DQ 9 Summer 2013 by Downtown in Business

SUMMER 2013

The NorthERN Revolution

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9CONTENTS DQ A

s Downtown has established its brand across the North West region and then into Yorkshire with the launch of Downtown Leeds last year, it has become apparent that the North of England has an entrepreneurial, aspirational and determined business community. England’s north also boasts some of the finest cultural offerings, the greatest sporting teams and personalities, a green and pleasant land, and political leadership at a local level that has a growing confidence, but a growing frustration too. Downtown launches its campaign for a ‘Northern Revolution’ in July, and in this DQ you can read why Frank McKenna, Michael Taylor, Jim Hancock and many others believe that the time is right for the great cities of the North to demand a decentralisation of power from Westminster and the South. Downtown plans on leading a discussion and debate on how this can best be achieved, and we want you to get involved. Come along to the special conference at Media City on 4th July, and look out for future ‘Revolution’ events in your city in the Downtown online bulletins. Among other features in this issue, the boss’s better half is our ‘Uptown Girl’; we review the recent City of Manchester Business Awards and our Women in Business Awards; and as always we unveil our ‘cool list’. Sir Howard Bernstein is the DQ Icon – a man whose leadership in Manchester is an inspiration to all who wish to see more power to the North. Read on, enjoy and we’ll see you at the barricades!

Totally Frank

Just Jim

The Taylor Report

Uptown Girl

Just Jonas

The Leading of Leeds

DQ Icon: Sir Howard Bernstein

The Northern Revolution

High Performance Consultancy

Seneca

Bruntwood

City of Manchester Business Awards 2013

Women In Business Awards 2013

DQ Cool List

Downtown’s Day: Lord Adonis

Downtime

6 11

Yours Sincerely,

CHRIS WILCOX THIS MAGAZINE IS WRITTEN, DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY THE DOWNTOWN IN BUSINESS TEAM, AND PRINTED BY CALLPRINT © DOWNTOWN IN BUSINESS. Downtown in Business can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by the advertisers. The views expressed are not necessarily the views of the publisher (DIB)

18 22 36

TOTALLY

FRANK power north

to the

ack in 1999 it seemed probable that the regions of England would be given the chance of creating their own ‘mini parliaments’. Tony Blair’s New Labour government had offered Scotland and Wales the opportunity of having significant powers devolved to national assemblies, and they had overwhelmingly accepted the invitation through referenda. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was a huge advocate of regional government, and on the back of establishing Regional Development Agencies in the English regions ‘Two Jags’ wanted elected regional assemblies to be introduced. As Leader of the North West Assembly at the time I can say with some authority that this was no ‘pie in the sky’ aspiration. In The North West we had had an assembly for many years, bringing together local authority and business leaders from Lancashire, Cumbria, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire, with some success. Strategies around European funding, transport, the environment and planning, alongside economic development, had been worked through and the North West was arguably the most developed model in England, certainly recognised favourably by European decision makers, not least because we had set up a very effective lobbying and policy making office in Brussels. Despite this the government, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the North East referendum would be held first. Nowhere near as sophisticated in its political structures, the other key issue I picked up was that trust between local politicians and the electorate was never as strong in the North East as was necessary if such a radical change was to be supported. Not surprisingly the North East voted a resounding ‘No’ to a Geordie parliament and

Lord John Prescott

Sir Richard Leese

Sir Howard Bernstein

Frank Mckenna Chief Executive Downtown In Business

lost with it was the opportunity for other regions to have a say. We will never know how the other regions would have voted, but the one thing that is certain is that there remains a democratic deficit in the North compared to not only the South East but Scotland and Wales too. Powers devolved to local authorities and in a few places elected mayors have had to be hard fought for and still pale into insignificance when compare to the power, influence and responsibility enjoyed by the mayor of London, or many city and regional leaders across Europe. The only metropolitan region that has made any real progress in this area is Greater Manchester. The politically astute management over a quarter of a century, driven in large part by Manchester’s leader Sir Richard Leese alongside his chief executive and this month’s DQ Icon Sir Howard Bernstein, has enabled this conglomerate of council’s to work in collaboration, in partnership with key stakeholders from the business community and elsewhere, to form a formidable combined authority that, year by year, eeks out concessions and more resources from central government. Perhaps this is the only pragmatic way in which the North can make the power grab we need to start to close the unhealthy economic imbalance that currently exists in the UK. Or maybe we just need a revolution!

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NORTHERN revolution

t is January 1st 2018 and Rachel Reeves arrives at the Leeds headquarters of the new Council For The North. The Leeds MP got the job of Chancellor in 2015 when Ed Balls refused to support Labour leader Ed Miliband’s coalition strategy. Balls wanted a Labour minority government which wouldn’t have to compromise with the diminished group of Lib Dems and their new leader Westmorland MP Tim Farron. The Chancellor hadn’t far to go from her West Leeds constituency to the shiny new offices of the Council of the North in the city’s tallest building, Bridgewater Place. However it was an important visit emphasising that the new government was serious about this latest attempt to bridge the North South divide. The task was in good hands. The Council’s leader is Louise Ellman, a woman with a long standing commitment to regional devolution. It was she who had insisted that the Council be a directly elected body. The large constituencies from the Scottish Border in the North to the Humber and Mersey in the South had elected 40 representatives, albeit on a low turn out, the year before. Reeves had insisted on sticking to a pledge made at a Downtown event in Leeds in 2013 to keep the Local Enterprise Partnerships(LEPs)that the previous Coalition

government had set up after they had scrapped the regional development agencies(RDAs). The LEPs had got off to a slow start with minimal staffing and little money. However veteran Tory peer Lord Heseltine managed to get their powers and funding increased from 2013 onwards, but in truth it was an uphill battle against a Whitehall mentality that could not see beyond the M25. Reeves accepted that the great cities of the North had a key role in revitalising the Northern economy and the LEPs had a role in that; but ten years of a flat lining economy had left the North trailing further and further behind the South East that had recovered quickly from 2014. What was needed she concluded was a Northern Revolution whereby a government in London would be truly committed to devolving real power and massive resources to the North. Before embarking on the project she had spoken to the 80 year old John Prescott who had attempted to devolve power and democracy to the North through RDAs and elected assemblies 14 years before. Prescott told her his efforts had been undermined by a Prime Minister and Whitehall mandarins that were not prepared to give the assemblies real power. He wasn’t surprised that the first, and only, referendum in the North East had led to a no vote.

