business location enquiries.

If your company or organisation is looking for adynamic place to do business, we can provide you with asmuch support and advice as you need about locating inEngland’s Northwest.

You can find more information about businessopportunities in the region by visiting our website atwww.englandsnorthwest.com or by calling us on+44(0) 1925 400 495.

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Driven by an economy bigger than 15 EU countries, England’sNorthwest operates on a truly international scale. ComprisingManchester, Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, itscompetitive business climate is home to some of the world’sbiggest companies that view the region’s strengths as integralto their long-term business success.

In pharmaceuticals, the region is home to an internationallyrecognised biologics community. In the digital and creativesector, it is Europe’s second largest media hub. In other marketstoo, the Northwest is a major force on the world stage –advanced engineering, nuclear energy and financial andprofessional services.

But economic success is only one part of the story; theregion’s quality of life offering is one of the best in the UK.With the vibrant and cosmopolitan cities of Manchester andLiverpool, first-class schools and universities, plus its varied andattractive landscapes, England’s Northwest is a compellingchoice for business location.

INTRODUCTION

“To me, the size of the Northwest’seconomy is such that it is not justan important factor to UK prosperity,it is now a major influence on thewider European stage”. Sir Terry Leahy Chief Executive, Tesco plc

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St Petersburg

Helsinki

Warsaw

IstanbulAthens

Tripoli

Tunis

Rome

Milan

BerlinParis

Dublin

London

Copenhagen

Brussels

England’sNorthwest

Oslo

1-2 HOURS

1 HOUR

2-3 HOURS

3-4 HOURS

4-5 HOURS

Stockholm

Rabat

LisbonMadrid

Moscow

PORTSLiverpool– One of Europe’s leading container ports,

a North Atlantic gateway.– Handles 32 million tonnes of cargo

annually, 700,000 containers.– Home to Liverpool Freeport, the UK’s

largest Free Zone with over 3 millionsq ft of logistics and warehousingfacilities.

– New Cruise Liner Terminal hosts theworld’s biggest luxury liners.

– Linked to Port of Manchester via theShip Canal. 15,000 combined annualship movements (both ports).

AIRPORTSManchester Airport– A global gateway handling over

22 million passengers each year.– Ranked as one of Europe’s top 20

biggest airports.– Direct routes to 210 worldwide

destinations, including 12 weekly flightsto USA/Canada.

– The airport’s World Freight Terminalhandles 166,000 tonnes of annual cargo.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport– Over 6 million passengers each year.– One of Europe’s fastest growing

regional airports.– Flights to over 60 European and

domestic destinations.– EasyJet and Ryanair have major

operations at LJLA.

Blackpool International Airport– Operates scheduled Ireland and

Mediterranean routes.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITYThe Northwest is a global business hub with 3 international airports and a major seaport.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATIONFACTS AND FIGURES

ECONOMYGross Value Added (GVA):£119.7 billion. Sub-regional GVA split:Greater Manchester 39.6%. Merseyside 16.3%. Cheshire 18.4%.Lancashire 19.4%. Cumbria 6.2%. GVA per capita: £17,433. Registered businesses: 252,443.

DEMOGRAPHICSPopulation: 6.9 million, ranked third inUK. Growth forecast: 2.3% by 2011. Average Gross Annual Earnings:£19,866. Population at working age: 61.8%. Employment rate of working age people: 72.3%.

KEY SECTORSAdvanced Engineering and Materials(includes Aerospace, Automotive,Chemicals and Advanced FlexibleMaterials). Biomedical. Financial andProfessional Services. Digital andCreative Industries. Energy andEnvironmental Technologies.Food and Drink.

EDUCATIONOne of Europe’s largest universityconcentrations. Universities: 12.Higher education institutions: 4.Further education institutions: 60.Graduates per annum: 65,000.Number of students per annum: 235,000.25.8% of the population have NVQ Level 4or above.

CONNECTIVITYAir: 3 international airports; Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool. Rail: Served by West Coast Main Line –designated a Trans-European Network(TENs) route. Road: Encompasses 25% of the UK’smotorway network.

HOUSINGAverage house price: £116,009(April 2009).

LANDSCAPE/GEOGRAPHYArea: 14,165 sq km. Stretching from Cumbria in the north toCheshire in the south. Almost 30% isdesignated as National Park or Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty.Coastline: 1,400 km.

The Lake District is England’s largestNational Park. In total, the region has:1 National Park – Lake District.3 Areas of Outstanding Natural

Beauty:– Solway Coast, Cumbria– Arnside and Silverdale, Lancashire– Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.

1 Heritage coast.32 Nature reserves.2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

– Hadrian’s Wall, Cumbria– Liverpool’s historic waterfront.

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M58

M57

M61

M66

M65

M62

M62M60

M60

M56

M56M53

M6

M6

M6

Bolton

LancasterHeysham

Barrow-in-Furness

Chester

Blackpool

Preston

Wigan

Warrington

Liverpool

Crewe

Carlisle

Kendal

C U M B R I A

L A N C A S H I R E

M E R S E YS I D E

G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R

C H E S H I R E

Manchester

Distance (miles) Manchester Liverpool Chester Preston CarlisleManchester – 34 41 35 120Liverpool 34 – 24 38 124Chester 41 24 – 58 144Preston 35 38 58 – 89Carlisle 120 124 144 89 –

England’s

Northwest

Glasgow

Birmingham

London

UK CONNECTIVITYThe Northwest benefits from an excellentUK connectivity network with 70% moremotorway than the national average.Manchester’s M60 orbital system and theM62 corridor provide fast connection tothe country’s main arterial networks.

RoadThe region’s road infrastructure is at thecentre of the strategic North-South (M6)and East-West (M62/M56) motorwaysystem. The Northwest offers smoothmotorway access to all of the UK’s maineconomic centres.

RailThe West Coast Main Line is one ofEurope's major inter-city routes. Over 100trains operate daily between the Northwestand the capital, with 47 services fromManchester Piccadilly to London Euston.The route is also one of Europe's leadingfreight routes, used by more than 2,000trains per day.

AirAll three Northwest airports operateinternal routes to other UK cities.The Manchester to London shuttle serviceoffers 164 weekly flights to the capital.

SeaBoth Liverpool and Heysham operate dailyfreight/passenger roll-on/roll-off servicesto Ireland and the Isle of Man.

MOTORWAY NETWORK

Rail times to/from LondonManchester 2 hr 5 minLiverpool 2 hr 9 min Chester 2 hr 2 minPreston 2 hr 15 minCarlisle 3 hr 20 min

Within the region

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With an economy of almost £120 billion – Europe’s 12thlargest – England’s Northwest is home to 252,000 businesses,over 3,000 of which are foreign-owned. In attracting overseasinvestment it consistently outperforms all other UK regionsoutside of London and the South East. It has become a primebusiness location due to its expertise and strengths in anumber of key sectors. A host of internationally successfulbusinesses have recognised the region’s capabilities inmarkets as diverse as biomedical, financial and professionalservices, advanced engineering, digital and creative industries,food and drink and energy and environmental technologies. England’s Northwest is:– A world leader in nuclear energy, with the highest

concentration of nuclear R&D facilities anywhere in the UK.– Europe’s largest biomanufacturing region and the

number one exporter of pharmaceutical products.– Europe’s second largest media hub, with a digital and

creative sector expanding at twice the national average.– The UK’s largest financial and professional services

centre outside the capital.– The UK’s largest aerospace and defence region,

generating more sales than any other.– The UK’s largest centre for chemicals production.

KEY SECTORS

Bentley Motors has been based inCrewe, Cheshire for over 60 years.Over recent times, our growth hasbeen dramatic and we have recruitedhundreds of new employees bothlocally and internationally across arange of disciplines; engineering,design, production and marketing.As our customer base has becomeglobal, so too has our workforce.All are proud to see Crewe as“the home of Bentley”. Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen,Chairman and Chief Executive, Bentley Motors

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ADVANCED ENGINEERINGAND MATERIALSThe region’s advanced engineering andmaterials sector encompasses four major,high-revenue industries; aerospace,automotive, chemicals and advancedflexible materials. In automotive, theregion manufactures three of the world’sprestige motoring brands. In aerospace,it is a world-class manufacturing centre.In chemicals, over 25% of the UK’sentire chemicals workforce is employedin the Northwest, whilst the region isone of Europe’s growth locations foradvanced flexible materials. Each of thesekey sectors has enjoyed a long andsuccessful history in the region and all ofthem have maintained their internationalcompetitiveness through continuedinvestment in knowledge and technology.

The Northwest hosts one of Europe’s leadingadvanced engineering sectors.

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13AutomotiveThe Northwest is the UK’s second largestautomotive region and consists of anumber of lean, precision-automatedassembly plants producing some of theworld’s most prestigious marques.

Bentley is a brand synonymous withluxury and precision engineering.Major investment in technology-basedmanufacturing at its Cheshire plant overthe past five years has helped thebusiness to increase sales significantlyyear-on-year, exceeding all historicaloutput levels.

One of the most advanced automotivefacilities in the world, the Tata Group’sJaguar and Land Rover Halewoodplant in Liverpool manufactures theJaguar X-Type and the Land RoverFreelander 2 models.

The newly launched Freelander 2TD4_e is the company’s most fuel-efficientmodel to date, and the world’s first SUVto feature smart ‘start-stop’ enginetechnology. Halewood has become amajor focus for Jaguar Land Rover’sconsiderable worldwide investment in

sustainable auto-engineering technologies.Employing over 2,200, the General

Motors’ Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port,Cheshire produces the best-selling Astrarange. The plant’s high efficiency ratinghas been recognised by its appointment tobuild the new generation Astra from 2010.It is one of only four GM plants aroundthe world awarded the project. InLancashire, the PACCAR owned LeylandTrucks plant has become the group’scentral facility for light/medium truckdevelopment and manufacture.

Servicing the main auto-manufacturingcentres is a major supply-chain thatcomprises over 200 companies. The 55-acre Getrag Ford facility – also withinthe Halewood corridor – is a division of theworld’s largest independent manufacturerof auto/manual transmission systems.In total the automotive sector generates anannual turnover of £9 billion, with 450companies employing 43,000 people.60% of output relates to overseas exports– twice the UK average.

AUTOMOTIVE KEY DATAAnnual turnover £9 billionGVA £1.8 billionEmployees 43,000Businesses 450Exports 60% of outputModels manufacturedBentley Continental and Arnage Series.Jaguar X-Type. Land Rover Freelander 2.Vauxhall Astra range.

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Over the past decade, almost £500 million has been invested inlean manufacturing technology at Bentley’s Crewe facility.

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Aerospace A pivotal international supplier, theregion’s aerospace sector comprises over800 companies generating an annualturnover of £6.3 billion – 75% fromexports. It is home to the UK’s largestconcentration of manufacturing andproduction, with turnover equating toapproximately one-third of the UK’s totalsector output. Lancashire, particularly,is an area synonymous with aerospacetechnology. During its 90-year associationwith aircraft production, it has overseendevelopment of major aerospaceprogrammes such as the NimrodReconnaissance aircraft project, theEurofighter Typhoon and the RB-211jet engine. In total, more than 100 aircrafttypes have their roots in Lancashire andthe wider Northwest.

The region boasts a large number ofmajor industry players including BAESystems and Rolls Royce. Both thesebusinesses operate major design andmanufacturing facilities in Lancashirewith BAE’s Warton and Salmesbury sitesrenowned as world-class leanmanufacturing facilities. Other leadingcompanies include Aircelle (part of theSafran Group), Unison EngineComponents (a division of GeneralElectric), APPH and Brookhouse.

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Northwest aerospace activity encompasses allkey design and manufacturing disciplines.Average employee GVA equates to £75.5k.

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AEROSPACE KEY DATAAnnual turnover £6.3 billionGVA £3.56 billionEmployees 48,500Businesses 800Exports 75% of outputKey businessesBAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Unison EngineComponents, Aircelle, APPH, Brookhouse.

On several levels, the Northwest’saerospace sector has entered a new era.BAE Systems is working on a jointpartnership with US companies LockheedMartin and Northrop Grumman to developthe F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter)short take-off/vertical landing aircraft.

The company is also working on anUnmanned Aerial Vehicles project(UAVs) to develop ‘intelligent’ non-pilotedaircraft. This, in turn, is linked to theASTRAEA programme – a nationalcollaboration focusing on the systems,

procedures and technologies requiredto allow UAVs to operate in nationalairspace. Similarly, Rolls Royce isleading a major programme to buildenvironmentally friendly aircraftengines, to reduce the impact of aviationon the environment.

Supported by all of the industry’skey players, a nationally acclaimedSupply Chain Excellence Programmeis also in progress. This will propel theregion’s supplier network towards world-class capability.

Northwest universities are workingclosely with industry on numerousinitiatives. One such project is theNorthwest Composites Centre. Thispartnership between four of the region’suniversities undertakes research andevaluation into high-strength compositematerials. New composites technologiesallow aerospace manufacturers to benefitfrom high-strength/low-weight materials ata viable production cost.

Generating £6.3 billion turnover, the Northwest’saerospace industry competes with world locations

such as Seattle and Toulouse.

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ChemicalsWith a £9.4 billion annual turnover –23% of the UK’s chemicals output – theNorthwest’s chemicals industry is a majoremployer with 51,000 professionalsworking in over 800 companies. Thesector is the largest in the UK with 60%of the world’s top 50 chemicalsmanufacturers based in the region –many of these concentrated in theimportant Warrington-Widnes-Runcorntriangle. It is also the Northwest’s largestexporter, with almost 60% of its output soldoverseas. Sector productivity is high withGVA equating to £55,000 per employee.

Overall, the chemicals sector entails arange of specialist manufacturing categoriesthat includes agro-chemicals, detergents,petrochemicals, plastics, coatings and

advanced flexible materials. Leadingcompanies include Unilever, Fujifilm,Innospec, PZ Cussons, Brunner Mond,Shell UK and INEOS Group. There issignificant R&D investment throughout thesector, whilst the region also enjoys astrong patent application tradition, with20% of all patents related to chemistry.

Successful industry-academicpartnerships in the region includeChemistry Innovation – the knowledgetransfer network for the chemicalsindustry – and leading research centressuch as the Organic MaterialsInnovation Centre (OMIC) in Manchesterand the Materials Discovery Centre atthe University of Liverpool.

