Airport City launches business concierge service
THE team behind the billion-pound Airport City Manchester development has launched a new business concierge service designed to bring inward investment into Airport City.
Its Connect service aims to ensure companies that relocate to Manchester have all the tools they need to both grow their business and for employees to get the most out of life in the North West.
Available online exclusively to Airport City occupiers, it will provide help and advice to international firms on business and lifestyle issues, through a partnership with profesional firms Deloitte, Eversheds and Addleshaw Goddard.
They will advise firms on corporate and employment law, business structuring, payroll and employer compliance, global mobility consulting, grant incentives, import and export duty, general tax guidance and cash management.
Connect Life, which is tailored to employees and their families, will outline the best places to eat, drink and shop within the region, provide advice on schools, how to set up bill payment accounts without a UK credit history and how to apply for a driving licence.
Lynda Shillaw, MAG Property chief executive, said: “We’ve had really strong interest in Airport City Manchester since President Xi’s visit and we’re thrilled to be able to build on those relationships and that momentum with this visit and the launch of Connect.”
Airport City is a joint venture development between Manchester Airports Group (MAG), Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI), Carillion PLC and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).
Shillaw added: “This is the first major infrastructure project in the UK with the involvement of a Chinese company as an equity partner and is proving to be one of the best examples of how a new wave of Chinese investment is transforming infrastructure and development in the UK.
“Airport City Manchester, and the wider Northern Powerhouse, are helping the UK to build a new era of cooperation between East and West, and we’re thrilled with the high levels of interest and enquiries we’re receiving from firms in China either looking to establish or to relocate a base within the UK.”
Rhys Whalley, executive director, Manchester China Forum said: “The Connect announcement is another welcome move that will continue to boost Airport City’s offering to Chinese companies and serves as another example of Manchester’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with Chinese companies as they grow in the UK market.”