The Labour led Coalition in 2015 didn’t mess around with a referendum to set up the Council of the North. It was a manifesto pledge and that was good enough to set up the body in Bridgewater Place. There had been howls of anguish from Manchester that it wasn’t chosen as the seat of government. Many speculated that the decision would have been different if the Chief Executive Sir Howard Bernstein and leader Sir Richard Leese had not retired in 2014. There had also been a mighty row across the North as the remaining district councils like South Ribble and Selby had been merged into unitary councils to avoid the charge that there would be too many tiers of government for business to cope with. The North was now governed by a clear democratic structure. People only had one local council. There were the LEPs for sub regions and then the big scale economic development to give the North a chance of closing the gap with the South was in the hands of the Council for the North with its motto “Leading Not Pleading”. The Council was set up to provide a common view to Westminster and Brussels (should we stay in after the 2019 EU Referendum) on major scientific and infrastructure investment, higher education and skills and overall resource allocation. Go North is the Council’s think tank bringing together local government, business and civil society.

There is to be a Northern Plan to decide on competing demands. Not every northern town can have a cultural cluster or a nanotechnology centre. New nuclear power stations and housing estates have to be built somewhere and not all rail and road schemes can go ahead. The approach was not to be prescriptive on the detail but it would be a big improvement on London taking the decisions. Although HS2 track was now being laid through the Chilterns, there were still doubts about its priority for the North. The benefits of the nearly completed Northern Hub in Manchester would benefit East West rail communication, but the Council had made it one of their priorities to still do more to link the Northern cities. Pressure for better connectivity was building from the Merseyside area with the deep water terminal taking ever larger ships, the newly opened Second Crossing of the Mersey and the early stages of Liverpool and Wirral Waters Atlantic Gateway development. With its strong powers over the train

operators the Council intended to make sure that never again would northern commuters be fobbed off with second hand trains from southern networks. On the financial front the Council was looking forward to working with the regional banks that had finally got under way. Northern venture capital funds associated with the local government pension funds promised to do well. BBC North has now been broadcasting from Salford Quays for six years and is now the centre of a major creative industries employment hub. The Council now intends to use this example to get other major government departments and companies to relocate from the South East where property costs have escalated dramatically during the recovery. The 25 universities in the North of England

have a competitive advantage for students now used to living with tuition fees. It is hoped that working with the Council of the North there will never again be a Daresbury or Astra Zeneca episode where hi tech jobs are moved away because of superior research skills in Oxbridge or London. Rachel Reeves meeting with Louise Ellman overran. They had much to discuss, but both concluded that a Northern Revolution was now possible.

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THE TAYLOR

REPORT WHY ITS NEVER

et’s be honest, successive governments have failed the North of England. Ministers, opposition politicians, officials and think tankers come up with ideas, but there’s never a silver bullet. I get fed up though when I hear about the problems of the North. That, to me, is looking at it upside down. Our passion and anger behind our calls for a Northern Revolution stem from a sense that this part of the country has as big a part to play in the future as it did in the past. A high speed rail line to London is the latest initiative designed to help our economy. But it brings with it some sizeable risks. I think there are dangers lurking ahead. One, and possibly the biggest risk of all to the prosperity of the North of England, is that the solution to the economic lag of the North is somehow solved by building a railway. Yes, it will help, but it mustn’t be used to tick a box. It is an enormous investment, but it is going to take an absolute age. The time it will take to build the thing is a generation away. It is bold to take such a long view, but much more needs to happen in the meantime. I was on TV earlier this year making the same point about Enterprise Zones. They alone won’t achieve economic growth. The same applies to HS2, Regional Growth Fund and Local Enterprise Partnerships. Too much box ticking is going on in isolation, too little joined up thinking. When former transport secretary Lord Andrew Adonis came to talk to a Downtown members in Lancashire and Manchester in April he confirmed that there is no logical reason why HS2 can’t be built from the North to the south, or both. If the aim is to help the North, then the first phase should be to redevelop Piccadilly station, build the tunnel under south Manchester, connect the airport and provide further connectivity to Manchester Airport,

Michael Taylor Chairman Downtown Manchester in Business

ENOUGH FOR THE NORTH making it accessible from all points south. Three, something very serious needs to be done to address the transport infrastructure of how the country is crossed from East to West. The expansion of Liverpool docks by Peel deserves fulsome support for how goods are then distributed to the rest of the North. By throwing so much capital infrastructure into HS2, it kicks this urgent need into the long grass. Four, the shorter journey time to London starts to shrink the reach of the talent pool. As Manchester and Leeds are two hours from the capital then it makes sense to have a physical presence in the North. Cutting journey times to an hour undermines the case for that. I think the flight of senior corporate finance professionals from Birmingham to London has been evidence of this. Finally though, and positively, the strongest argument for the building of HS2 is that it will relieve capacity on the West Coast Mainline. Yet it doesn’t sound as electrifying as cutting journey time to an hour, but it is the most practical and necessary action that needs to be taken sooner rather than later. Too much freight is on the roads while the line is so full.

and buses. He confirmed that all of this was informed massively by the Greater Manchester model. I asked him too about the potential for London’s ever powerful Mayor and the clout it gives our capital - “when I was Transport Secretary and I got a call from the Mayor of London I took that call”. He agreed that cities like Manchester need them too - “Manchester should have a mayor. In time this will happen”, though admitted it is a tough argument to make amongst all three parties. He was also on sparkling form in talking about the urgent need to develop apprenticeships and reduce the number of kids who aren’t in education, employment or training something that we hear everywhere we go. Lord Adonis was just the latest in a series of high profile, influential and thought leading figures to work with us on crafting our Northern revolution agenda. We want to stimulate a fresh approach to business engagement, a higher priority to regional needs and a recognition that our great cities and counties and communities are not the problem to the economic malaise of this country, but are part of the solution.