CHEMICALS KEY DATAAnnual turnover £9.4 billionGVA £2.8 billionEmployees 51,000Businesses 800Exports 59% of outputKey businessesUnilever, Fujifilm, Shell UK, PZ Cussons, INEOS.

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With a workforce of over 50,000, the Northwest is the UK’slargest centre for chemicals manufacture and processing.

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Advanced Flexible Materials With 65% of the UK market, the Northwesthas the largest cluster of AdvancedFlexible Materials (AFM) manufacturers inEurope. This important and highlyspecialised branch of materials science iswidely regarded as ‘platform technology’–creating products and processes thatsupport present or future development,which in turn generates further areas ofknowledge and technology. Over 350Northwest companies employ 25,000 staffacross a sub-sector that generates£2.5 billion in sales, with 65% of outputexported overseas.

The AFM market serves much largertechnology-manufacturing sectorsincluding aerospace and defence,automotive, biomedical, environmentaltechnologies and chemicals processing.Its core technology is being applied tomany pioneering developments such assurgical procedures where wovenmaterials are being used in jointreplacement operations, supersedingtraditional titanium implants. AFMtechnology is also in demand from theaerospace sector where advanced fabrics

are used to enhance the latest generationof composite materials used in aviationtechnology. Close collaboration is alsoongoing with the automotive sector whereAFM manufacturers are supplyingengineering components woven from highstrength, ultra light carbon fibre in place oftraditional steel or aluminium parts.

Supporting the region’s AFM offering isa strong academic infrastructure. Inaddition to Materials Science departmentswithin leading universities, Northwestinstitutes are leading the research behindtextile and materials technology. Facilitiessuch as the Organic MaterialsInnovation Centre (OMIC) and theNorthwest Composites Centre carry outa range of studies into electronic textiles,3D weaving and coloration techniques.The University of Bolton’s Centre forMaterials Research and Innovation isconducting important work into flameretardant fabrics and medical textiles,while Manchester MetropolitanUniversity’s Department of ClothingDesign and Technology is furtheringresearch into high peformance sportswearfabrics and materials.

AFM KEY DATA Annual turnover £2.5 billionGVA £780 millionEmployees 25,000Businesses 350Exports 65% of outputMajor businessesSigmatex, Smartlife Technology, Lantor,RFD Beaufort, Caldeira, John Holden.

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A collaboration of four of the region’s leading universities, theNorthwest Composites Centre is heading the global research intocomposites technology and advanced flexible materials.

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BIOMEDICAL Europe’s biggest biomanufacturingregion, the Northwest is also one of ahandful of globally recognised biosciencecommunities. With almost £5 billion inannual sales, the Northwest is also the UK’slargest exporter of pharmaceuticals.The sector is concentrated within anintegrated biomedical cluster thatcomprises Liverpool, Manchester andCheshire. Over 200 companies operatein the sector, employing 20,000 highlyskilled workers in a broad range of lifescience disciplines including drugdevelopment, manufacturing, researchdiagnostics, medical devices andhealthcare products.

Home to 6 biomedical multinationalcompanies, the Northwest is also Europe’s

biggest biomanufacturing region.

BIOMEDICAL KEY DATA Annual turnover £4.9 billionGVA £2 billionEmployees 20,000Businesses 200Exports 50% of outputMajor employersAstraZeneca, Novartis, Lilly, Sanofi Aventis, MedImmune, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

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Some of the industry’s biggesthealthcare companies manufacture andexport their products from the region.From its manufacturing complex in Speke,Liverpool, Novartis has become theUK’s leading producer of flu vaccines forthe global market, whilst close-by,Medimmune produces the onlyattenuated live flu vaccine for worldwidedistribution. Also in Speke, USpharmaceuticals giant Lilly manufacturesa range of biologics – including humangrowth hormone – from the largestbiologics facility in the UK. AstraZeneca’scomplex at Alderley Park, Cheshire is itslargest global research anddevelopment facility. Employing 4,500staff, the 400-acre site is home to some ofthe world’s most distinguished biomedicalteams. AstraZeneca also operates a majormanufacturing site in Macclesfield,

comprising primary and secondaryproduction. Bristol-Myers Squibb’sPharmaceutical Research Institute inWirral is the company’s key clinical R&Dfacility for its UK and European activities.

Alongside business research activity,the region’s main universities continue tocommercialise their research expertisethrough a range of collaborativeknowledge-transfer/start-up initiatives.The University of Manchester IncubatorCompany (UMIC) enjoys an excellenttrack record of nurturing new biomedicalSMEs and spin-outs. UMIC offersaccommodation for fledgling life sciencecompanies in Europe’s first campus-basedbioincubator. Grow-on space for maturingcompanies is also available at theadjacent Core Technology Facility.Renovo, the UK’s largest biotechnologycompany, is based here.

AstraZeneca’s Alderley Park is thecompany’s primary global R&D facility.

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The Northwest’s academic base offersexcellent grow-on facilities for life

science SMEs and spin-outs.

The region has major strengths in itsacademic, clinical and research bases.Between them both, the universities ofLiverpool and Manchester have numeroushigh-quality life science divisions, whilstManchester’s School of BiologicalSciences is Europe’s largest of its kind.The Northwest is also the only regionoutside Oxbridge and the South Eastthat operates both generic and specialistDepartment of Health BioscienceResearch Centres.

The region is also home to a large andgrowing number of specialist researchinstitutes and organisations. Amongst

these are the Manchester CancerResearch Centre (MCRN), which togetherwith the Christies NHS Hospital Trust,forms the largest combined cancerresearch and treatment facility in Europe;the Northwest Institute for BiohealthInformatics (NIBHI); the Nowgen Centrefor Genetics in Healthcare, which seeksto advance the understanding of geneticmedicine and is closely linked to theadjacent European Clinical GeneticsReference Laboratory; and UK Biobank,a unique project to develop the largestinformation resource of its kind anywherein the world for medical researchers.

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“Our Liverpool facility is one of theworld's largest producers of fluvaccines and our ongoinginvestment is testimony to theexpertise we have assembled here.Undoubtedly, the region’s quality oflife helps us retain these skills, butjust as important, we find that theNorthwest’s international reputationas a centre for biomanufacturingexcellence helps us recruit additionaltalent from other parts of the UKand beyond.”John Sullivan, Site Head, Novartis Vaccinesand Diagnostics, Liverpool

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The world’s first medical institutiondedicated to the teaching and study oftropical diseases, the Liverpool School ofTropical Medicine (LSTM) remains at theforefront of globally significant researchprogrammes. A £23 million state-of-the-artresearch annexe – the Centre forTropical and Infectious Diseases – hasrecently been added to the site, whilst over

$50 million of grant funding has beensecured from the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation. This will enable the school tolead a five-year multi-million dollarresearch programme into the control andtreatment of malaria in Africa, Asia andLatin America. Currently, LSTM has over£100 million of total researchcontracts on its books.

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

KEY FACILITIES

Located in Liverpool’s Speke bio-hub, theNational Biomanufacturing Centre (NBC) isa £34 million product development andclinical manufacturing facility. Establishedas an international biopharmaceuticaldesign centre, its aim is to provide theresources and knowledge for life sciencecompanies and academic groups to bridgethe gap between laboratory science and

early stage clinical trials. This will helpcreate opportunities for further investment,and will also place product developmentwithin a robust regulatory framework. TheNBC acts as a beacon for the UK’s widerbiopharmaceutical design and processingexpertise, enhancing the country’s overallbio-sector competitiveness within theexpanding global marketplace.

National Biomanufacturing Centre

The NBC enhances the UK’s capacity tocommercialise and market bioscience innovation.

LSTM’s new Centre for Tropical and InfectiousDiseases will ensure the institution remains aninternational leader in education and research.

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FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONALSERVICES Employing over 320,000 people, theNorthwest is the UK’s largest financialand professional services sector outsideLondon. The sector encompasses retailand corporate banking, stockbroking,investment, private equity, wealthmanagement, insurance, law andaccountancy. Overall sector GVA is£11.7 billion – representing over 10%of the region’s total economic output.

The financial, accountancy and legalgraduate supply-chain is well served byNorthwest universities. In ManchesterBusiness School (MBS) and LancasterUniversity Management School (LUMS),the region has two of Europe’s leadingacademic business and managementinstitutions. LUMS is a world-rankedbusiness school; in the Government’slatest Research Assessment Exercise,75% of its research was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationallyexcellent’. MBS is the UK’s largestcampus-based business andmanagement school and was rankedin the world’s top 25 institutions in arecent Financial Times survey. Each year,22,000 students study accountancy,finance and business management inNorthwest universities.

SECTOR KEY DATA GVA £11.7 billionEmployees 320,000Major employersRBS, Co-operative Financial Services,HBOS, MBNA-Bank of America, RSA,Barclays, DWF, Halliwells.

The Northwest’s strength as a major financiallocation is endorsed by the fact that 65 of the FTSEtop-100 companies have operations in the region.

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Financial ServicesSome of the leading names in globalbanking and finance have establishedsignificant operations in the region; theseinclude more than 80 banks – over 50%of which are overseas owned. Recentinvestors include Bank of New YorkMellon, State Bank of India, DeutscheBank, Handelsbanken and Bank ofAmerica. These join a significant numberof blue-chip corporate and financial serviceproviders already conducting businessfrom the region across international

markets; brands such as Barclays, RoyalBank of Scotland and Co-operativeFinancial Services.

Manchester’s financial sector hascreated a strong demand for high-specification commercial workspace asmore international investors see the city as a regional European finance capital.Employing over 5,500 staff, Royal Bankof Scotland has a major bankingoperation in the city – including a base atSpinningfields, the city’s newly emerging

“The Northwest has proven itself asan ideal location to support theBank of New York in our Europeangrowth strategy. In addition to thequality of the established financialand business infrastructure, theready availability of talentedindividuals has allowed us to quicklybuild an 800-strong highlymotivated and committed team.”Jackie Williams, Managing Director, Bank of New York Mellon.

Since 2005, the Bank of New York Mellon has seenits business grow in Manchester to the extent that itnow has two major operational hubs in the city.

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and stunning financial district. In Liverpool,JPMorgan INVEST operates an assetmanagement and corporate pensionsdivision, further strengthening the city’sfinancial services sector. Over the past fewyears, Liverpool has also become asignificant location for wealth managementactivity. Both Barclays and institutionalinvestment bankers Panmure Gordonhave opened offices in the city, joiningother major private equity and fundmanagement specialists such as Coutts,Rathbones, Rensburg, Deutsche Bankand Midas Capital. In Bibby FinancialServices and Intrum Justitia, Liverpoolalso hosts two of the biggest factoring/credit management businesses in the UK.

A long-established financial servicesniche, Chester is home to majorbusinesses such as HBOS, M&S Moneyand the European HQ of MBNA.A division of Bank of America, MBNA’shuge credit card operation is supported bymore than 5,000 staff at its ChesterBusiness Park location.

The Northwest also has traditionalstrengths in the insurance and pensionssub-sector and is home to leadingbusinesses such as RSA, FriendsProvident, Direct Line and Royal Liver –one of the world’s oldest mutual assurancecompanies. The region enjoys an 11%share of the UK insurance market,employing close to 40,000 people.

Liverpool’s broad financial and professional services talentpool was an important factor in JPMorgan INVEST’sdecision to set up a major pensions operation in the city.

“Manchester’s size and reputationas a UK financial growth enginedictated our decision to establishthe Handelsbanken regionaloperations centre in the city.” Anders Bouvin, Regional CEO,Handelsbanken

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“We believe Hill Dickinson’s keyasset is its human capital. It is thetalent, experience and diversity ofthe people we’ve drawn from rightacross the Northwest and beyond,that has helped us create one ofthe UK’s largest multi-disciplinedlaw practices.”Peter Jackson, Managing Partner, Hill Dickinson

Professional servicesCovering accountancy, legal andmanagement consultancy, the Northwestis the UK’s largest centre for professionalservices outside London. Of these, anestimated 50% are based in Manchester.

From historically servicing mainly UK-based businesses, the Northwest hasbroadened its offering to become asignificant provider of professional servicesto major international organisations.This is reflected in the number of multi-disciplined accountancy and legal firmswith major operations in the region– Pricewaterhouse Coopers, BakerTilly, DWF, KPMG, Hill Dickinson,Deloitte, Halliwells, Grant Thornton andCobbetts. Between them, Halliwells andHill Dickinson employ over 1,600 staff intheir Manchester and Liverpool offices.

Many Northwest professional servicesfirms excel in niche categories. Theseinclude AIM listings, venture capitalinvestment, public-private partnerships,

fund/wealth management and sports,maritime and environmental law.

The region’s main universities operaterespected law faculties. These have builtclose working partnerships with Northwestlegal firms to cultivate a high-qualitygraduate supply-chain.

The College of Law is the UK’spremier legal education and trainingprovider for both prospective and qualifiedlawyers. Its Chester college helps developyoung talent to the high standards requiredby the region’s law firms. Such is the hugegrowth of legal services in the Northwest– a 25% increase over the past five years– a new 22,000 sq ft state-of-the-artCollege of Law has opened inManchester’s Piccadilly quarter. Majorfirms such as DLA Piper, Halliwells andPannone operate a wide range of internand placement schemes to help nurturethe working skills and hands-on knowledgeof the region’s law graduates.

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With major bases in both Liverpool and Manchester,Halliwells is now the UK’s fastest growing commerciallaw practice.

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DIGITAL AND CREATIVEINDUSTRIESAs Europe’s second largest media hub,the Northwest is internationally recognisedfor the innovation, quality and diversity ofits creative offering. Since the mid-1990s,the sector has expanded at twice the rateof the wider UK economy – nowgenerating just under £16 billion GVA;16% of the region’s total output. The sectorbenefits from a huge talent resource.Over 31,000 companies and 320,000individuals are employed within theindustry. Some of the world’s mostrespected media brands have majorbroadcasting bases in the region –complemented by a new generation ofhighly successful independent film and TVproduction companies. Right across thecreative economy, the Northwest is ahotbed of ingenuity and talent – fromcomputer gaming and ICT/softwaredevelopment, to advertising and marketingservices. Richard Florida, one of theworld’s leading thinkers on economiccompetitiveness and cultural innovation,recently identified Manchester as theUK’s most creative city and ranked it inthe world’s top-ten creative locations.

