‘Manchester investment story remains compelling’
THE ‘Manchester story’ of business success and inward investment continues to be compelling, and to interest would-be investors despite the recession, an aviation conference was told yesterday.
Speaking on a panel at the new Concorde Conference Centre at Manchester Airport fresh from visiting Boston and Chicago, Colin Sinclair, chief executive of MIDAS, the inward investment company for Greater Manchester said: “Six or seven years ago we were having to knock on doors and now it’s quite the reverse, we’re receiving calls all the time.
“Despite the recession, which of course has really affected confidence and delayed decisions such as investments, the Manchester City Region’s profile is now high, the story of its change, its can-do attitude, its talent pool and of course international connectivity is compelling.”
Mr Sinclair, who travelled to the US – which remains the leading foreign investor into Greater Manchester and the North West – with city council chief Sir Howard Bernstein, met banks, insurance companies and medical and biotech businesses during the visit.
The trip also included an introductory visit to the Chicago HQ of AON, the global financial business, which has just signed a deal to sponsor Manchester United from next year.
The panel on American travel, which included Marketing Manchester chief Andrew Stokes, Andrew Cornish, MD of Manchester Airports Group and Brian Smith, the UK boss of American scientific engineering giant Waters, heard that despite the recession, the airport was seeking to secure new routes to locations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Andrew Stokes said though”First of all we need to retain the direct flights we do have, so if you don’t use them, we may lose them.”
A second panel debate in the afternoon on the Indian market saw passionate lobbying of Air India representative Shashi Kant Kaundal, manager of the airline’s Birmingham operations, to restore a direct flight from Manchester after a 10-year absence.
One member of the audience said: “Manchester has changed massively in the last decade – the airline must think again.”
Tim Newns, business development director at MIDAS said Vicki Treadell, the former North West International trade chief and now the British Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, was working hard in India to persuade the authorities there to look favourably on Manchester.
Dilip Kakar, from Kingfisher Airlines offered some hope for the future, confirming that Manchester Airport was on his organisation’s radar, but would not be drawn on timescales.
The event concluded last night with a gala dinner for around 400 guests at the centre, in celebration of £80m of investment made by Manchester Airports Group in the last few years, which includes the Concorde Conference Centre.
MAG chief executive Geoff Muirhead said the airport had striven to improve customer experience by heavy investment in the security checking system. adding: “We wanted to make the airport an exciting part of the journey, rather than something to be endured.
“We don’t always get everything right and we’re never complacent, but we always learn from our mistakes and our vision is to make Manchester the world airport of choice.”