More politicians like Andrew Adonis please Lord Adonis likes to do down his own electability, but he struck me recently as a very important thinker with much to contribute. He also comes across as a really decent person. He has three big specialisms; transport, education and regional economic development. Inevitably, these are linked. I asked him about the work he’s doing in the North East - LEPs working together, a skills revolution, a Combined Authority, an “Oyster” style travel card that works across trains

Lord Andrew Adonis

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I have spent the majority of the first quarter of this year working intensely on getting my new piece of HR software to the market place. It has been tough, there have been long hours, sleepless nights and a few strong words. However, I decided that it was time to have a day off in April, pop some touché éclat on those dark circles and hit Liverpool Day with the DIB team. I absolutely love the races and frequent both Aintree and Chester quite regularly. I won’t lie to you; I do not have any scientific methodology to picking a good horse. Although I thought I would give it a go at Aintree and listened intensely to Mike Carr (MD at Altrad NSG) with his game plan. It didn’t work for me and after backing 3 donkeys, I went back to what I know best......picking a good colour! If you have not attended Liverpool Day at Aintree (Thursday), I would definitely recommend it. It is the new Ladies Day in my opinion, with a good mixture of serious racegoers and corporates. It is not as busy as the Friday and Saturday, so you are well looked after in hospitality and the rooms are quite spacious.

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It was nice to see that Aintree races know exactly how to look after their customers.... unlike Charles de Gaulle Airport. I had the most horrendous experience recently at CDG Airport with my family. We had taken our daughter to Disneyland Paris for the weekend in March and due to adverse weather conditions got stuck at CDG airport. The adverse weather conditions I can understand, being delayed for almost 24 hours I can cope with but being treated the way we were by the staff of both Airfrance and CDG airport I cannot tolerate. Both the airline and all personnel at CDG airport could do with attending an intense ‘customer care’ training course. If there was anything positive to be gained from the experience, it reminded me exactly how not to treat my clients. Good communication, honesty and empathy are all key components of good customer care (take note AirFrance). I can only describe my recent experience at CDG airport as complete mayhem. I don’t think I need to say anymore than just show you the picture of the luxurious ‘beds’ they expected us to sleep on. For those of you that know my husband you are probably in hysterics right now....... these beds are not suitable for anyone over 6ft!

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JUST

JONAS the

CULtuRed

NoRth

eeds is on the cusp of a massive culture shift for the better when the super new arena opens this summer. The 13,500 capacity venue has already announced a stellar line up of high profile artists who probably would never have considered performing in Leeds were it not for the construction of the arena. Leeds incidentally is one of the last core cities to boast its own venue of this kind. The plan is to create 300 full time jobs and an independent economic impact assessment conducted by Yorkshire Forward suggests that the annual contribution to the region’s economy will top around £25 million. The £80 million bill has been part funded by Leeds City Council with revenue created following the sale of Leeds and Bradford Airport in 2007, Yorkshire Forward and Central government. Situated in the Northern Quarter of Leeds, the arena can claim to be a first of its kind in the UK with its logical fan shaped design. The exterior is dominated by the clever use of lighting reminiscent of any number of low budget Sci-fi films from the 80’s. I’m not suggesting for one minute the design concept is tacky or out of place, tacky was ahead of its time in the 80’s! Chameleon style facades will become dated one day, not quite yet though.... I just can’t wait to hear what the locals end up nicknaming it. If forecasts prove correct, similar to the relatively new Liverpool Arena, the Leeds Arena will add massively not only to the already vibrant creative culture, but to the city’s coffers too, without costing an arm and a leg. Construction costs per seat come in at £4,800 in comparison to £8,000 per seat at the 02 Arena.

Although changes were made to the original design concept to adjust to budget constraints, the Leeds Arena is testament to what can be achieved in times of austerity if you put your mind to it. Likewise, having razed the Liverpool Everyman Theatre to the ground in 2011, it was only possible to break ground on the new building largely due to funding from both the Arts Council and the European Regional Development Fund, and a small contribution from the now defunct NWDA. Again, the redevelopment of the Everyman shows resilience against the odds. The team behind the project have worked tirelessly to secure the £28 million needed, around a third of the cost of the Leeds Arena, and possibly a little disproportionate in scale! (£70,000 per seat! ..... maybe a bit unfair a comparison though) The Everyman has a rich heritage, where many of today’s great and good cut their teeth treading the boards. The Leeds Arena is a brand spanking new venue where high profile artists can ply their trade and where up and coming performers will aspire to be. Both projects are bold, ambitious and confident, and happening here in the North. They will create huge returns on investments made, and create much needed jobs. I hope the struggle to deliver both of these remarkable venues pay dividends. I’m sure that with another £10 million investment between both would have eased the burden financially and help to secure even more jobs, but I guess there are other things to spend £10 million on these days....... a state funeral perhaps..... real value for money that!