SECTOR KEY DATA GVA £15.8 billionEmployees 320,000Businesses 31,000Major employersBBC, ITV Granada, Lime Pictures,Sony Computer Entertainment Europe,Trinity Mirror plc, Guardian Media Group.

ITV’s satirical comedy series ‘Headcases’was created by Manchester’s BAFTA award-winning Red Vision.

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Film and TelevisionThe Northwest is a major centre for TV andmovie production. Manchester in particular,has enjoyed a long association withtelevision broadcasting since the advent ofthe medium in the early 1950s. Both BBCand ITV Granada have major regionalbroadcasting operations throughout the city.

The region has delivered some of themost exciting and innovative dramaproductions on British television. Itscreativity and ideas are exported acrossthe entertainment world through the workof companies such as Lime Pictures,Red Productions, Baby Cow andAll Out. Employing over 500 staff at itsLiverpool headquarters, Lime is now theUK’s biggest independent producer of

popular television drama outside London.Northwest creative talent is equally

strong in its producers, writers anddirectors. Jimmy McGovern, Oscar-winning Danny Boyle, Linda La Plante,Willy Russell, Alan Bleasdale, CarolineAherne and Steve Coogan have all createdsome of the most celebrated British comedy,drama and entertainment over recent years.

Complementing the Northwest’screative offering is a wealth of in-demandTV and movie locations. Liverpool,Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire andCheshire all have film offices to co-ordinateboth UK and overseas movie, commercialsand video production. The Liverpool FilmOffice was the first of its kind in the UK

and the city is still the most popular filmlocation outside London.

The region is also renowned for itsanimation/CGI talent. Cosgrove Hallis one of Europe’s most successfulanimation companies. Through classicchildren’s cartoons and animations suchas Danger Mouse and Postman Pat, it hasexported its work to over 150 countriesaround the world – picking up a clutch ofBAFTAs and Emmys in the process. Othermajor Northwest animation companiesand post-production houses include HOTAnimation, Red Vision and McKinnonand Saunders. The latter’s specialist CGIand puppet work is regularly featured inHollywood and UK productions.

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The Northwest is a leading location forTV broadcasting, film making and high-

quality post-production.

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Digital industriesThe region’s digital industries, includingcomputer games and ICT/softwaredevelopment, generate £6 billion GVAeach year with 6,000 companiesemploying upwards of 70,000 staff.

With one of the UK’s largest gamesindustries, the Northwest is at the cutting-edge of design and development, withLiverpool in particular an internationallyrecognised location. It is home to theEuropean headquarters of Sony ComputerEntertainment Europe – one of theworld’s biggest games manufacturers.Its Liverpool studio has developed some of

the most popular titles within the brand’sPlayStation games portfolio.

Other major players investing inNorthwest creative talent include LosAngeles-based THQ who acquired JuiceGames in Warrington, and Santa Monica-based Activision who purchasedLiverpool’s Bizarre Creations. Sony hasalso acquired Runcorn-based EvolutionStudios, developers of the best-sellingPS3 Motor Storm and Pursuit Force titles.

Over recent years, ICT and softwaredevelopment have become one of theregion’s highest growth export areas.

Lancashire is home to the UK headquartersof Promethean, one of the world’sleading developers of educational softwareand interactive teaching technologies.

Employing 400 ICT specialists, US-based Computer Sciences Corporation(CSC) has established a major operationscentre in Liverpool. CSC is upgrading theNHS patient records system for theNorthwest and West Midlands regions.Worth £1.2 billion, the 10-year contract ispart of the world’s largest civil IT project.

In digital communications and e-commerce, the region is home to some

Over the past 20 years, Liverpool hasplayed a major role in the growth of the

UK’s computer games industry.

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of the UK’s most innovative businesses.Both Manchester and Liverpool ScienceParks host clusters of new media agencies,each strengthened by high qualitygraduate streams. Web agencies such asRippleffect, Mando and CodeComputerLove are working with some ofthe UK’s biggest companies as themomentum behind e-commerce and onlineactivity continues. Over 300 media andICT courses are available within the region’smain universities, demonstrating the depthof resource and talent continually feedinginto this thriving sector.

45Publishing

Employing 8,000 people across theregion, the Northwest’s publishing sub-sector includes leading names suchas Guardian Media Group and TrinityMirror who between them publishregional news titles such as ManchesterEvening News, Liverpool Daily Post andthe Liverpool Echo. The MEN has the UK’slargest circulation of any regional

newspaper, while Trinity Mirror isEurope’s largest regional newspaper group.Additionally, German print group Prinovishas set up Europe’s most advancedhigh-volume gravure press at Liverpool’sInternational Business Park. Employingover 400 print technicians, thepurpose-built 65,000 sq metre complex isdesigned to facilitate fast-track expansion.

Marketing and creative servicesGenerating over £1.25 billion GVA, theNorthwest is the UK’s largest advertising,design and marketing centre outsideLondon. Several multinational advertisingand communications groups have majoroffices in the region – McCann Ericksonin Cheshire and TBWA and CheethamBell/JWT in Manchester. These agencieshandle high-spend advertising andcommunications accounts for some ofthe UK’s leading consumer and tradebrands, with McCann Erickson recognisedas a leading healthcare and

pharmaceutical marketing specialist.In addition, several international mediabuying agencies are based in the region – mediaedge:cia, PHD North andMediaVest, the largest media buyeroutside of London. Although smaller inscale than the London advertising sector(one of the world’s biggest), the Northwestadvertising and communications industryfeatures regularly in the UK’s topawards for creative excellence andsales effectiveness.

Since the mid-1990s, the Northwest’s digitaland creative sector has expanded at twice therate of the UK economy.

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“In Salford, the BBC hascommitted to establishing the UK’slargest production centre outsideLondon. This state-of-the-art high-definition broadcasting centre willbe at the heart of MediaCityUK.The aim is to be a catalyst forchange and regeneration that willbring new opportunities to talentedindividuals all over the region.”Caroline Thomson, Chief Operating Officer, BBC

MediaCityUKLocated in Salford Quays, Manchester,MediaCityUK is the country’s firstpurpose-built, large-scale ‘convergentmedia’ complex. The BBC has identifiedthe site as a major cornerstone of itsdevelopment strategy for the next twodecades by relocating five London-baseddepartments to the site by 2012. Theseinclude BBC Sport, Radio 5 Live, FutureMedia and Technology and Childrens’Learning. Once complete, MediaCityUKwill be the biggest of its type in Europeand will rival a handful of globallysignificant projects also currently underconstruction in locations such as Dubai,Seoul and Singapore. The iconic 200-acre‘mini-city’ will house over 1,000 media-related businesses in a striking cluster ofsteel and glass buildings and state-of-the-art media facilities. Designed around anadvanced digital content and technologyplatform, the project will boast theUK’s largest HD-broadcast capability.An education partner with the BBC, theUniversity of Salford is creating aninnovation, learning and research faculty onsite. Designed with postgraduate researchand business-led collaboration in mind, thefacility will contain broadcast and digitalmedia zones, a virtual laboratory andperformance-creative space for teachingand project-based research and learning.Once complete, the MediaCityUK projectwill create employment for 15,000 skilledcreative and production staff.

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MediaCityUK will help global mediabrands such as the BBC further extendtheir international activities.

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTALTECHNOLOGIESEmploying more than 50,000 people andwith a turnover of £6.5 billion, theNorthwest’s energy and environmentaltechnologies sector makes a vitalcontribution to the region’s economy.With approximately 3,000 companieswithin the supply-chain, the Northwest hasworld-class skills in a range of keyenergy technologies. In particular, WestCumbria has become an internationalcentre for nuclear technology with 50%of the UK’s workforce concentratedthere. In Sellafield, it has the UK’s mostadvanced nuclear facility, employing10,000 highly skilled workers across keyproduction disciplines. In other areas too,the Northwest is a major contributor tothe national energy supply. In offshore oiland gas production, 18 fields supply12% of the UK’s natural gas requirements;and in environmental technologies, over100 renewable energy companies aredeveloping the next generation ofsustainable energy systems and servicesto capitalise on the Northwest’s sizeablewind and tidal resource.

The Northwest’s nuclear sector is playing akey role in the UK Government’s £70 billiondecommissioning programme.

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51NuclearA world pioneer of nuclear energy, theNorthwest is home to one of the world’slargest concentrations of nuclearfacilities and expertise. Over 25,000skilled professionals – half of the UK’stotal nuclear workforce – are employedin 300 companies across the region.Combined turnover of the sector’s keySite Licence Companies is approximately£3 billion each year. The Northwest hasan internationally renowned skills-baseand is unique in that nearly all primaryaspects of the nuclear fuel cycle arerepresented – fuel enrichment at UrencoUK, Capenhurst; fabrication and uraniumconversion at Springfield Fuels,Lancashire; electricity generation at theBritish Energy, Heysham plants; and

fuel reprocessing, waste management(MOX fuel fabrication and decommissioning)at Sellafield. The sector is dominated byoperations in West Cumbria, singularly theUK’s most important nuclear location andhome to Sellafield. Together with facilitiesat Calder Hall, Windscale and thenational Low Level Waste Repositorynear Drigg, Sellafield employs over 10,000staff. The recent formation of theNational Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)within the Sellafield complex – from theamalgamation of Nexia Solutions and theBritish Technology Centre – will providethe nuclear industry with training, researchand a national support structure, with astrong emphasis on the decommissioningprocess. The NNL is the UK’s only

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SECTOR KEY DATA Annual turnover £3 billionEmployees 25,000Businesses 300Main sitesSellafield, Heysham, Windscale, Drigg,Capenhurst, Calder Hall, National LowLevel Waste Repository.Key InstitutionsNuclear Decommissioning Authority,National Nuclear Laboratory, NuclearRegulation Group, HSE NuclearDirectorate, National Skills Academy,Energus, British Technology Centre.Leading companiesBritish Energy, Nuclear ManagementPartners, AMEC, Aker Kvaerner, Nuvia,Fluor, Doosan Babcock, AREVA, URSWashington, Westinghouse, Urenco UK.

50% of the UK’s civil nuclear workforceis based in the region.

dedicated R&D facility for analysis andtesting of highly active nuclear material.Additionally, all of the UK’s non-radioactivetest-rig work is now incorporated withinits remit.

The Northwest is also a key locationfor the sector’s regulatory infrastructure.The HSE Nuclear Directorate is basedin Liverpool, while the EnvironmentAgency’s Nuclear Regulation Group issituated in Cumbria. The region and itsbusinesses are also playing a critical rolein the Government’s long-term plan for thenation’s nuclear energy supply – both inthe £70 billion decommissioningprogramme and the new-build strategy.Exemplifying its specialist status, WestCumbria is also home to the headquarters

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“When the Government createdthe NDA in 2004, West Cumbriawas the natural choice for its HQand centre of operations. Ourpresence here not only places us atthe very heart of the UK’s nuclearenergy industry, we’re also situatedin one of the world’s leadinglocations for nuclear technology,science and innovation.”Richard Waite, CEO,Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

of the Nuclear DecommissioningAuthority (NDA), responsible foroverseeing safe decommissioning at UKsites. Almost 60% of the NDA’s annual£2.8 billion budget is expended in theNorthwest – primarily at Sellafield, whichaccounts for £1.4 billion of expenditure.NDA’s opening up of the market tocompetition is presenting many opportunitiesfor the region’s major industry specialists.These include businesses such as AMEC(one of the UK’s largest nuclearengineering companies), Aker Solutions,Nuvia, Fluor, Doosan Babcock and theWashington division of URS Corporation.The NDA has also appointed NuclearManagement Partners (NMP) as thenew Parent Body Organisation to manage

all operations at Sellafield previouslyowned and administered by BNFL. NMP isa consortium comprising AMEC, AREVAand URS Washington.

Helping businesses meet thechallenges of decommissioning and new-build is the new National Skills Academyfor Nuclear. Sited in Cumbria, this keyproject will deliver a national frameworkfor education, training and skills acrossthe sector. Its flagship delivery arm, thenew £19 million Energus facility, islocated at nearby Lillyhall.

Northwest institutions enjoy a wealth ofexpertise in academic research andnuclear science. Amongst these, theDalton Nuclear Institute is the mainfocal point for Manchester’s highly

regarded nuclear academic base.Collaborating with international bodies andresearch partners, it aims to become aworld-leading centre of nuclear researchand education. The institute is also in theprocess of establishing its Centre forNuclear Energy Technology (C-NET)in West Cumbria. This joint initiative withthe University of Manchester and theNDA will help professionals develop arange of skills for the global nuclearindustry, whilst providing specialistfacilities for advancing research intoradiation sciences and engineeringdecommissioning. The universities ofLiverpool, Central Lancashire andLancaster are other key HE institutionswith acknowledged nuclear expertise.

Besides its partnership with other world-leading research foundations, the DaltonNuclear Institute is involved in numerous

inter-university research assignments.

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Based at Sellafield, the NNL offerscommercial partners world-leading

scientific research and nuclear knowledge.

The British Technology Centre andthe National Nuclear LaboratoryThe British Technology Centre (BTC) is theUK’s flagship nuclear research anddevelopment facility and focal point of thenewly formed National Nuclear Laboratory(NNL). This £250 million investment atSellafield signals the Government’scommitment to protect the UK’s nuclearcapability, but is also a clear recognitionof the knowledge, infrastructure andexpertise prevalent throughout theNorthwest. As the key operational hub ofNNL, BTC is involved in a broad range ofR&D activity – in addition to training andfacilities support. Its research programmesencompass key deliverables such asreactor design and build, system stability,fuel processing, generation, fabricationand decommissioning. Within its nationalremit, NNL is also developing the UK’snuclear science and facilities-base throughthe creation of strategic technology andenvironmental programmes. Its activitieswill raise the sector’s expertise levels, thusenhancing national nuclear performanceto ensure the UK’s lead position within theinternational energy arena. As well as itsmain Central Laboratory at Sellafield, NNL’sother research facilities include those atPreston (based on the Springfields site),Windscale and Workington.

