Strong growth for technology and media, says Deloitte

FIVE sites, classed by accountancy group Deloitte as technology, media and telecoms (TMT) hotspots, have seen a 50% increase in new businesses and jobs over the past year.

The firm’s report, based on estimated figures, claims 1,745 jobs have been created, but 1,300 of these are at MediaCityUK in Salford which benefited from ITV moving 500 staff from Quay Street in Manchester earlier this year.

The other hotspots are the Sharp Project in Manchester, Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, Sci-Tech Daresbury and Liverpool Science Park.

Deloitte said the five locations have attracted a further 115 businesses taking the total to 365. The total number of jobs has reached 5,200.

The Sharp Project has doubled job numbers to 340 although some of these are involved in productions at its various stages. Deloitte said Sci-Tech Daresbury had increased the number of companies on the park from 55 to 100, more than doubling job numbers to 450. There was slower growth in Liverpool with the science park and the Baltic Triangle adding 15 and 10 jobs respectively.

Jodi Birkett, TMT partner at Deloitte in the North West said: “These hotspots are beacons of the North West economy. They are stimulating success through the environment and infrastructure they provide. The hubs we’ve identified have much in common. They all promote collaboration, allowing businesses to share best practice while taking advantage of quality infrastructure at an affordable cost.
 
“The likes of MediaCity also have the added benefit of catering for both large and small businesses. Giants such as BBC and ITV are working alongside nimble start-ups who could end up being the next North West success story. These are similar foundations to what world famous TMT clusters are built upon.”