Roger Jonas Events Manager Downtown In Business

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eeds is a city with a difference. Different from other cities in the UK and beyond, it is a city moving forward with the confidence of having a clear ambition to deliver on the world stage. Leeds and Partners is pleased Downtown In Business have recognised this and now have a presence in the city as we embark on an ambitious strategy to work in a new way, forging ahead with one voice to drive long term economic and jobs growth. Our unique proposition of market leading expertise in key growth sectors such as health and innovation, digital technology, financial and professional services offers an unrivalled opportunity to encourage investment and help raise the profile of the city. Leeds and Partners have spent time and effort engaging with stakeholders from around the city and beyond, listening to what people think about the city, what they want for the city and how their aims and visions for the city in the future. It became clear there was a huge desire to see the city draws in people to work and live here, as well as being keen to see the city take advantage of its assets and create a new kind of city. Economy: An economic powerhouse with global reach and influence. A city of opportunity where drive and ambition thrive and where innovation is embedded in the heart of the economy. A dynamic knowledge base and uniquely well connected business community where collaborations fuel growth. Our economic leadership and powerful ambitions provide a perfect platform to give us a global competitive edge. People: We’re a city where people make a difference, with welcoming, resourceful energy drawing people towards us. Inspiring and nurturing our next generation, our schools, colleges and universities develop bright imaginative people. Place: The vibrant mix of diverse experiences, with breadth and scale to offer everyone

something, means we are a city where you can get the most out of life. A city small enough to explore and big enough to be developing and changing to meet the needs of those who live and work here and those who visit too. In health and innovation we have an exemplar – so when we recently hosted a high profile UKTI mission to the city as part of their UK Medtec briefing tour, they met key figures from the region’s health innovation, medical technology and wider health community and left knowing they would be able to tell a confident story about the opportunities we have to offer. The financial and professional service (FPS) sectors in the region contribute an estimated £7.3bn of gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy and means the Leeds region is particularly attractive for financial and professional services to locate. On the digital front, Leeds is fast becoming a powerhouse of digital technology and data security, an infrastructure which is the foundation of our long term economic growth strategy. A vital sector in its own right - with a new £43 million data centre to be built in the city by telecoms business aql - digital infrastructure in Leeds also provides clear opportunities for our other key sectors to deliver on the global stage. The city has, and will continue to provide, a rich environment in which ideas, employment and opportunity where all can flourish. The unique blend means that it is a great place to do business. It also means there is a dynamic attraction for talent and ability from which employers can recruit, as well as share knowledge and ideas.

“The BEST Chief Executive of any local authori ty i n the country bar none”

DQ ICON S I

H O W A

erhaps the greatest tribute to Sir Howard Bernstein and his achievements as the chief executive of Manchester City Council is the requests he gets from other places to help them out. After successfully delivering the Commonwealth Games in 2002, a feat for which he was rewarded with a knighthood, there was much interest in whether his approach and the legacy that followed was a template. Afterall, other sporting adventures like the World Student Games in Sheffield and a Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh had been a financial disaster. But this was a clear statement that Manchester was a serious international city capable of delivering serious international projects and building a business legacy on a strong cultural and sporting base. More specifically, the strategic location of the building of the stadium in the East of the city was intended to be a catalyst for regeneration and place making. Not surprising then that the Olympic Delivery Authority were keen to pick his brain once London had won the bid to host the world’s greatest sporting spectacle in 2005. So, he joined the board for a brief time. The reason he didn’t stick at it for long may partly have been down to the time commitment that took him away from his first love – Manchester, but also because he got another extra-curricular role closer to home, as chairman of regeneration company ReBlackpool after Manchester was given the right to build Britain’s first ‘supercasino’ – throwing Blackpool’s

B E

S T

regeneration plans into chaos. Blackpool had suffered considerably from a decline in tourist numbers, from social deprivation, from benefit tourism and from a spiralling decline of the central area. One of the things Bernstein quickly worked out to be a barrier to Blackpool overcoming its problems was the ability of the public sector to make important strategic decisions itself. He suggested and then spearheaded an imaginative plan to acquire Blackpool Tower and the nearby Winter Gardens, through a £38.9m cocktail of European, national, regional and local funding, also securing a management contract with Merlin Entertainments Group – which operates the London Eye, Alton Towers and Windsor Legoland. More recently he joined a body in London called the West End Commission, which was established by Westminster council in January after it dropped plans to charge up to £4.80 an hour to park in the West End in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons. His contribution has to been to bring “a fresh, outsider’s perspective,” he said. It is these perspectives, these clever playing of the system that have forged Sir Howard Bernstein’s reputation as the best council chief executive in the country. Much envied, much admired, frequently copied and never ever really understood. Such a tribute was paid to him at a recent Downtown event by Lord Andrew Adonis, a man who has dealt with him as the secretary of state for education and for transport. “The best chief executive of any local authority in the country, bar none,” he said.

e is indeed without parallel; partly because he’s stuck at his task for so long, but also because his ruthless and single minded determination isn’t for his own career, but for Manchester. Sat at a city centre hotel bar with a friend from New York a couple of years ago, Sir Howard walked in. Polite as ever, he introduced himself, always blushing a little when people call him “Sir Howard” preferring Howard. I explained his role in the city to my friend, who was captured by his charisma. “So, he’s like the Mayor, right?” It’s not a bad comparison. Some would characterise it as a form of big city municipal muscle. Afterall, his power and reach does look like that of the city Mayors he shares a platform with at MIPIM or at other international conventions than it does to an overpaid town clerk, which is what you’d have to describe many other local government bosses as. As he’s not political, though there are few who can read the political tea leaves quite like him, he delivers the services the elected council require him to. The council leader Sir Richard Leese described their relationship in simple terms: “I don’t try and do Howard’s job and he doesn’t try and do mine.” In a recent interview with Jonathan Schofield of Manchester Confidential Leese described how the complex interplay between the two works. "Every year, the Chief Executive will be given the election manifesto and told, 'That’s what we’re delivering over the next twelve months'. It’s actually when you get into how do you do it that it gets more complicated and it’s an iterative process, a process of discussion and debate, to get to the right solutions with the questions we’ve asked. It can take a while." Colleagues speak of his obsession with the city and making it a better place and never letting up on his determination to keep at it. They speak of a man with two interests, his job and Manchester City Football Club. Though of course the two are closely linked. Those who know him well will also tell you how hard he works. He simply never switches off. He is always at it, always meeting, dealing, talking, persuading, selling and sorting. And all of that is done with a quirky and unique style. He’s also not without a cheeky sense of humour. At a recent Downtown event he brushed aside an attempt at a discussion on ‘second city’ by saying he always thought it was London. At the Five Cities event at MIPIM in 2012, which was in danger of being a little too pofaced, he joshed with the city official from Barcelona that the finances of his city could always be improved in a deal to sell Lionel Messi to Manchester City. But all those jokes aside, they do all add to the single fact that the chief executive of Manchester City Council looks at life through a Manchester lens. And though that perspective sees challenges and obstacles, it also always