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Environmental TechnologiesEnvironmental technologies and servicesis one of the Northwest’s fastest growingsectors. Up to 1,500 companies operatefrom the region, developing products,expertise and knowledge for the globalmarket. 53,000 employees work across arange of disciplines including wastemanagement, energy efficiency, recycling,land remediation and renewable energy.With its technology and services exportedaround the globe, Warrington-based UnitedUtilities is the UK’s largest operator ofwater and wastewater networks. In therenewables sub-sector, the region has afast-growing innovation base, developingassets and services for wind, biomass,wave and tidal power initiatives. TheNorthwest’s wind potential is estimated tobe worth over £3 billion each year –additional onshore/offshore wind projectsplanned for 2010 will supply the regionwith enough electricity to power a city thesize of Manchester.

The Northwest’s enviable geographicallocation offers huge tidal power potential.By capitalising on its tidal assets, theregion will make a substantial contributiontowards the UK’s renewable energy targets.

Recent research by the Northwest TidalEnergy Group suggests that energy fromthe Irish Sea could support almost 50% ofthe region’s total electricity needs, or 6%of national demand. Key tidal projectsare currently underway on the MerseyEstuary, Solway Firth and at Morecambe’s‘Bridge across the Bay’. With the supportof four of the UK’s electricity distributioncompanies, the Energy InnovationCentre at Capenhurst helps start-upbusinesses to develop new ideas intocommercially viable projects – particularlythose relating to power transmission anddistribution, energy efficiency andrenewables. Several of the UK’s keyenvironmental research institutes operatefrom the region. The Joule Centre,based at the University of Manchester, is anational centre of excellence for researchand development into low-carbon wave,tidal and micro-hydro technologies.Housing the largest concentration ofenvironmental scientists in Europe,Lancaster University’s EnvironmentCentre is the UK’s main integratedresearch, teaching and knowledge facilityfor environmental science. The complex

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SECTOR KEY DATA Annual turnover £3.5 billionEmployees 53,000Businesses 1,500Main companiesVestas, Peel Energy, AMEC, Westinghouse,Scottish Power, United Utilities,Scottish and Southern Energy, ElectricityNorthwest. URS Washington, Urenco UK.

Providing first-class product development facilities tostart-ups, the Energy Innovation Centre also offers wide-ranging support from industry and the academic sector.

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also houses the Centre for Ecology andHydrology, an important focus forscientific research into both terrestrial andfreshwater ecosystems. Based at theUniversity of Manchester, Tyndall-Manchester is a part of the UK-wideTyndall Centre – an influential, multi-disciplinary research network that bringstogether leading academics, economists,engineers, ecologists and social scientiststo develop long-term and sustainablepolicies to meet the carbon emission andclimate change challenge.

In marine research, the ProudmanOceanographic Laboratory in Liverpoolcarries out world-leading research andmonitoring of storm surges responsiblefor flooding, global sea level rises, oilspill movements and dispersal ofpollutants. The facility is responsible forthe raising and lowering of London’sThames Barrier and also hosts theBritish Oceanographic Data Centre,one of the world’s most important andcomprehensive libraries of ocean data.

“An inflow of talented engineering,science and technology graduatesis vital to an organisation like ours.The strength of this region’sinternationally acknowledgeduniversity infrastructure is a majorasset to us and a key advantage forexpanding our range of commercialactivities in the future.”Robert DavisManaging Director, EA Technology

With its considerable wind resource, the regionhas become a leading centre for onshore/offshorerenewable energy development.

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FOOD AND DRINK With an overall sector turnover of£9.5 billion, the Northwest is the country’slargest food and drink-producingregion. It generates approximately 14% ofthe Northwest’s total income, employing103,000 people across 2,000companies – the UK’s highestconcentration of food and drinkmanufacturing businesses.

The Northwest is home to some of thebiggest international food brands includingKellogg’s, United Biscuits, McVities,Nestlé, Fox’s, Princes Foods, Warburtonsand Patak Foods. Heinz’s 55-acre site inWigan is the largest food processingplant in Europe. In the drinks and spiritsmarket, major businesses such as InBev,Halewood International, G&J Greenall andNichols/Vimto also run large-scaleoperations from the region.

The region boasts broad expertise ina number of food manufacturing areasincluding dairy produce, foodstuffs, redmeat, milling, cereals processing andspeciality/regional food production.Population expenditure on food anddrink in the region is almost £20 billioneach year.

The Heinz ‘super-plant’ in Wigan has its owndistribution facility to accommodate the1.34 billion cans produced annually.

SECTOR KEY DATA Annual turnover £9.5 billionEmployees 103,000Major employersKelloggs, Heinz, Halewood International,Warburtons, United Biscuits, Nestlé.

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In addition to its food productioncapabilities, the Northwest is leading theway in several key categories of foodscience and technology including hygiene,food traceability and lean manufacturing.In advanced food packaging, companiessuch as Alcan in Cumbria and QuinnGlass in Cheshire are international leaders.Other major exporters include Kappa,SCA and Mondi – producers of innovativecorrugated packaging materials. From itsresearch facility in Cumbria, InnoviaFilms is currently developing a range oftechnologies and materials to increase thequality levels of environmentally-friendlyfood labelling and wrapping within thewider food packaging industry.

Cumbria is also the location for theFood Technology Centre (FTC). Based atRedhills, this unique business incubationcentre provides the latest food and drinkmanufacturing facilities for SMEs acrossthe sub-region. The FTC houses fiveprofessionally equipped commercialkitchen units, together with sharedambient, chiller and freezer storage areas.In addition, the centre also offers anautomated packing and labelling line forthe benefit of regional producers, as wellas a fully operational logistics hub for fastnationwide distribution.

Continuous investment in manufacturing systems and technology hashelped Manchester-based Victoria Foods to maintain its position as one

of the leading ‘own label’ suppliers to the UK’s supermarket sector.

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England’s Northwest consists of five diverse sub-regions.Manchester has the largest economy and populationwith its growth over the past decade fuelled by an influx ofmajor businesses, elevating its economy and corporatestructure to an international level. The continuingrenaissance of Liverpool is reshaping its iconic skyline.Major projects are attracting new investors to itsestablished business base. A long-established knowledgeand finance centre, Cheshire’s other key sectors –automotive engineering and chemicals – continue togenerate billions in exports. An area rich inmanufacturing tradition, Lancashire is a global defenceand aerospace location, whilst Cumbria enjoys adiversified economy with its world-renowned nuclearsector, shipbuilding and tourism making a majorcontribution to its economic output.

BUSINESS LOCATIONS

‘‘If a business is to competeinternationally, then I truly believe itneeds to base itself in a region thathas the energy and confidence totest its skills and knowledge againstthe very best. History clearlydemonstrates the Pilkington businesscouldn’t be better located.”Stuart Chambers, Group Chief OperatingOfficer, Pilkington NSG

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MANCHESTERInternational in its outlook and ambition,Manchester is the UK’s fastest growingcity-region. Modern and cosmopolitan, it isredefining itself through its urban style andcommercial growth. With a £45 billion GVAit is the driving force behind the Northwest’swider economic success. The 2008Cushman & Wakefield European CitiesMonitor ranked Manchester as one of thebest cities in Europe to locate abusiness, eclipsing many establishedEuropean capitals. It is no surprise that 65of the UK’s top 100 companies have apresence in the city and 40% of the

Northwest’s top 500 companies are alsobased there.

Manchester is particularly strong ina number of leading industry sectorswhose rapid expansion has beeninstrumental in its continued growth. It isthe UK’s largest financial and professionalservices centre outside London.Accounting for 7% of the country’s totaloutput in this sector, it is home to someof the biggest financial institutions in themarket with Barclays, Bank of New YorkMellon and the Royal Bank of Scotland,all overseeing major operations in the city.

Over 2,000 foreign-owned businesseshave made a major contribution to

Manchester’s economic growth.

“In the top 20 European cities tolocate a business ...”Cushman & Wakefield,European Cities Monitor, 2008

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69Manchester’s reputation as an

international media hub has been furtherenhanced by the construction ofMediaCityUK in Salford Quays. This majorscheme is one of just a handful of similarlarge-scale ‘convergent media’ projectsaround the world. When fully operational,over 1,000 companies – including fivemajor BBC broadcasting departments –and 15,000 industry employees will bebased in this state-of-the-art medialocation. Such is the scale of MediaCityUK,it is expected that other global mediabrands will join the BBC as high-profiletenants, managing their pan-Europeanoperations from the 200-acre complex.

Manchester is also home to a rapidlyexpanding biomedical communitycomprising internationally renowned

academic and clinical research strength.It boasts expertise in specialist areas suchas tissue regeneration, bioinformatics andclinical trial processes. Leading businessessuch as Avecia, Renovo and Intercytexare based here as well as the UK Biobank,the largest genetic database of its type inthe world. In addition, the University ofManchester’s Core Technology Facilitysupports the commercial exploitation ofuniversity research activity.

Accommodating the city’s expandingcorporate infrastructure are some of theUK’s most imaginative and strikingcommercial property schemes.Spinningfields is one of the mostsignificant developments in Europe,offering a collection of high-quality office-led/mixed-use buildings of international

status in the heart of Manchester’sbusiness district.

The project’s scale is hugely impressivewith a total offering of 4.5 million sq ft –2.5 million sq ft of which is office space,all Grade A. The scheme’s design andsustainability have been recognised witha series of UK and international accoladesincluding a Civic Trust award, plusseveral RIBA awards for the new CivilJustice Centre. This impressiveconstruction was also shortlisted for theprestigious Sterling Prize.

The city also enjoys excellentconnectivity. Accommodating threeinternational-domestic terminals,Manchester Airport is the major gatewayfrom the North of England. It serves moreworldwide destinations than any other UK

A modern and vibrant city,Manchester is rich in culture andenjoys an excellent quality of life.

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MANCHESTER KEY DATA GVA £44.78 billionGVA per head £17,535Population 2.56 millionPopulation % under 16 yrs 19.6Average weekly pay £373.7Average house price(April 2009) £108,520% of pupils at the end 64.9of Key Stage 4 gaining 5+ A*–C GCSEs and equivalent (2007/8)NVQ4 or above 24.5

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airport including daily flights to New Yorkand Chicago. Manchester also benefitsfrom a modern, integrated transportinfrastructure. The M60 orbits the cityoffering smooth access to both theregional and national motorway networks.

With four universities, the city offers afirst-class higher education infrastructureas well as Europe’s largest undergraduatepopulation. The University of Manchesteris the UK’s biggest single-site campus,with almost 35,000 students and anannual turnover approaching £640 million.Recognised as a leading biomedical,science and engineering institution, itenjoys an international reputation for thelevel and scope of its teaching andresearch. The university is also a majorstakeholder in many of the region’sacknowledged academic research institutes.

Befitting an international centre ofcommerce, the city also enjoys a high-quality conference offering with a range oftop-class venues including ManchesterCentral, the Bridgewater Hall andUniversity Place.

Manchester is also an outstandingcultural, shopping and lifestyle location.It is home to an impressive selection ofmuseums, theatres, galleries and festivals,

including the biennial ManchesterInternational Festival, the world’s firstfestival to commission contemporaryoriginal work. For music lovers, the MENArena is Europe’s biggest indoor concertvenue. With a capacity of 21,000 it providesregular opportunities to see some of theworld’s best artists. The city also offers awealth of shopping options to cater for alltastes including designer boutiques andhigh-end department stores. For out-of-town shoppers the Trafford Centre is oneof the UK’s largest indoor retail mallscontaining over 230 stores.

From a sporting perspective,Manchester enjoys a leading internationalprofile. Its excellent sports infrastructureand facilities include the world famousOld Trafford Stadium, the City ofManchester Stadium and Sportcity– Europe’s largest integrated sportingcomplex. As well as staging the 2002Commonwealth Games, the city hashosted many other prestigious sportingevents. Amongst these are the WorldTrack Cycling Championships at theManchester Velodrome, the FINA WorldSwimming Championships, the ParalympicWorld Cup, and both the ChampionsLeague and UEFA Cup Finals.

The UK’s largest regional airport, Manchesterconnects to 210 worldwide destinations.

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LIVERPOOLLiverpool has undergone an impressiveeconomic renaissance over recent years.With a £18.5 billion GVA, major capitalprojects are restyling its unique skyline.Contemporary steel and glass structuresnow sit comfortably alongside its classicarchitectural assets.

Resurgence has been driven by almost£4 billion of capital investment and aseries of beacon projects. These includethe city’s host status as EuropeanCapital of Culture 2008; the opening ofthe new £1 billlion Liverpool One project,Europe’s largest retail-led, city centredevelopment; and the new Cruise LinerTerminal which hosts some of the world’sbiggest cruise liners. Staging an ambitiousprogramme of national and internationalappeal, Capital of Culture year boosted theLiverpool economy by an estimated

£800 million. This included 3.5 millionpeople visiting the city for the first timewhilst 15 million people attended acultural event or attraction. Its famouswaterfront, designated a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site in 2004, has been furtherenhanced with completion of a new canalsection by British Waterways, connectingthe Pier Head to the national canalnetwork. The link-up – together with thenew Museum of Liverpool, one of theworld’s leading museums of its type – willsee the city continue to attract hundredsof thousands of extra visitors each year.The culmination of all of these majorschemes has significantly enhanced thecity’s quality of life and reputation as aninternational cultural destination.

With the opening of Liverpool’s newArena and Convention Centre, the city

“We estimate that Liverpool isnow the UK’s third-biggest wealthmanagement centre outside thetraditional locations of Londonand Edinburgh”.Andy Pomfret, Chief Executive,Rathbones Investment Management

has quickly established itself as a nationalevents and conference destination, withevents such as the MTV Music Awards andthe BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Liverpool is also attracting majorinvestment to its key business sectors.Its biomedical and biopharmaceuticalmanufacturing base comprises 80companies including several multinationalssuch as Lilly, Novartis, Bristol-MyersSquibb and MedImmune. The Novartisplant is the UK’s biggest flu vaccinemanufacturing facility; the majority of itsoutput is supplied to the lucrative USmarket. Also in Liverpool is the NationalBiomanufacturing Centre – a leadingEuropean bio-design facility and the firstof its type in the UK.

Liverpool’s financial sector has alsoexperienced strong growth. JPMorgan

The opening of Liverpool’s new CruiseLiner Terminal has further boosted the

city’s thriving visitor economy.

