The UK’s largest cities would benefit from a devolution of government power, according to Walter Boettcher, Director of Research EMEA at Colliers International. Commenting on the adviser’s ongoing economic analysis of European regional cities, Boettcher noted that the present economic structure and mix of business in Manchester is more closely aligned with that of large German cities than it is with other UK cities.
The UK’s largest cities would benefit from a devolution of government power, according to Walter Boettcher, Director of Research EMEA at Colliers International. Commenting on the adviser’s ongoing economic analysis of European regional cities, Boettcher noted that the present economic structure and mix of business in Manchester is more closely aligned with that of large German cities than it is with other UK cities.
‘From our analysis of these cities, the German model is probably something our Big Six - excluding London - should be aspiring to. For example, in the UK, Birmingham is the largest and most liquid of our property markets, yet Manchester is ahead in terms of its ability to attract foreign investment in direct property,’ he said.
Boettcher pointed out that Manchester attracted more foreign property investment than the other UK Big Six cities excluding London over the course of the last five years and intimated that this was one of the reasons the UK government recently announced plans to devolve wider power to eight English cities.
Manchester’s decentralisation was only introduced in 2011 via The Greater Manchester Combined Authority, but the city’s success story actually started much earlier, he added. ‘Through its predecessor, the Association of Greater Manchester Authority, the city has been actively promoting strategic initiatives since 1986. Manchester’s integrated approach to business promotion through the Business Leadership Council and other groups aligns it far more with its German counterparts and has also placed it in a different league to other UK regional cities altogether, especially with respect to attracting inward investment. According to the research, Manchester has more in common with Düsseldorf than Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Leeds.’
Boettcher claims the devolution of government power could also impact in a positive way on the other five key cities in the UK. ‘If they follow Manchester’s lead, and take a proactive approach to international promotion they too could also become bigger players in the international investment markets.’