sees opportunities. He has constantly valued a dialogue with the private sector in pursuit of that, a role his engagement with Downtown he welcomes as opening his eyes to new people. “I go to many business events in the city and I tend to see the same people. It’s important that we penetrate the wider business community and address a broader canvas of business representation. How our city encourages businesses to expand is important.” He’s always understood that the kind of expertise private sector partners bring can get things done in a city, leverage their knowledge, use their contacts and get projects completed. In the aftermath of the IRA bombing of the city centre in 1996, as deputy chief executive, he gathered the senior businesses from the city together and said, let’s create an opportunity out of this terrible atrocity on our city. Let’s make the city better, not worse. The results are there for all to see. Those kind of partnerships were extended into Hulme, to East Manchester and Castlefield, where developers like Amec and housebuilders like Bellway and Crosby would collaborate with home grown entrepreneurs in the development sector like Urban Splash and Jim Ramsbottom and architects like Ian Simpson. At the heart of Bernstein’s strategy is place making and delivering it through clear strategic thinking. He said last year: “Our city’s transformation has not come about through chance. Underpinning it all has been a clear strategy, a vision of where we wanted to take Manchester. “Manchester is not a city that sits still. It’s in our DNA to constantly move forward. Which is just as well, because we need to ensure that we stay on top of our game to succeed in an ever-competitive global marketplace. The state of our country’s economy, and indeed the economies of most of the western world, as well as growing and emerging markets, leave no room for complacency.” Initially those strong private sector links that he sought and nurtured were with property developers, agents, surveyors architects and place makers. Look at the composition of Manchester’s first business leadership team and the early Local Enterprise Partnership – but now the city, with his active leadership is reaching out to other sectors. He paid tribute at our recent event to some of the technology businesses who are playing an important part in leading the technological revolution – with a nod in the direction of Scott Fletcher of ANS and Lawrence Jones of UKFast. But one thing that always impresses about Howard’s leadership of the city is the way he adapts central government initiatives to work

effectively at a local level to achieve strategic objectives for Manchester. Two examples – the city addressed market failure in the provision of structural finance for important signature projects that could have moved the city onwards. The city led a bid for European JESSICA funds to lever in new investment to support viable schemes which were in danger of stalling. One was the old Palmolive site which has been transformed into the Soapworks development. Secondly, the city is addressing the needs of the smaller business base of the city with a more tailored – not to become a bank, but at least bridge gap in the provision of growth finance. This civic entrepreneurship is what Manchester has become very good at. And it’s what starts to underpin the most compelling case yet for HS2 – that the scheme brings Manchester, and its airport, into greater connection to Europe, not just London. It will be and can be an important part of a wider strategy to make Manchester a better connected city from east to west, to China, and to Europe. Including a HS2 stop at Manchester Airport also reinforces the argument for building the new railway sooner rather than later, and from the North downwards, not the other way round. All told, the city is very lucky to have a leader with the single minded determination to work for the interests of the city morning noon and night. When you see every challenge as an opportunity, every policy initiative as an intellectual test of how it can work here, rather than as an act of charity from there, then you approach life differently. It’s often said that while many cities have their bust ups in public, Manchester always promotes a united front and keeps strong disagreements behind closed doors. But Bernstein isn’t afraid of a fight either. He was so determined to secure proper use of the London Road Fire Station he will keep fighting until he does. The battle over the congestion charge to me was a piece of long term strategic politics for the betterment of Manchester. But as I write this people are considering the impossible job of succeeding another knight in a Manchester institution, Sir Alex Ferguson. As he celebrated his 60th birthday recently, it is obvious that people may speculate as to what Howard may do next. And then who would replace him. The very fact that he leaves such massive shoes that no-one could fill is the second greatest tribute, the greatest is the city itself. Progressive, practical, ambitious and going places.

HOWARD’S WAY –

The Four Pil ars of Bernstei n Ci vi c Leadershi p WORK WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURS – the economy does not recognise geographical boundaries, and therefore it

would be a nonsense for the ten Greater Manchester authorities to compete against one another, when by working together they can attract more investment, create jobs, offer a much more attractive environment for the business community and provide a powerful lobbying voice for their city-region in Westminster.

MARKET AND PROMOTE – Getting the branding for your city right is essential and agreeing on an attack brand and

common approach means that the outside world understands what you are selling. In Preston terms, the city has a strong identity in the UK, but is not recognised internationally. Why not piggy back on the two big cities in the region, Liverpool and Manchester to help support the Preston offer?

RED CARPET TREATMENT FOR INVESTORS – When someone demonstrates an interest in investing in your city, bend over backwards to accommodate them. They can spend that money anywhere in the world!

LEADERSHIP – Strong, dynamic and consistent political leadership lies at the heart of Manchester’s success; and the civic leaders’ ability to work with the private sector as genuine partners is a big part of the city’s USP.

HOWARD’S GREATEST HITS Aftermath of the 1996 IRA bomb – the

Pri vate sector relati onshi ps

– businesses love doing business with a civic leader they can trust and who speaks the same language as them.

masterplanning of the city’s retail and commercial core around the Arndale and Cross Street was a real coming together of private sector partners that has served the city so well.

Trai ns – the Northern Hub, a small number of strategic improvements

Metroli nk expansi on – a unique deal between a left wing

to pinch points in the rail network is the first step towards a real revolution in rail franchising and possible leadership by the public sector.

council and a Conservative government saw the birth of Metrolink, a triumph of real politik.

Academi es

– getting private sector support for academies to improve failing schools showed true ambition and leveraged the backing of major businesses in Manchester.

Commonwealth Games

– what was initially a consolation prize for a failed Olympic bid, was turned into a carnival of participation and regeneration.