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INVEST has set up a major pensionsdivision, joining established financialcompanies such as RSA, Royal Liver andAlliance & Leicester, now part of theBanco Santander Group. The city’s privateequity market is also growing with BarclaysWealth Management and Panmure Gordonjoining existing businesses such asRathbones, Deutsche Bank and Coutts.

In maritime trade, the Port ofLiverpool – one of Europe’s busiest – hascapitalised on its location, securing 40%of the UK’s container business with NorthAmerica. A planned second terminal willenable the port to handle the largest post-Panamax vessels, thus doubling annualcapacity to 1.5 million units.

In advanced auto-engineering, TataGroup’s Halewood complex is a centre ofexcellence for ‘lean production’. JaguarLand Rover exports its prestige X-Typeand Freelander 2 models across the globefrom the site.

Liverpool is also widely recognised asone of the world’s most importantlocations for computer gaming; 75% ofthe Northwest’s games industry is basedin or around the city. Sony ComputerEntertainment has sited its mainEuropean creative studio there, employingalmost 600 designers and animators todevelop many of the world’s most popular

PlayStation games. Other high-profilegames developers include BizarreCreations and Evolution Studios.

In higher education, Liverpool’s threeuniversities educate over 50,000 studentseach year. Specialising in medicine,sciences and engineering, The Universityof Liverpool is home to 21,000 studentsand almost 5,000 staff. A Russell Groupinstitution, it has research strengths in arange of science disciplines – amongstthem bioscience, tropical medicine andchemistry. In 2007, the universitygenerated almost £79 million inresearch income, collaborating on majorprojects with over 500 private sectorpartners. The city is also home toLiverpool John Moores University andHope University.

Liverpool’s excellent transportinfrastructure provides access to all UK,European and international markets.By rail, London can be reached in justover 2 hours, whilst by air, LiverpoolJohn Lennon Airport (LJLA) has directflights to over 60 destinations, carrying6 million passengers annually. Easyjetand Ryanair are its two biggest operatorswhilst KLM’s three-times daily serviceto Amsterdam now connects LJLApassengers to over 650 global destinationsacross its own and partner networks.

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LIVERPOOL KEY DATA GVA £18.43 billionGVA per head £13,615Population 1.35 millionPopulation % under 16 yrs 18.6Average weekly pay £362.2Average house price(April 2009) £117,354% of pupils at the end 66.4of Key Stage 4 gaining 5+ A*–C GCSEs and equivalent (2007/8)NVQ4 or above 21.6

Hill Dickinson’s new headquarters at St. Paul’sSquare, Liverpool, is located within one of theregion’s most prestigious office developments.

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CHESHIRE Home to some of the world’s mostsuccessful multinational pharmaceuticaland R&D businesses, Cheshire is also amajor location for financial services,automotive and chemicals processing.AstraZeneca’s Alderley Park facility is thecompany’s largest global research centrewhilst Japanese brand leader Fujifilmalso operates its major European R&Dfacility in Cheshire. From there, itsresearch scientists are developing newdigital imaging products for the worldconsumer market.

The Bentley manufacturing facility inCrewe produces one of the world’s mostsought-after luxury motoring brands.Investment in design and manufacturingtechnology at the site has resulted in asignificant increase in global sales over thepast five years. Similarly, in the high-volume car market, Vauxhall Motors’Ellesmere Port plant – home to their best-selling Astra range – is one of GMEurope’s most environmentally efficientauto-engineering facilities.

The iconic Lovell Telescope in Cheshire is theflagship of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.

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Cheshire is the UK’s largest producer.The level of overseas investment in thearea demonstrates its reputation forchemicals production with multinationalbusinesses such as Ineos Chlor, ShellUK, CIBA Speciality Chemicals andInnospec contributing towards an annualregional sector GVA of £9.4 billion.

In financial services, Chester is a keylocation. MBNA/Bank of America’sEuropean credit card operation employs

over 4,000 staff at Chester Business Park,whilst M&S Money and Halifax Bank ofScotland both manage large-scalefinancial operations from the samelocation. Some 12% of Chester’s workforceis employed in the financial sector.

With expansive rural areas, picturesquevillages and traditional market towns,Cheshire is home to some of the UK’smost desirable living spaces. Its £20,822GVA per head ranks as the highest in theNorthwest region.

Chester Business Park is home toMBNA/Bank of America’s Europeanheadquarters and credit card operations.

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CHESHIRE KEY DATA GVA £20.82 billionGVA per head £20,822Population 1.03 millionPopulation % under 16 yrs 18.9Average weekly pay £394.21

Average house price(April 2009) £151,7441

% of pupils at the end 68.1of Key Stage 4 gaining 5+ A*–C GCSEs and equivalent (2007/8)NVQ4 or above 32.11 These figures exclude Halton and Warrington.

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LANCASHIREOver recent decades, Lancashire’straditional manufacturing sector hastransformed itself into a thriving high-technology/high-skills economy. With a GVA of just under £22 billion,Lancashire enjoys a varied economicbase with many respected internationalbusinesses represented. But it is in thehighly specialised aerospace andadvanced manufacturing sector whereLancashire is recognised as a world-classcentre of excellence.

Across the sub-region, global aerospacebusinesses such as BAE Systems andRolls Royce Jet Engines operate multi-site facilities, employing almost 40,000highly skilled technicians and engineers inwhat is now the UK’s largestconcentration of aerospace and defenceactivity. Investing for the future, BAE’s350-acre Salmesbury Business Park isexpected to become one of Europe’spremier aerospace business locations.

In engineering and chemicals, thepresence of major businesses such asAlstom Traction, Baxi Group and AkzoNobel underlines the region’s continuedmanufacturing expertise. In commercialvehicle manufacture, the Leyland Trucksplant is one of Europe’s most advancedcommercial truck facilities. Over recentyears, the site has benefited from a wide-ranging capital investment programme andit now employs 1,500 staff. The hi-techcomplex assembles 25,000 light and

Lancashire’s aerospace and defence industryrepresents the UK’s single largest concentration

of design, manufacture and assembly activity.

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heavy-duty vehicles each year – 35% ofwhich is earmarked for international export.

Lancashire also enjoys excellentconnectivity. The Northwest’s motorwaynetwork traverses much of the sub-region,providing rapid access to other parts ofthe Northwest and UK. As well asBlackpool International Airport,Lancashire is well located for bothManchester and Liverpool airports, whilstthe ports of Heysham and Fleetwoodhandle much of the roll-on/roll-off tradebetween Ireland and the UK.

Lancashire has three universities:Lancaster University, the University ofCentral Lancashire and Edge Hill.Consistently ranked in the UK’s top -10,Lancaster University is a member of theN8 Group of research universities thatalso includes Manchester and Liverpool.The university’s Management School isone of only two UK business schools ratedas a centre of world-class research. TheUniversity also has key strengths inenvironmental research and is home tothe Lancaster Environment Centre, a

75% of Lancaster University Management School’sresearch activity is ranked as ‘world-leading’ in the2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

major facility that brings togetherleading academic teams including thosebased at the National EnvironmentResearch Council’s Centre forEcology and Hydrology. The combinedresource forms one of Europe’s largestenvironmental research groups.Lancaster also excels in ICT andcomputer science; its InfoLab21 facilityis a high-quality research, knowledge-share and business environment foracademic researchers, students and thewider ICT business sector.

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LANCASHIRE KEY DATA GVA £21.96 billionGVA per head £15,145Population 1.45 millionPopulation % under 16 yrs 19.2Average weekly pay £375.5 2

Average house price(April 2009) £114,2922

% of pupils at the end 64.3of Key Stage 4 gaining 5+ A*–C GCSEs and equivalent (2007/8)NVQ4 or above 24.72 These figures exclude Blackburn with Darwenand Blackpool.

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CUMBRIACovering an area of just under 6,800 sq km,Cumbria is England’s second largest sub-region. Whilst half of its land mass isdesignated as National Park or Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty, the region isinternationally recognised in several keybusiness sectors.

At the forefront of the UK’s nuclearindustry, Cumbria is home to one of theworld’s largest concentrations of nuclearfacilities and support infrastructures.Almost half of the UK’s combined nuclearworkforce – 25,000 employees in total –are based in Cumbria. Its nuclear

capability encompasses all production anddecommissioning disciplines; research,development, training, technical supportand industry regulation – the last of whichis co-ordinated by the Government’sNuclear Decommissioning Authority,established in Cumbria in recognition ofits specialist skills base. Relative to this,Cumbria is playing a pivotal role in the£70 billion decommissioning programmefor the UK’s civil nuclear sector.

Responsible for over one-third of all UKnuclear activity, Sellafield is regarded as acentre of excellence for energy production.

Lakeland’s 80,000 sq ft national distributioncentre in Kendal, Cumbria. The company is one

of the UK’s leading kitchenware retail chains.

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Employing 10,000 personnel, Sellafield is thelargest and most complex nuclear site in the UK.

The complex carries out some of themost advanced and innovative nucleardecommis sioning work anywhere inthe world.

Established by major regionalstakeholders, Britain’s Energy Coast isa long-term strategy that will enableCumbria to build on its expertise inenergy production – nuclear, oil, gas andrenewables. It is envisaged the 20-yearplan will culminate in the creation of16,000 jobs, and will add up to £2 billionto the Cumbrian economy.

Cumbria is at the heart of the specialistmarine and offshore engineering sector.

With a workforce of over 5,000, BAESystems operates a major submarineand shipbuilding facility at Barrow-in-Furness, whilst a growing number ofbusinesses have channelled their marineexpertise towards the offshore oil andgas technology sector. This has helpedto consolidate Cumbria’s position at theforefront of deepwater sub-seaengineering and construction.

The tourism sector contributes over£1 billion to the Cumbrian economy.Approximately 15 million people visit theregion each year, with the Lake District,England’s largest National Park, and

Hadrian’s Wall, a World Heritage Site, twomajor attractions for UK and overseas visitors.

Over recent years, Cumbria has alsobecome an increasingly popular locationfor the growing ‘home enterprise’ marketencouraged by a major programme toensure 95% broadband coverage acrossthe sub-region.

Created in 2007, the University ofCumbria is one of the UK’s newestacademic institutions, and will play a majorrole in recruiting and retaining key talent.The university has set a target of attracting20,000 students by 2017.

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CUMBRIA KEY DATA GVA £6.97 billionGVA per head £14,044Population 496,900Population % under 16 yrs 17.5Average weekly pay £360.6Average house price(April 2009) £128,956% of pupils at the end 63.2of Key Stage 4 gaining 5+ A*–C GCSEs and equivalent (2007/8)NVQ4 or above 27.7

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The Northwest has achieved a unique position in theadvancement of knowledge, innovation and technology.Over the past 200 years, the region has played a pivotal rolein major industrial, scientific and technologicaldiscoveries. No fewer than 30 teachers or alumni from theuniversities of Manchester and Liverpool have gone on toachieve the Nobel Prize. Today, the tradition of research andlearning continues and thrives in the private sector. TheNorthwest is home to four of the UK’s top-10 research-ledbusinesses – all undertaking large-scale Research andDevelopment (R&D) activities. Annual private sector R&Dinvestment in the region is £2.2 billion, some 40% higherthan the UK average and bigger than that of many Europeancountries. Many of the key players work in close collaborationwith the university sector – ether directly with academicdepartments or through the expanding network of university-backed research institutes. With 12 universities in total,the Northwest accommodates one of Europe’s biggestacademic concentrations with 235,000 students. The regionalso hosts a large international student population with25,000 overseas students choosing to study in Northwestuniversities each year.

KNOWLEDGE

“A key site in the AstraZenecaglobal network, our facility at AlderleyPark is home to some of the world’smost skilled science professionalsworking at the frontiers ofpharmaceutical research. It is herethat several of the world’s mostimportant medicines have beendiscovered and developed.”Rodger McMillan, Site Leader for R&D,AstraZeneca

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Business R&DReflecting the region’s knowledge offering,some of the world’s leading biomedical,aerospace and healthcare businessesoperate major Research and Developmentcentres across the Northwest. Theseinclude four of the UK’s top R&D investors;AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Unileverand Rolls-Royce. Each company carriesout high-level research activity, which isthen transferred and used across itsworldwide operations. Almost £2.2 billionof R&D is carried out by the region’sbusinesses each year.

AstraZeneca’s global research centreat Alderley Park is a pharmaceuticalcentre of expertise that attracts scientistsand research teams from around theworld. From this impressive, large-scalecomplex in rural Cheshire, AstraZenecamaintains its world-leading position at thecutting edge of pharmaceutical R&D,investing £400 million in R&D each year.

BAE Systems’ extensive R&D facilitiesin Lancashire ensure the latest aerospacetechnology is assimilated into some of theworld’s most advanced aircraft. Researchteams are currently engaged in severalmultinational R&D programmes includinga 25-year Joint Strike Fighter project withUS aerospace company Lockheed Martin,as well as leading the internationalresearch into new areas such asautonomous non-piloted aircraft, plus thenew generation of low carbon engines.

Unilever’s Port Sunlight facility in Wirralis the company’s main research centre forits home and personal care product ranges.Accommodating over 700 science andresearch staff, the ongoing work integratesresearch from fields as varied as material,physical, biological and process science,helping Unilever develop new brands forthe worldwide consumer market.

Rolls-Royce’s aero-technology centrein Barnoldswick, Lancashire, is its keyresearch facility for developing lighter,more energy-efficient aircraft engines.Already, Rolls-Royce’s ‘wide chord, hollowfan blade’ technology is incorporated intothe RB211 and Trent engine programmes,positioning Rolls-Royce as the globalmarket leader in engine technology forwide-body aircraft.

Outside these top level investors, asecond-tier of major international companiesmake a significant contribution to theregion’s R&D output. Businesses such asPilkington, whose R&D centre inLancashire is one of four such centresworldwide, and Bristol-Myers Squibb,whose long-established PharmaceuticalResearch Institute (PRI) in Wirral acts asthe company’s primary UK researchcentre for discovery and development ofnew medicines. Other businessesundertaking significant research activity inthe region include Nuclear ManagementPartners and FujiFilm.

The strength of Northwest research and developmentis borne out by the fact that private sector R&D in the

region is 40% higher than the UK average.

