Move to Circle Square will generate 200 new jobs for software firm

Taxi dispatch software provider, Autocab, is expecting to create up to 200 jobs over the next three years following its forthcoming move to No.2 Circle Square, in Manchester.

Software created by the firm, now backed by Uber, supports 1,500 independent taxi companies in 30 countries.

Autocab will take 20,000 sq ft of workspace at Circle Square and will join the likes of global technology provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise, multinational construction technology supplier Hilti and professional services firm Accenture in the city’s newest tech cluster at the heart of Manchester’s Oxford Road innovation district.

The relocation follows a period of sustained growth for the Stockport-born cloud-tech business which, over the past five years, has seen a 400% increase in SaaS revenues, a 30% increase in staff, and, most recently, a buyout by Uber in January 2021.

Autocab says the move will support its growth objectives by giving it easier access to Manchester’s digital skill base. The cloud technology innovator will also benefit from close proximity to the city’s universities and scale-ups based at the Tech Incubator.

As the latest in a number of high profile new inward investments into Manchester’s tech community at Circle Square, Autocab’s job creation plans will further boost the city’s credentials as the fastest growing tech destination in Europe – currently contributing £5bn to the UK’s digital ecosystem.

No.1 and No.2 Circle Square, have been designed to accommodate the high growth digital and tech businesses growing in, or moving to, the city. Part of Bruntwood SciTech’s UK-wide network of innovation districts, businesses located there benefit from the ability to collaborate as part of a national specialist community of digital tech-based businesses.

Facilities to support the attraction of top talent include a range of collaborative, event and wellbeing spaces and Symphony Park, which is surrounded by shops, restaurants, bars and cafés.

Bradley Topps, commercial director, Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Our ambition for Circle Square has been to provide a space for global innovators to come together in one highly connected space, so Autocab’s move is an exciting development in its early days.

“The neighbourhood offers a rare opportunity to establish a home in the heart of Manchester’s Oxford Road corridor, providing access to emerging talent and connections with universities of global pedigree and their R&D and spin-offs.”

Safa Alkateb, CEO of Autocab, said: “We have some exciting growth plans, but we can only realise them if we can attract the industry’s best established and emerging talent. Circle Square will be a real draw with the fantastic workspace we’ll be able to create there, a thriving new community on our doorstep and being based right in the heart of the city region’s innovation economy.”