The Manchester Internati onal Festi val – you’d be hard

Ai rpor

t – the continued development of the Airport has been massive for Manchester. Holding on to it through successive governments and staying in control through a strategic partnership with investors has made it a major player in aviation for the next generation. Owning Stansted is a smart move.

pressed to nail Howard down as a culture vulture, but the biennial event has truly put Manchester on the cultural world map and has delivered something of true scale.

Manchester Ci ty Football Club – make no mistake, the

vision for the wider city, the excellent stadium and the potential for working with the civic leadership played a major factor in attracting the Abu Dhabi investors to the club.

Government relati ons

– ministers like dealing with him. He is trusted to get things done. He may have had bust ups over his pay with Eric Pickles, but that is just showboating. The serious people know him better than that.

he government’s stated commitment of closing the economic gap between the North and the South of England is nothing new. Successive governments have tried, and dismally failed, to achieve this objective with a range of initiatives and projects including city challenge, the Northern Way and most recently Local Enterprise Partnerships. There is little doubt that the great Northern cities of Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool have all benefitted from this array of regeneration and economic development activity – but at the same time London has managed to continue to grow at an accelerated rate. So, perhaps it is not London that we should be concerned with, but ourselves: London is not a good benchmark for any English city or region.

The financial muscle of London means that the UK has avoided becoming another Greece, so why do we wish to further redistribute wealth from our capital city to the regions? Indeed, why would they continue to let us? What we could, and should, rightly demand is a decentralisation of the management of government funds and more importantly government power, so that we can take greater responsibility for our own destiny. Greater Manchester has proved that with a limited amount of autonomy city regions can achieve a great deal. It is a model that needs to be supported, but it doesn’t go far enough. A ‘Northern Revolution’ is what Downtown is calling for – we hope you are inspired to sign up for the campaign ahead by the words of some leading regional players that have contributed to this special feature...

simon binns hile some cities feel the pinch, Manchester's food and drink scene W appears to be in rude health. In fact,

where some operators are tightening belts, Manchester's diners are more likely to be slipping theirs down a notch, such is the rapid growth of the sector. Simon Rogan's takeover of The French at The Midland has lifted the standard. Even London-based critics like it. Aiden Byrne, the youngest man to ever hold a Michelin star, is up next, with his Living Ventures-backed fine dining project, The Restaurant at Manchester House on Spinningfields, which opens in May. They're the big names on the chef front; but if you're talking about Michelin-starred balance sheets, Living Ventures and San Carlo are Manchester's undeniable big hitters.Living Ventures has the Alchemist, Australasia, Oast House and Grill in its stable, and is rolling out more. The Botanist; Artisan; Grand Pacific, Earth Bar. If nothing else, owner Tim Bacon must be running out of names. San Carlo has powered on ever further in the last couple of years thanks in no small part to its Cicchetti brand - a smart and smooth addition and a victory for Marcelo Di Stefano as he takes the reins from his father. Annoyingly, as well as being far, far richer than me, Marcelo is better looking and a nice chap too. The swine. In the Northern Quarter, you can't have a restaurant without a shouty Twitter account - Almost Famous and Solita have cashed in on the recent trend for low-down and dirty burgers packed with, well, anything you can readily grill or fry and cram into a brioche bun. And they know how to market themselves. Their 'no reservations' and social media hype marketing is a nod to Soho operators like Polpo and Meat Liqour, but it seems to be working on Manchester's hipster brigade. London has obviously been paying attention slick Soho burger chain Byron opens next month on

Deansgate. Excess seems to be the trend at the moment. How long will it last? Well, everyone needs a salad eventually. I got a bit cross with it all earlier in the year and wrote a post on my blog arguing that 'fast food is bad, apart from when it's served ironically at three times the price by people who could feasibly present T4.' We've kissed and made up since. I even helped put Teesside's favourite dish, the parmo, on the map in the Northern Quarter, although frankly, I should probably have got myself a commission-based deal with Solita, who have sold more in the last three weeks than I've eaten in the past 20 years. Meanwhile, pies seem to be the new burgers, as do ribs. And possibly hot dogs. Cool new bars such as Terrace, Kosmonaut and The Blue Pig have joined established NQ favourites such as Common, Trof, The Castle, Port Street Beer House and Black Dog Ballroom. The real ale scene has really filtered through the Northern Quarter too, finding a younger audience. Older types know that pubs like The Marble Arch, The Angel, The Mark Addy and the Briton's Protection have been doing it for much longer though. Bowling is big news too - All Star Lanes and Black Dog's Dogbowl have moved the sport on from spotty oiks at the multiplex to cool city centre pastime. Out in the sticks, Aumbry in Prestwich; Nutter's in Bamford; Ramson's in Ramsbottom and Damson in Heaton Moor are all exceptional and inventive. We have to talk about Red Hot World Buffet - an all you can eat hurricane of onion bhajis, spaghetti and nachos. And booze. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but the restaurants fixed-price menus are packing them in. But what are we missing? And don't say a Michelin star. We really don't need one. I'd like to see a real Basque pintxos bar come to Manchester - inventive table top snacks with beer or lashings of cheap Rioja is a winning combination. And a Colombian restaurant too please. Just me? No?

laura wolfe

PEOPLE ,FOOTY AND FRANK MCKENNA... something special about the North. The people. The community. The TAfterhere’s collaboration. The fun. The life. The banter. The music. The countryside. The football. spending my formative years in Manchester, I spent the next ten years in London. I

actually went to London to be famous. I wasn’t. I did however have a fantastic time living it up in my twenties before I decided to grow up, get married, move back to Manchester and get a proper job. The North welcomed me back with open arms. We do that in the North. We collaborate. We celebrate when we succeed, we look out for each other when we don’t and we have fun doing it. The people in the North are special. Doing business here is unlike anywhere else. Running a business here you don’t feel isolated; people will you to succeed. There is a sense of community. Then there’s the football – the North is the hub of football with the best fans in the world. Blue or Red – we are all just as passionate and just as insane about our teams. There is nothing like the football banter of the North. And then of course, there is Frank McKenna. I love the North.

andy bounds

It's great up north “How on earth do you cope, when everything happens in London?”

been asked this question twice Ilive?’verecently. Guess where both questioners And, last month, I was the only Northerner in a group where someone said “If you want to know what the North looked like 20 years ago, go there now”. Oh, the comedy. Laugh? I nearly did (actually, I did laugh at the last one). So, given all this, why would any of us live here? I mean, why don’t we all go south and beg for a job. Maybe as someone’s butler?