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The Northwest is famous for its contributionto ‘major science’ breakthroughs. Thesplitting of the atom and the creation ofthe world’s first modern computer areboth attributed to research programmes atthe University of Manchester. Today, theregion remains at the forefront of highquality international academicresearch with hundreds of specialistresearch groups collaborating with otheruniversities and private sector partners onimportant scientific projects. Over 235,000students attend Northwest universities,with 65,000 graduating each year. Ofthese, 15,000 qualify with a Science,Technology, Engineering and Maths(STEM) degree.

In institutional research, the region’suniversities have created an exceptionallystrong and competitive knowledge base.Activity is structured around the universities’own academic research teams, inaddition to a thriving portfolio of pioneering,multi-disciplinary research institutes.

In the Government’s 2008 ResearchAssessment Exercise (RAE), Northwestuniversities performed strongly. Theexercise is a definitive evaluation of thequality of research undertaken in UKuniversities and it demonstrated that thethree universities of Manchester, Lancasterand Liverpool head the region’s academicresearch offering.

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In subjects ranging from Infection and Immunologyto Architecture and Materials Science, the Universityof Liverpool was ranked highly in the Government’s2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

95Highly ranked in all the leading UK

academic indices, Lancaster Universityhas world-class strengths in both businessand management and environmentalscience. Its Lancaster Environment Centreis one of the most modern researchfacilities of its type in Europe. LancasterUniversity Management School enjoys aninternational profile; on virtually allmeasures it is in the UK’s top four ofuniversity business schools and amongstthe world’s most highly ranked.

With almost 5,000 staff (2,000 of whomare academic/research) the University ofLiverpool is leading the city’s commercial-knowledge renaissance. Specialising inbiosciences, veterinary science andengineering, the university collaborates

with a large group of private sectororganisations. Multinationals such as Ford,RBS, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca, RollsRoyce, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever areall beneficiaries of its applied research andexpertise. For every £1 million expended,the university creates £1.52 million for thewider regional economy. Liverpool’s rankingin RAE 2008 showed strong improvementwith 53% of staff in the top 4* and 3* bands.

Manchester Metropolitan University(MMU) is one of the largest providers ofscience, engineering and technologyeducation in the national system. ItsSchool of Physiotherapy is the UK’sbiggest, while the Institute of Education isone of the country’s principal centres foreducational research.

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At the University of Manchester 65%of research conducted is judged as 4*(world-leading) or 3* (internationallyexcellent). In terms of volume of staffproportionate to 4* and 3* ratings, theuniversity is placed third in the UK behindonly Cambridge and Oxford.

With a turnover of £637 million,34,500 students and 12,000 annualgraduates, Manchester is the UK’s largestsingle-site campus. The university hasrenowned strengths in life sciences,medicine and economics, and has helpedto create more than 100 spin-outcompanies. Within the UK academicsystem, it consistently registers one of thehighest numbers of applications forIntellectual Property Rights.

Already internationally regarded, the University ofManchester has set itself an ambitious target of a

world top-25 ranking by 2015.

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OTHER NORTHWEST UNIVERSITIES:

Manchester Metropolitan University,Liverpool John Moores University,University of Central Lancashire, University of Salford, University of Chester, Liverpool Hope University, University of Bolton, University of Cumbria,Edge Hill University.

In addition to campuses in Lancaster, Carlisle, Penrithand Ambleside, the University of Cumbria operates aspecialist teacher education centre in London.

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY:

Annual income £637 million

Students 34,500Graduates 12,000Research grants and contracts £174 millionStaff 11,700Research/academic staff 5,700

LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY:

Annual income £304 million

Students 21,000Graduates 7,000Research grants and contracts £78.6 millionStaff 5,000Research/academic staff 2,100

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY:

Annual income £148.7 million

Students 17,300Graduates 4,100 Research grants and contracts £22.5 millionStaff 2,500Research/academic staff 963

TOP 3 NORTHWEST UNIVERSITIESKEY DATA

A contemporary academic institution,Liverpool John Moores University’s keystrengths include astronomy, astrophysics,sports science and media science. ItsAstrophysics Research Institute operatesthe world’s largest robotic telescope and isa lead partner in an international networkof space science research projects. As wellas acknowledged strengths in Architectureand the Built Environment, the Universityof Salford is developing a new state-of-the-art higher education centre at theMediaCityUK development at Salford Quays.The centre will encompass high-specification

digital broadcast zones, creative laboratoriesand performance space for teaching,research and industry collaboration. Theuniversity is already a specialist highereducation partner to the BBC.

Established as recently as Summer2007, the University of Cumbria hasquickly built a student body of 15,000undergraduates. Already, it has developedvaluable research partnerships with thecommercial sector on a range of projectscovering public health, consumer trendsand social science.

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Research Institutes and CentresComplementing research departmentswithin universities, the Northwest hasover 50 Research Institutes andCentres, many multi-institutional. Theseact as autonomous research facilitatorsand revenue generators, working with alllevels of business – from largemultinationals to SMEs.

The world’s first medical school of itstype, the Liverpool School of TropicalMedicine (LSTM) is recognised by theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation forworld-class research in developingvaccines for tropical infectious diseases.The Lancaster Environment Centre isone of Europe’s largest environmentalresearch centres, bringing together over300 researchers and lecturers, all workingto find solutions to major environmentalproblems. The Joule Centre for EnergyResearch provides a focal point for theregion to make a growing contribution tonational and international research in thefield of sustainable energy.

Part of the University of Manchester, theJodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics isan internationally renowned astronomicalfacility and home to the Lovell Telescope,the world’s third largest. The centrecoordinates research into radio astronomyand astrophysics, in addition to carryingout a lead role in the MERLIN project –a national programme of linkedtelescopes involved in high-resolution radioobservation and data gathering.

Lancaster University’s £35 million Environment Centreprovides specialised laboratories and controlledecospheres for over 300 environmental researchers.

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Lancaster University’s InfoLab21 isa leading facility for research anddevelopment in ICT. It is a highspecification knowledge and incubationenvironment providing ICT research,training and support for establishedcompanies, academic spin-outs andbusinesses in the technology enterprisesector. Since its creation, InfoLab21 hasbecome one of the UK’s foremost ICTknowledge transfer hubs, supporting theuniversity in developing close workingpartnerships with many leading telecomand innovation specialists; Microsoft, BT,Orange, Cisco and Nokia amongst them.

Other major research facilities in theregion include the National Centre forZoonosis Research, the KnowledgeCentre for Materials Chemistry, the

Manchester Cancer Research Centre,UK Biobank, Wolfson MolecularImaging Centre, the Dalton NuclearInstitute, the Northwest CompositesCentre, the UK Centre for TissueEngineering, the Molecular MaterialsCentre and the Organic MaterialsInnovation Centre.

Key drivers to economic growth, theNorthwest’s five major science parks areimportant contributors to the region’s R&Dand innovation offering. Enjoying closelinks to universities and research institutes– many of which are stakeholders – theyprovide a knowledge infrastructure that ishelping to shape the growth of both newand existing businesses.

Designated by UK Government as oneof only two major national science

research facilities, the Daresbury Scienceand Innovation Campus hosts theinternationally acknowledged DaresburyLaboratory and the Cockcroft Institute –the UK’s national centre for acceleratorscience and technology. DaresburyLaboratory is home to the SynchrotronRadiation Source, a world-class facilitydedicated to the study of radiation for bothacademic and applied research. Thelaboratory employs around 550 staff, withmore than 5,500 scientists and engineers– mostly from the academic researchcommunity – using its facilities each year.

Manchester Science Park plays apivotal role in supporting the growth ofinnovative companies across industriessuch as digital media, biotechnology andICT, providing business incubation and

facilitating knowledge transfer between thecity’s academic base and its thrivingenterprise community.

One of the UK’s fastest growing,Liverpool Science Park has recentlyadded a second phase of high-specificationoffice and laboratory workspace to enableit to meet demand from the area’s scienceand technology community.

Westlakes Science and TechnologyPark in Cumbria is an importantknowledge centre for the Northwest’snuclear, healthcare informatics andenvironmental science sectors.

The Heath Business and TechnologyPark in Cheshire, provides serviced officeand laboratory space for over 200 science-based and IT businesses of all sizes.

The Organic Materials Innovation Centre conductsspecialist research and development into subjectsas diverse as biomaterials, composites technology

and advanced surface coatings.

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With fast rail links, a major international air hub and one ofEurope’s busiest deep-sea ports, the Northwest offers first-classconnectivity. Serving over 28 million air passengers eachyear, the region’s three international airports connect to over250 worldwide destinations. Its European coverage meansthat approximately 300 million continental consumers are withina mere three hours flying time of the region.

Rail connectivity is equally strong. The major investmentprogramme now complete on the West Coast Main Line isresulting in faster and more frequent services to London.Complementing the rail network is an extensive roadinfrastructure comprising 70% more motorway than the UKaverage. Its excellent proximity to the country’s main arterialroutes has helped to create a thriving transport and logisticssector, centred around the region’s key motorway access points.The high concentration of motorways provides excellent cross-region connectivity, linking the rural economy with major urbancentres. From a maritime perspective, the Port of Liverpoolhandles over 32 million tonnes of cargo each year, servingover 100 trading routes stretching from China to the SouthAmerican continent.

CONNECTIVITY

“The Northwest’s integratedtransport and logistics infrastructureis vital to the business performanceof a business like ours. Its road, airand maritime connectivity is a majorcontributor to the delivery of BAESystems’ advanced aero anddefence projects around the globe.”Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director, Military Air Solutions, BAE Systems

Antigua & BarbudaAntigua & Barbuda

BarbadosBarbados

VenezuelaVenezuela

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JamaicaJamaica

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TorontoToronto

Philadelphia Philadelphia

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NorwayNorway

SwedenSweden

ScotlandScotland

IrelandIreland

GuernseyGuernseyJerseyJersey

FranceFrance

SpainSpain CorsicaCorsica

SardiniaSardinia

PortugalPortugal

MoroccoMorocco

ItalyItaly

SwitzerlandSwitzerland

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SloveniaSlovenia

BelgiumBelgium

Lux’bourgLux’bourg

NetherlandsNetherlands

GambiaGambiaCape VerdeCape Verde

ENGLAND’SENGLAND’SNORTHWESTNORTHWESTENGLAND’SNORTHWEST

DenmarkDenmark

BelarusBelarus

Czech RepublicCzech Republic

HungaryHungarySlovakiaSlovakia

GermanyGermany

PolandPoland

HamiltonHamilton

ChicagoChicagoNew YorkNew York

AtlantaAtlanta

OrlandoOrlando

SanfordSanford

Las VegasLas Vegas

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Greece Turkey

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AIRPORTSOf the Northwest’s three internationalairports, Manchester is the region’s mainglobal gateway. The largest airport outsideLondon and ranked among the world’s top 20, Manchester is home to over100 airlines and 300 tour operators,collectively serving 210 worldwidedestinations. Services include routes toall of Europe’s major capitals, as well aslong-haul flights to 15 North and SouthAmerican destinations. Manchester alsoschedules direct flights to Dubai,Singapore and the sub-continent. Inaddition to its international routes, theairport operates a London shuttle servicewith 23 daily flights to the capital.

The region’s three international airportsconnect the Northwest to the world’s main

economic centres.

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Manchester also offers excellent regionalinterconnections for travellers arriving anddeparting. The city centre is just 20 minutesaway via car, or travellers can use the railshuttle that forms part of the airport’sintegrated transport interchange –the first of its type in the UK. The airportalso operates the World FreightTerminal, the UK’s largest air-logisticsfacility outside London. Processingupwards of 166,000 tonnes of internationalcargo each year, the terminal’s operationhas attracted several global operatorsincluding US logistics business, FedEx.The airport is a major employer with19,000 people working onsite.

With annual passenger levelsapproaching 6 million, Liverpool JohnLennon Airport (LJLA) has been one ofEurope’s fastest growing airports in recentyears. It now operates scheduled servicesto over 60 domestic and Europeandestinations. Since 2000, LJLA has

become a major operations centre for two of Europe’s biggest low-cost carriers– EasyJet and Ryanair. The formercarries almost 2.5 million air travellerseach year. In addition, Dutch nationalairline KLM now operates three dailyflights to Amsterdam Schipol, which in turnconnects air travellers to over 650worldwide destinations within the KLM andpartner networks. Already a significantcontributor to Liverpool’s economy, LJLA’s30-year vision is to create an majorinternational airport that will interface withthe city’s maritime offering to create anintermodal cargo super-hub.

Handling over half a million passengerseach year, Blackpool InternationalAirport offers scheduled UK internalflights as well as a range of holiday charterflights to various Mediterraneandestinations. The airport also serves as abase for helicopter operations servicing theNorthwest offshore oil and gas industry.

From Manchester, key European capitals such asBrussels are within a convenient 1 to 2-hour flight time.

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RAILThe Northwest’s rail network is a majorregional asset. The West Coast Main Lineis one of Europe’s most importantroutes, linking the region to London,Scotland and mainland Europe via theEurostar network. Major investment intrack modernisation has significantlyreduced journey times from the region tothe capital – a Virgin Pendolino departingfrom Manchester arrives in London justover two hours later. Demand from thebusiness community means that 47 trainsoperate daily between the two cities,demonstrating both ease of connectivityand the inter-relationship between the twobiggest economic centres in the UK.In total, over 100 trains run from theNorthwest to the capital each day.

The recently completed £8 billion upgrade ofthe West Coast Main Line will see passengerservices increase by 30% and freight by 70%.

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ROADThe Northwest is at the heart of England’smotorway network. With one-quarter ofthe nation’s motorway miles within itsborders, the region benefits fromcomprehensive road coverage and excellentconnectivity to the national UK motorwaysystem. The region’s road infrastructure isstrategically placed at the intersection ofthe main North-South (M6) and East-West(M62/M56) arterial routes. These, in turn,offer access to all major UK cities andports. The M62 provides an importanteconomic corridor linking three of theregion’s main commercial centres:Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington.Benefiting from the excellent roadconnections, some 16,000 freight haulagecompanies operate across the region.

The M62 is the focus for two importantregional strategic projects. Kingsway,near Rochdale, is a 450-acre mixedbusiness and industrial park adjacent tothe motorway. It will bring together local,national and international businesseswithin a large-scale commercialenvironment. Similar in ambition andscale, the 575-acre Omega developmentis part of a regionally important long-termproject designed to become one ofEurope’s largest business, technologyand logistics hubs. Intersected by theM62 at Warrington, construction of this‘super-complex’ will be phased-in over thenext 25 years.

