New ‘cities’ development to create 10,000 new jobs

An historic £360 million contract establishing new ‘cities’ for hi-tech businesses will bring 10,000 new jobs to the Greater Manchester and Cheshire area.

Two giants of the development and finance world, ‘Bruntwood and Legal’ and ‘General Capital’ have joined forces to form ‘Bruntwood SciTech’. Through this merger, millions of pounds will be invested into the science and technology sector of the Manchester region.

A number of expansions are planned to take place on existing developments such as Circle Park, already home to luxurious student accommodation, as well as projects in Manchester Science Park and a number of other UK locations.

The project is set to be the largest investment made in Europe this year in the science and technology sector and has the goal of creating 20,000 jobs with at least 50% of these being located in Manchester and Cheshire.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, ‘Bruntwood’ CEO Chris Oglesby said: “Our focus is on creating thriving cities — breathing life into places where knowledge-based business can start and scale, driving growth for the UK economy.”

His new business partner, Nigel Wilson, chief executive of ‘Legal and General’, added: “Science and technology will be key to revitalising the UK economy and driving job creation. We need to keep investing to support the development of our UK regional cities.”

‘Bruntwood SciTech’ have articulated their plans to quintuple its property portfolio from 1.3 million square foot to 6.2 million, boosting the value to £1.8 billion within 10 years.