But, you see, I love it here. As comedian Graham Fellows once said “It’s nice up North”. And by “it” I think he meant everything. I love sport. And the North is home to the country’s best football teams, the Grand National, Rugby League… I love being able to walk across a zebra crossing without the need to ring my children beforehand and say my fond farewells. I love that you can get a decent amount of house for your money. And that we serve “honest” food (whatever that means). And I love the views in West Kirby where I live. Most of all, I love the people - not just the fact that they actually talk to you on public transport, but their warmth and friendship. I remember my Mother – who is blind – once saying “I love it here. People could walk past a blind person, and I’d never know. But they don’t. They come over to ask if I want help. I’ve never experienced that before”. Now that’s a great place to live.

CLAIRE YOUNG WHY I LOVE THE NORTH spent my childhood being brought up in Hlightsaving Wakefield, West Yorkshire, I was lured to the bright of London as a graduate to climb the corporate ladder. 9 years later, 3 jobs down the line and a stint of being thrown into the public eye having taken part on The Apprentice, I returned home to The North and have never looked back. The London Underground was the bane of my life. Cramped, hot, smelly and overall grim! As an entrepreneur time is money and it frustrated me that you could never get anywhere quickly in the capital. I love the great transport links of the North (M1, M62 and the East Coast train) and quick accessibility to open spaces quickly.

I crave greenery and there is nothing I enjoy more than riding my horse Briar in the Yorkshire sunshine. Being able to park without the continual fear of being clamped/towed/ticketed is also a bonus! I am a real foodie and I think we have some of the best meals in the world served here. Fish n chips never taste quite the same served by our southern cousins, Yorkshire pudding, parkin and of course a good old cup of Yorkshire tea. This is the only tea I drink. I am convinced that it can solve a whole magnitude of problems! Betty's tearoom is world renowned with their rascals (a current scone) and one of my favourite places to escape to for some quiet time. I live by the motto 'Work Hard Play Hard' and the north boasts one of the UK's best spas. Eastthorpe Spa is heaven on earth and a place every person should visit to recharge. The north has a passion, drive and energy which I am proud of. We celebrate our history, culture and have a sense of community. Long may it live on, it's why so many of us will never leave here!

LUCIANA berger Why I wouldn'T want to live anywhere else

inpointing one feature that defines the North isn’t easy. For Pcharacteristic. me, the north isn’t about any single, individual feature or It is a coming together of people and places, and culture that join, link and overlap, creating a place that is geographically defined as “the North” but is affectionately called “home.” From thriving cities, to tranquil countryside, popular culture to cutting edge industry, the north offers something, and somewhere, for everyone. It is this diversity that is the foundation and future of the communities who continue to make and shape the North. Nowhere is this diversity more evident than in my home of Liverpool. Our beautiful parks – such as Calderstones in my constituency - provide somewhere to relax as well as somewhere to play. Grade II listing buildings provide, history, majesty and splendour, whilst creative and digital industries offer an innovative, exciting and hi-tech future.

People come together, promoting and sharing major cultural events such as the astounding Sea Odyssey whilst always campaigning for fairness when needed, or justice when due. The North isn’t one place, or one person, or one passion. It’s all of these things and more. That’s the reason why the North is special – and the reason I why wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

WILLIAM ROUTLEDGE Football and fashion, culture and music

ince the summer of 1977, the year when youthful, straight jean wearing scallywags circuited Wembley Stadium, the title has been won by north-west teams a great deal more times compared to the title heading down south, past Birmingham. The FA Cup has had divided ownership, so we’ll call that a score draw. I won’t even go there on the European Cups that have been won by northern clubs in weight and balance, facts and figures, and if you know your history. We are superior. We should also mention for the record that Preston North End, one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, were the first ever Double Winners, while remaining unbeaten all season in 1888-9, and they didn’t even concede a goal in the FA Cup too. A feat never bettered, and I doubt it ever will be. Music and bands: Mersey Beat and the world dominance of the Beatles may have happened many sunsets ago but ‘Beatlemanics’ still pilgrimage from around our earthly sphere to Liverpool to pay homage to the Fab Four. The scousers came good once more at the beginning of 1984; there were seven Merseyside artists in

the Top Twenty of the charts come one Sunday in January, which is quite a major accomplishment indeed. The iconic psychedelic, Madchester scene and bands created in those dolce vita , loved-up times, by Mancs, Salfordians and the confines of Greater Manchester alike, in the mid-to-late Eighties, will never be recaptured or superseded again. We did have the Oasis v Blur (north v south) saga in 1995, though – yawn. And there has been nothing of worth, or of note, to date since, aside from the resurrection of the Stone Roses, that is. And on the fashion forefront: Well, stone the crows. The southerners of late think they’ve invented the Bakers Boy/flat cap! I’ll have you know us northerners have worn flat caps/bonnets since the 14th Century, and southerners have ripped us for many years for wearing such titfers – as well as braces and thick-knit woolly scarves. So, you urban chic chappies that are claiming bragging rights, I can’t doff my cloth cap on this one either. Do cockneys/southerners really believe that they were the vanguards and trailblazers on all of Britain’s cults since the teddy boys; or that they created the last big cultural explosion, the casual? I guess they do, but I, and other northerners, beg to differ, because we are in the know.

