Sinclair believes Manchester remains ‘best placed’

THE former chief executive of MIDAS has told Manchester business leaders that the city is “best placed” to maximise future opportunities.

Colin Sinclair, who became property giant Bruntwood’s new special project director earlier this week, was addressing the Downtown Manchester in Business Chairman’s Breakfast meeting.

He said that diversity and ambition had been the making of Manchester and that the city’s collective ambition and breadth of business base has made it more resilient to economic pressures.

Mr Sinclair discussed the importance of Manchester’s business community looking to the world’s leading economies for inspiration and to realise the importance of the city’s strong talent pool.

He said: “Manchester has come a long way since its industrial roots, the city has been transformed into a thriving cosmopolitan centre for architecture, culture and tourism while the ambition and ability of the business sector has made the city genuine competition as a leading European business location.

“Thanks to our world-class universities, we continue to attract more student applications than anywhere else in the country and those that get here, stay here, providing local industries with a constant stream of young talent.”

Asked about Manchester’s property scene, Mr Sinclair added: “The Co-op Quarter is going to be major development in Manchester over the next two years and will see the traditional CBD expand to incorporate the new HQ.

“However, as is being widely reported, we expect there will be no other speculative developments in the city centre.

“The result of this is that the good Grade A space currently available – Spinningfields, Piccadilly Place and 40 Springardens – will quickly fill up, forcing rents to increase and adding buoyancy to a key part of the property market.”

Downtown in Business is Manchester’s newest business club for the private sector. Already established in Liverpool, Preston and Lancaster, Downtown in Business has earned its reputation as one of the most influential business organisations in the region.

Frank McKenna, chairman of Downtown in Business, said: “Colin Sinclair has been instrumental in the growth of Manchester’s business community over the past five years and his move to Bruntwood promises to be an interesting one.

“We were thrilled to welcome him to our Chairman’s Breakfast to hear his thoughts on Manchester and his new role at Bruntwood.”

The event, held yesterday at Tom’s Champagne Bar in Kendals, was attended by 50 of Manchester’s top professionals.