All major UK cities are within a 4-hourdriving radius of the Northwest.

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PORTSSpread over 1200 acres and handling32 million tonnes of cargo annually, thePort of Liverpool is one of the largest inNorthern Europe. It has capitalised on itswest coast location by securing 40% of theUK-North Atlantic container trade.Correspondingly, it has developed globaltrade routes to more than 100 maritimedestinations. The Seaforth ContainerTerminal handles almost 700,000containers each year and is the UK’sleading gateway for the import of grain,animal feed and oil. The port complex alsocomprises Liverpool Freeport, the UK’slargest Free Zone accommodating morethan 3 million sq ft of storage,warehousing and logistics facilities

The expanding roll-on/roll-off trade withIreland has considerably increasedHeysham’s handling capacity to 4 milliontonnes each year. The port also acts as amajor service route for the offshore oil andgas industries. Businesses such as BP,Shell and Conoco supply their Irish Seaplatforms from Heysham.

ICT Served by a group of leadingtelecommunications providers that includesVirgin Media, BT, Cogent and GlobalCrossing, the Northwest enjoys over 99%broadband coverage. Manchester is theUK’s only city outside London to have itsown dedicated Public Internet ExchangePoint, which means its broadbandinfrastructure has direct, local connectionto the global internet. The region will alsobe among the first to profit from BT’s£1.5 billion investment in super-fast, fibre-based broadband technology. The initialrollout will see 140,000 homes andbusinesses in the Manchester areabenefiting from average connection speeds

of 40 Mb/s – more than 10 times fasterthan those currently available. As demandincreases for highly connected and secureserver environments, a growing numberof colocation and independent datacentre specialists are providing vitalservices and facilities to the business andknowledge sectors.

IT partners such as TelecityGroup,based at Manchester Science Park, operatea network of customised data centres thatact as highly secure connectivity andcontent data hubs. These allow businessesand organisations to store, share ordistribute high-value information, contentand media in a protected environment.

Liverpool is adding a £100 millionpost-Panamax container terminal to itsalready impressive handling capacity.

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The Northwest’s vibrant lifestyle and cultural offering reflectsthe diversity of its natural environment, its cities and its people.The region is composed of attractive landscapes encompassingmountains, lakes and coastline, as well as modern andcosmopolitan urban centres. Approximately one-third of theregion is designated as National Park or an Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty. The Lake District is knownthroughout the world for its inspiring scenery and sweepinglocations. But with miles of beautiful coastline, ancient forests,precious natural habitats and traditional market towns, theregion offers true diversity in its lifestyle offering.Complementing this, the cultural offer of Liverpool andManchester includes world-class symphony orchestras,acclaimed museums and a wealth of galleries and artsinstitutions. Several internationally acclaimed arts and culturalfestivals are staged in the region’s cities and the Northwestremains a world-famous location for popular culture andmusic. With first-class education, competitive housing costsand shorter commuting times than many UK regions, theNorthwest offers an excellent quality of life.

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“I love coming back to this region –particularly to my home city ofLiverpool. The Northwest has somuch to offer; its vitality andcreative pulse have never beenmore tangible. You can see it in theregion’s amazing cities with theirexciting and constantly evolvingskylines… and of course in itsculture and music, which in myview is equal to that on offer in anyother European region.”Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

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HOUSINGThe Northwest offers both diversity andquality in its range of urban and rurallocations for living, yet house prices aresignificantly below the nationalaverage. All main centres of commerceare complemented by a varied andaffordable housing infrastructure. Fromchic waterside apartments to compactfamily homes, rural conservation areas tostylish urban living spaces, the regionboasts a broad selection of medium-cost,established or higher-end living options.

Both Manchester and Liverpool now havetwo of the largest city centre residentialcommunities in the country. Generallypopulated by younger professionals, theyoffer an eclectic mix of converted loft,

warehouse and heritage developments, aswell as carefully preserved Victorian andGeorgian quarters or striking new-buildapartment schemes.

Producing some of the UK’s mostimaginative inner-city regeneration projects,Northwest architectural-developmentcompanies such as Urban Splash andBeetham are driving urban renaissance.

For those who prefer a suburbanenvironment, the region’s cities have someof the most established residentialareas anywhere in the UK. Places suchas Didsbury and Chorlton in Manchesterand Calderstones and Woolton Village inLiverpool are leafy suburban areas withinconvenient travelling distance of their

respective city centres. Cheshire,Lancashire and Cumbria also offer anabundance of highly desirable and sought-after locations. In Cheshire, the areasurrounding Chester and to the south ofthe county is dotted with villages andtranquil rural communities. Additionally,affluent areas such as Knutsford,Altrincham and Wilmslow reflect theeconomic success the region enjoys.In Lancashire, the Ribble Valley andTrough of Bowland provide hugelyattractive living locations. Cumbria’swonderful landscape and wide-openspaces offer broad scope for an attractivework-life balance.

The Northwest benefits from shortercommuting times and a competitive

housing infrastructure.

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AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES(APRIL 2009) Manchester £108,520Liverpool £117,354Cheshire1 £151,744Lancashire2 £114,292Cumbria £128,9561 Figures exclude Halton and Warrington.2 Figures exclude Blackburn with Darwen andBlackpool.

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SCHOOLSThe Northwest has some of the UK’s bestperforming state and independent schools.In the 2008 school league tables, five ofthe 25 highest attaining primaryschools in England were located in theregion. The region also has 10 of thecountry’s top 75 performing schools atA-level. Many other schools consistentlyperform above the national average.

The Northwest is home to nine of theUK’s remaining 164 state grammarschools. In the broader independentsector it hosts 193 schools in total,catering for pre-preparatory age up touniversity entrance level. Schools such asManchester Grammar and ManchesterHigh School for Girls, Merchant Taylorsand Blue Coat School in Liverpool,Lancaster Royal Grammar School,Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, QueenElizabeth Grammar School in Cumbriaand the King’s School, Macclesfield, allenjoy a long-standing academic tradition.Examination results consistently placethese schools in the top quartile of nationalGCSE and A-level league tables.

The Northwest has a first-class educationoffering, including 10 of the country’s top75 A-level performing schools.

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CULTURE The Northwest is home to a multi-facetedcultural offering. Its creative talent –artists, poets, writers, musicians andperformers – has made a significantimpact in the world of arts and culture.Internationally, the region is celebrated forthe range and wealth of its cultural assets;art galleries, museums, theatres, concerthalls, international festivals, public art,heritage sites and acclaimed architecture.Liverpool has both the largest numberof museums and galleries outside ofLondon, as well as the largest collectionof Grade I and II listed buildings outsidethe capital. The city is home to TateLiverpool, the Walker Art Gallery, FACTand the World Museum. In Manchester,the city hosts the Whitworth andManchester Art Galleries, Urbis andthe Imperial War Museum North.

Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra – theUK’s oldest – and the Royal LiverpoolPhilharmonic Orchestra are two of themost respected names in internationalclassical music; both regularly performon the world’s leading concert stages.

The Northwest has one of thelargest concentrations of theatresoutside London. Over 100 professionaltheatre venues are based throughoutthe region including the Everyman,Playhouse and Empire theatres inLiverpool; the Lowry, Royal Exchangeand Opera House in Manchester; andBolton’s famous Octagon. As well ashigh-quality locally based theatre, manyhigh-profile touring productions –including plays, opera and musicals –visit Northwest theatres as a part oftheir international schedules.

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The Northwest has over 30 major public artgalleries, many containing internationallyrecognised collections.

135Manchester’s MEN Arena and

Liverpool’s new Echo Arena are two ofthe country’s most popular indoor concertvenues. Hosting over 1 million visitorseach year, the 21,000-capacity MEN Arenais an international location that attractssome of the biggest names incontemporary music. Liverpool’s EchoArena is an impressively appointed, state-of-the-art 10,000-plus seater auditorium –a versatile space, ideal for concerts, sportand other major events.

In youth culture and popular music, theNorthwest remains one of the world’smost important locations. Liverpool isregarded as the UK’s most musicalcity, producing more number 1 recordsthan any other. The Beatles legacy is still amajor factor in the city’s tourism offering,whilst Manchester’s music pedigree isdefined by the ‘Madchester’ scene of the1980s/90s, producing bands such as theSmiths, Stone Roses and Oasis. TheNorthwest can also claim some of themost iconic music and dance venues withthe Cavern, Hacienda and Cream wellknown across the world.

The region offers a myriad of culturalevents and experiences for visitors fromall over the world. Staged biennially, theperformance-based ManchesterInternational Festival is the world’s firstmajor arts festival for showcasing newand original works by contemporary artists.The Liverpool Biennial is now thebiggest contemporary visual arts eventoutside the Vienna Festival – exhibitingsome of art’s most innovative andgroundbreaking work in locations acrossthe city. Liverpool’s European Capital ofCulture year in 2008 was a dazzlingcelebration of its art, music, literature,architecture, heritage and sport that leavesa remarkable legacy and springboard forits future cultural offering.

The exciting calendar of 7,000 events,60 premieres and 10,000 artists culminatedin 15 million visits to the city’s manycultural venues. Highlights included thestaging of the Turner and Stirling Prizes,

La Machine’s exciting mechanical spider was akeynote event during Liverpool’s 2008

European Capital of Culture year.

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MTV Music Awards, the Tall Ships Race,Gustav Klimt at the Tate, Sir PaulMcCartney’s concert at Anfield,La Machine’s 50ft mechanical spider andSir Simon Rattle conducting both theBerlin Philharmonic and the RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestras.

In Cumbria, visitors can enjoy a rangeof attractions made famous by theLakeland writers and poets. DoveCottage and the Wordsworth Museumin Grasmere are dedicated to the life ofWilliam Wordsworth, one of Britain’sgreatest Romantic poets. The NationalTrust now runs Hill Top, the picturesque17th-century farmhouse in Amblesidewhere Beatrix Potter created many of hermuch-loved characters and children’sstories. Set in Roman and Jacobeangardens, Tullie House Museum andGallery in Carlisle is home to an importantPre-Raphaelite collection of artworks,together with historical exhibitions coveringCumbrian civilisation during Romanoccupation and the Dark Ages.

Cumbria has also set in place anexciting 4-year programme of internationalarts and performance. Lakes Alive willfeature some of the world’s top outdoorperformers in street festivals, fringetheatre, contemporary circus and culturalevents staged across Lakeland villages,towns and much of its rural landscape.

The Northwest’s public art offeringhas also won international acclaim with alarge number of bold and ambitious artinstallations. Panopticans is a uniqueseries of public artworks set within someof Lancashire’s most inspiring rurallocations. Featured are eye-catching workssuch as The Atom on Pendle Hill, Halonear Haslingden and Singing RingingTree, perched high above the hillssurrounding Burnley. Antony Gormley’sAnother Place in Crosby, north Liverpool,has received much international attentionfor both its imagination and scale – 100life-size, cast-iron figures looking out to seaand positioned along a 3 km stretch ofshoreline. Also in Liverpool, Taro Chiezo’siconic Superlambanana sculpture hasdemonstrated the effectiveness of publicrealm art projects in engaging with localcommunities. Designed by Spanish artistJaume Plensa, Dream in St Helens isan imposing 66ft-high high statueoverlooking the M62 motorway. Othermajor public art ventures in the regioninclude Bolton’s Spirit of Sportinstallation, Serena de la Hey’s 16ft-highLand Giant steel and willow sculptureoverlooking the M65 and Simon Hitchen’sCoast Line in Workington, comprising 14large illuminated stone seats carved fromlocally-quarried Cumbrian red granite.

The Singing Ringing Tree musical sculptureis part of Lancashire’s Panopticans networkof major public artworks.

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URBAN LIVINGThriving and vibrant, Manchester andLiverpool are two of Europe’s mostdynamic cities. Their cosmopolitan styleand contemporary built environmentsmake them exciting places to live, workand relax. Both offer broad diversity in therange of living locations they provide forcity dwellers. Café-bars, restaurants,theatres and exciting nightlife are just onthe doorstep, together with the expansivecultural infrastructure major cities offer.The region also boasts an impressive retailoffering – Manchester is home to some ofthe UK’s top lifestyle-fashion brands.

Energetic and exciting, Manchester buzzeswith great nightlife and quality restaurants.

Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton, Hermes andArmani all have outlets in the city, whilstLiverpool’s retail offering has beencomprehensively transformed byGrosvenor’s £1billion Liverpool Oneproject. As one of Europe’s biggestshopping/mixed-use schemes it will positionLiverpool as a major retail destination.

The Northwest also hosts two majorout-of-town retail locations. Ideally locatedon the M60 orbital system, the TraffordCentre has a catchment area largerand more populated than any otherregional shopping complex (5.3 million

people within a 45-minute drive). Over30 million retail consumers visit its230 stores each year. The Cheshire OaksDesigner Outlet complex near Chesterenjoys excellent connections with theM53/M56 motorway network. It is theUK’s largest outlet village, attracting over6.7 million shoppers to its 145 storesportfolio each year. Chester itself offersfirst-class shopping within its historicChester Rows. Here, high street namesand designer boutiques are situated withinone of the city’s most attractivelypreserved medieval quarters.

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OUTDOORS AND HERITAGEStretching from the Scottish border to theSouth Cheshire Plain, England’s Northwestspans an area of just over 14,000 squarekilometres. Within its boundary are someof the UK’s most beautiful and inspiringnatural landscapes. With the Lake District,the Northwest boasts England’s largestnational park. In total, the region hasthree areas of Outstanding NaturalBeauty, 32 nature reserves and amagnificent heritage coast. Passingthrough some of the most beautiful partsof England, the Hadrian’s Wall NationalTrail is an unbroken 84-mile pathway thatstretches the length of this historic WorldHeritage Site. As well as its inspiringsetting, the Lake District offers numerouswater-based activities – sailing, canoeing,kayaking and windsurfing. For adventure-seekers, a wide range of outdoor sports arecatered for. The Lake District is a popularlocation for mountain biking, rock climbing,trekking and high-energy water sports.

The inspiring Lakeland landscape surroundingDerwentwater is a popular attraction for visitorsfrom all over the world.

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For those who prefer more leisurelypursuits, the region has a wealth ofvisitor attractions and places ofinterest spanning all periods of history.Port Sunlight Village is an historic andmuch visited attraction in Wirral. Built in1888, this ‘model village’ was created byindustrialist Lord Leverhulme for workersat his Lever Brothers soap factory. Itcomprises 900 beautifully preservedGrade II listed houses, cottages and publicamenities, as well as attractive gardensand the acclaimed Lady Lever ArtGallery. This unique gallery contains manyoutstanding British 18th and 19th-centurypaintings, an acknowledged Wedgwoodcollection, tapestries and embroideries.

The National Trust manages manyhistoric locations ranging from ancientcastles and grand country estates –Dunham Massey, Little Moreton Halland Lyme Park for example – to places ofmore contemporary history such as thechildhood homes of John Lennon andSir Paul McCartney – restored to howthe properties were during the famousduo’s formative years in Liverpool.

In terms of heritage, Chester isarguably the UK’s most celebrated sitefor Roman and medieval archaeologyand architectural preservation. Itsamphitheatre, medieval Rows and world-

famous Chester Walls – based on theoriginal Roman fortifications – are someof the city’s key attractions. Over half amillion visitors take a tour of the wallsevery year. Lancaster, too, is rich inhistory, being home to some of the mostimportant surviving examples of Normanand medieval building and architectureincluding Lancaster Castle – one of thebest preserved castles in the country.

Gardens also play a significant role inthe region’s cultural offering with anextensive choice of locations for visitors ofall ages to enjoy. Cheshire is one of thecountry’s foremost destinations for gardenlovers with one in eight of all UK gardenvisits taking place there. Tatton Park isone of the finest examples of a completecountry estate, with its extensive gardensforming the backdrop to the prestigiousRHS Flower Show staged every July.Throughout the year, the mansion house,gardens and deer park welcome over750,000 visitors. Other locations includethe internationally regarded NessBotanic Gardens and Arley Hall,recently voted one of Europe’s top 50gardens. In Liverpool, the 200-acreSefton Park includes the famous glass-panelled Palm House – a living museumhousing part of the renowned LiverpoolBotanical Collection.

Chester’s Eastgate Street. The famous Victorian clock abovethe Eastgate arch is the world’s second most photographedclock after Big Ben.

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COASTLINEThe Northwest enjoys a coast ofexceptional beauty and diversity.Comprising dramatic seascapes, cliffformations, estuaries, peninsulas, sandybeaches, maritime ports, wildlife habitatsand key nature reserves, it runs almost1,400 km in length. More than 80% of thecoastline is designated as internationallyimportant for wildlife – particularly theregion’s indigenous and migrating birdpopulations. Much of the coastline canbe explored on foot, or by the numerouscycle and trekking routes that navigateits landscape.

The Cumbria Coastal Way offers anoutstanding number of routes for hikers and

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walkers as well as the Northwest’s longestcoastal walk. Almost 30% of England’snative sand dunes can be found in theregion, with the hills at Ainsdale andFormby, near Liverpool, forming one ofEurope’s largest undeveloped dunesystems. Home to protected seabirdcolonies, the area around St Bees inCumbria has achieved Heritage Coaststatus – its birdlife attracting observers andnaturalists from across Europe. A Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest and a SpecialProtection Area for Birds, the MorecambeBay estuary is the UK’s most importantbreeding ground for waders, whilst furthersouth, the Wirral Country Park is a

network of trails and rolling countrysidethat take in some of the region’s moststriking coastal scenery. Following thecourse of a disused railway line, the park’smain trail, the Wirral Way, overlooks themudflats and salt marshes of the DeeEstuary and Hilbre Island, two nationallyrecognised habitats for oystercatchers andgrey seals. Comprising dunes and naturalpine woods, the Sefton Coastal Path ishome to one of the few remainingpopulations of red squirrel. This rarenative species attracts visitors from acrossthe region. A short distance down thecoast at Crosby beach, Antony Gormley’sAnother Place – 100 cast-iron sculptures

of the artist himself – has become a majorfeature of the local shoreline.

The Northwest also offers anabundance of traditional seaside resorts.Blackpool is still Europe’s largest andmost visited seaside holiday destination,attracting over 7 million tourists each year.Its Pleasure Beach complex boastsEurope’s fastest rollercoaster ride,whilst its world-famous illuminations(lit by over 500,000 bulbs) bring hundredsof thousands of visitors to the resort eachautumn. The region’s other establishedseaside resorts – Southport, Morecambeand Lytham St Annes – remainenduringly popular with UK holidaymakers.

The scale and imagination behindLiverpool’s Another Place has beenrewarded with wide international acclaim.

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The region’s Premier League clubs host someof the biggest stars in world football.

SPORTWith a host of world-renowned teams, high-profile events and Olympic-standardfacilities, the Northwest is a majorinternational sporting location. Rich intradition and pedigree, the region is ahotbed of top-class football. ManchesterUnited and Liverpool – two of the world’smost successful football clubs – arejoined by six other Northwest teams in theFA Premier League. The strength of theregion’s football offering is furtherendorsed by the presence of the NationalFootball Museum at Preston’s DeepdaleStadium. The Museum displays one of theworld’s finest collections of footballmemorabilia including its centrepiece, theFIFA collection.

The quality of the region’s sportingfacilities and infrastructure is reflected inits hosting of many prestigious internationalevents. The Grand National, staged atAintree’s impressively refurbishedhorseracing venue, is the sport’s greateststeeplechase and watched by over 600million people across the world. A legacyof Manchester hosting the 2002Commonwealth Games is the City ofManchester stadium – the venue for the2008 UEFA Cup Final. It now forms partof the Manchester Sportcity complex –integrating some of the best aquatics,squash, tennis, athletics and cyclingfacilities in Europe. The ManchesterVelodrome is the home and nationaltraining base of Team GB’s hugelysuccessful cycling squad at the BeijingOlympics. In Paralympic sport,Manchester has hosted the ParalympicWorld Cup four years in succession.

Lancashire’s famous Old Traffordground is home to international testcricket, whilst the prestigious British OpenGolf Championship is a regular visitor tothe Northwest.

The Northwest is also a hotbed ofRugby League, being home to four engageSuper League teams and annually hostsone of its flagship events, the SuperLeague Grand Final at Old Trafford.

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The Northwest has the world’slargest concentration ofchampionship links golf courses.

GOLF COASTKnown as England’s Golf Coast, theNorthwest coastal area offers one of thefinest stretches of links courses anywherein the world. It boasts 20 first-classcourses, including three ‘Royal’Championship venues – Lytham &St Annes, Birkdale and Liverpool. Since1897, these world-famous courses havetogether hosted the Open Championshipno fewer than 29 times; twice since 2006.In total, the Northwest has 160 golfcourses – most within an hour’s drive ofthe coast. Besides its Championshipvenues, other famous courses includeSouthport and Ainsdale – the first courseto host two Ryder Cups – and Hillside,adjacent to Royal Birkdale, and regardedas the best course never to have stagedan Open Championship.

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USEFUL CONTACTS

NORTHWEST REGIONALDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NWDA)

The NWDA leads the economic developmentof England’s Northwest and is responsiblefor attracting foreign direct investment,supporting businesses and promoting theregion’s outstanding quality of life.

Tel: +44 (01925) 400 495

Websites

Corporate www.nwda.co.uk

Business/Investmentwww.englandsnorthwest.com

Tourism www.visitenglandsnorthwest.com

Culture www.nwculture.co.uk

OVERSEAS CONTACTS

USAChicago 001 312 379 5383 Atlanta 001 404 995 7083 Boston 001 617 973 5053 West Coast 001 949 798 5626 Bay Area 001 949 798 5649 Canada 001 416 202 6126 www.northengland.com

AustraliaTel: +61 2 9818 0980 www.noe.com.au

JapanTel: +81 3 5472 3060 www.nwdajapan.com

IndiaTel: +91 9833 6161 45

ChinaTel: +86 136 36 526219

INVESTMENT AGENCIES

The NWDA covers investmentopportunities across the entire Northwestregion and provides free and confidentialadvice to companies looking to investhere. We also work with key investmentagencies who have detailed knowledge onspecific areas of the region.

Manchester MIDASTel: +44 (0) 161 877 3000www.investinmanchester.com

LiverpoolThe Mersey PartnershipTel: +44 (0) 151 237 3931www.investliverpoolcityregion.com

CheshireCheshire and Warrington EconomicAllianceTel: +44 (0) 1606 738 083www.cwea.org.uk

LancashireLancashire Economic PartnershipTel: +44 (0)1254 300 460www.makeitlancashire.com

CumbriaInvest in Cumbria Tel: +44 (0) 1768 895 350www.investincumbria.co.uk

AutomotiveNorthwest Automotive AllianceT: +44 (0) 1695 567 255www.nwautoalliance.com

AerospaceNorthwest Aerospace AllianceT: +44 (0) 1282 604 444www.aerospace.co.uk

Advanced Flexible MaterialsNorthwest Textiles NetworkT: +44 (0) 1204 374 840www.nwtexnet.co.uk

BiomedicalBionowT: +44 (0) 1925 400 345www.bionow.co.uk

ChemicalsChemicals NorthwestT: +44 (0) 01928 515 678www.chemicalsnorthwest.org.uk

Digital and Creative IndustriesNorthwest Vision and MediaT: +44 (0) 870 609 4481www.visionandmedia.co.uk

Financial and Professional ServicesPro. ManchesterT: +44 (0) 161 833 0964www.pro-manchester.co.uk

Professional LiverpoolT: +44 (0) 151 795 0125www.professionalliverpool.com

Energy and EnvironmentalTechnologiesEnvirolink Northwest T: +44 (0) 1925 813 200www.envirolinknorthwest.co.uk

Food and DrinkFood Northwest T: +44 (0) 1928 511 011www.foodnw.co.uk

SECTOR ORGANISATIONS

The NWDA works closely with a number of industry organisations across the regionwho provide specific expertise in key sectors.

MANCHESTER– GVA of over £44 billion, the Northwest’s largest economic sub-region– The UK’s biggest financial and professional services centre outside London– 65 of the UK’s top 100 companies have a base in the city– Ranked by Cushman & Wakefield as one of Europe’s top 20 cities to locate to– University of Manchester is the UK’s biggest single-site academic campus

LIVERPOOL– GVA of over £18 billion; hosts one of Europe’s largest biomanufacturing clusters– Port of Liverpool is the UK’s biggest importer of oil, grain and agricultural feed– A world location for interactive games; hosts Sony’s European design centre – Renowned cultural assets; Liverpool waterfront is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

CHESHIRE– GVA of over £20 billion; a major R&D location and home to AstraZeneca’s global

pharmaceutical research facility– International centre-of-excellence for advanced chemicals processing– Strengths in advanced automotive production; major manufacturing plants at

Bentley and Vauxhall – A recognised financial services location; HBOS, M&S Money and MBNA manage

large-scale operations at Chester Business Park

LANCASHIRE– GVA of £21.9 billion; a global centre for aerospace and defence activity; hosts the

UK’s largest aerospace workforce– Lancashire University Management School is a world-recognised faculty of

research and teaching– BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Jet Engines manage major research facilities

across Lancashire – joint partnerships with other aerospace businesses/international regions

CUMBRIA– GVA of £6.9 billion; the Northwest’s largest geographic sub-region– One of the world’s leading areas for nuclear energy processing, research

and expertise– Half of the UK’s nuclear workforce is employed in West Cumbria– Headquarters of the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority– A leading centre for shipbuilding and submarine construction; BAE Systems has

large-scale operations at Barrow-in-Furness

ENGLAND’S NORTHWESTIS MADE UP OF FIVE DIVERSE SUB-REGIONS

Scotland

Wales

LiverpoolLiverpoolAirportAirport

ManchesterManchesterAirportAirport

LiverpoolAirport

ManchesterAirport

Blackpool Airport

Carlisle AirportCarlisle AirportCarlisle AirportS O L W A Y F I R T HS O L W A Y F I R T H

L A K E D I S T R I C T N A T I O N A L P A R KL A K E D I S T R I C T N A T I O N A L P A R KL A K E D I S T R I C T N A T I O N A L P A R K

S O L W A Y F I R T H

A R N S I D EA R N S I D EA N DA N D

S I L V E R D A L ES I L V E R D A L E

A R N S I D EA N D

S I L V E R D A L E

F O R E S T O FF O R E S T O FB O W L A N DB O W L A N D

F O R E S T O FB O W L A N D

CarlisleCarlisle

KeswickKeswick

KendalKendal

Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness

LancasterLancaster

BlackpoolBlackpool

PrestonPreston

BirkenheadBirkenhead

ChesterChester

St HelensSt Helens

StockportStockport

CreweCrewe

BoltonBolton

BlackburnBlackburn

WorkingtonWorkingtonPenrithPenrith

CumbriaCumbria

LancashireLancashire

ManchesterManchester

CheshireCheshire

Carlisle

Keswick

Kendal

Barrow-in-Furness

Lancaster

Blackpool

Preston

LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool

Birkenhead

Chester

St Helens

Stockport

Crewe

Bolton

Blackburn

WarringtonWarringtonWarrington

WiganWiganWigan

MacclesfieldMacclesfieldMacclesfield

BurnleyBurnleyBurnley

Workington

WhitehavenWhitehavenWhitehaven

Heysham

SillothSillothSilloth

Penrith

Cumbria

Lancashire

Manchester

Cheshire

To Midlands, Londonand South East

To Sheffield

To Leedsand East

ENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

With an economy of almost £120 billion, bigger than15 EU countries, England’s Northwest operates on a trulyinternational scale. The Northwest Regional DevelopmentAgency (NWDA) leads the economic development of theregion and works with companies in a variety of industriesand countries in attracting foreign direct investment.We have one of the UK’s strongest track records inassisting large companies and SMEs with their locationand expansion decisions.

Our range of services includes:

– Advice on availability and costs of sites and premises

– Guidance on grants and financial incentives

– Introduction to research and technology expertise

– Information on staff recruitment and training

– Networking with potential supply-chain partners

– Introductions to other business professionals, includinglawyers, accountants, property agents, businessconsultants and recruitment agencies

– Organising briefing visits to the region for keycompany personnel

For further information about our services visitwww.englandsnorthwest.com or call us on +44 (0) 1925 400 495.

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