dougal paver hat’s great about the north of England? Wheather, The bird stood motionless on a tuft of Bowland alerted by my heavy breathing. Walked-up

grouse shooting demands absolute fitness as you clamber ever upwards across Lancashire’s peaty fells and it wasn’t on offer from yours truly. A lonely curlew cried high above and my quarry cocked its head as the wind caught its rusty bronze plumage and hinted at the extra propulsion on offer. It seemed to prompt a decision and the grouse launched itself forward, hugging the landscape low and fast to my right as the whirring sound of its wings gave way to its characteristic call. Two shiny gun barrels represented danger and it wanted to let its peers know. My swing was unsteady for the first barrel as I sought to secure my foothold and a puff of dust flew up to the bird’s left as 32 grams of shot missed its target. Game shooting is a bit like golf: it’s all about the swing, so I followed through, accelerating the barrels past the bird as it began dipping down the side of a steep clough. It was forty yards away now, at the limit of the

cartridge’s range for an instant kill and so I raised my barrels and it took the wind in its wings with gratitude, zipping over the edge of the ridge-line, out of sight and to safety. I stood and took in the view as I reflected on the experience. Away to the north west loomed the Cumbrian mountains, hazy in the early autumn sunshine. To my right, across the border in North Yorkshire, stood Ingleborough Hill, the flat-topped sentinel of the western Dales, sight of which always heralded our family’s arrival at Botton Head, the lonely hill farm below me where we would escape the madness of Liverpool for weeks at a time during summer. It was a magical vista: part visual narrative of a happy upbringing and part majesty. You could believe in God in a place like this. I sleeved my gun and sat down for a slug of whiskey as a flock of fieldfares whirled and chirped below. The north: as good as it gets. If I tire of this I’d surely tire of life.

bOOK ON www.downtownmanchester.co.uk

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SMEs still waiting on relief from bank miss-selling Interest Rate swap commentary from Daniel Fallows, director at Seneca Banking Consultants

Banks are being put under pressure to speed up compensating the Liverpool/Manchester/ Lancaster/Leeds small and medium enterprises (SMEs) thought to be suffering financially as a result of taking out loan products to guard against interest rates going up. UK regulators in January ordered banks to conduct internal reviews of the sale of thousands of the policies, known as interest rate swaps. The banks will be required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to compensate customers who were misled or not given relevant information as part of the sales process. The FCA, which took over responsibility from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from the start of April, has given Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds the authority to begin to contact customers to initiate the compensation process. Barclays and HSBC are also believed to have been given the go-ahead to settle cases. Other high street banks, including the Co-operative Bank, Santander UK, and the Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks, are still in the internal review process but have agreed to participate in compensation scheme. The Liverpool/Manchester/Lancaster/ Leeds SMEs which have been affected will still have concerns about the time it is talking to resolve the issue - and fact the banks appear to have a system of self-adjudication, with no appeal process currently available to the businesses who do not receive a satisfactory response. The swaps were sold, and often insisted on, by banks to loan customers between 2001 and the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. They were sold on the basis that they allowed borrowers to fix their rates and control their costs, but when interest rates fell the swap became very expensive. Worse still, a gearing kicked-in that made the exit fees simply astronomical. In most cases, the lower interest rates fell, the higher the exit fees became –

which the regulators said the banks often hid from customers. First estimates suggested some 40,000 businesses had been miss-sold swaps – but Business Secretary Vince Cable recently revised that figure to upwards of 100,000 cases by including some structured loan products, which have some particularly toxic clauses in the small print. These products were often presented as a simple insurance against rising interest rates, when in fact they were highly complex financial derivatives. Many victims were not made aware of the nature of what the bank had involved them in - or the very significant costs attached to exiting the product. The regulators are involved because the banks glorified the benefits and overlooked the risks of what would happen if interest rates fell. In most cases the products were sold over the phone. The terms and conditions would only turn up weeks later, by which time the contract had, in effect, already been executed. The destructive effects of these policies have manifested themselves in a variety of ways. These include outright and sometimes high profile company failures, plus a whole spectrum of problems such as redundancy and restricted cash flows. In some cases it has proved a deal-breaker where a principal wants to sell the business but is unable to do so because of the existence of the swap. In others, it’s forced people to sell up completely or to dispose of assets at below market rates to fund the massive fees associated with exiting these hedges. A threshold for claims has been set at businesses with a turnover of up to £6.5 million. Beyond that size, a business is considered to have been large and therefore ‘sophisticated’ enough to have understood the risks. It’s a narrow and formulaic approach and certain to be tested with litigation. There are numerous cases of blatant miss-selling and breaches of

duties, and the company’s size should not be an issue if they were miss-led by a bank. A pilot study conducted by the regulator has already found that more than 90 per cent of 173 sales to “non-sophisticated” customers did not comply with at least one regulatory requirement. The regulator has worked with the banks to review their portfolios of customers who may have been miss-sold products. An independent reviewer appointed to each bank also has to confirm that the necessary systems and procedures are in place to begin making the payments. The process is moving forward but, in general, avoidance of liability is a huge problem. Even now we see communications from banks to customers which are misleading. To suggest, for instance, that people don’t need specialist advice is disingenuous and, frankly, ludicrous. These products were in reality complex, financial derivatives, with hedging arrangements often tucked away inside the detail of ‘structured’ products. What is required is an experienced and specialist eye to unravel what has been sold and the breaches of acceptable practice. It’s not a job for a lay person or even an inexperienced lawyer. The regulator has also made it clear that businesses will be entitled to ‘consequential’ loss. That’s damages for the negative effect these policies have had on firms, not just about paying back premiums. The banks are not in a position to assess this aspect of compensation. Analysts expect this latest financial services scandal to cost the UK banking industry in excess of £2 billion but the figure could be much higher. There are hundreds of claims from people who feel they have lost everything.

Does your office leave you tired or inspired? The work space you choose says a lot about your business. It reflects on you, your values, your vision and your brand. We all know that branding goes beyond your logo, your business cards and your website. It is your business’ DNA and it should also reflect in the place your business calls home. When it comes to your work space, first impressions count and this doesn’t just apply to the creative sector or companies with clients who pay a visit from time to time. You can have the best marketing strategy ever devised, backed up by the most innovative of websites, but all that effort could be in vain, if the perception people have of your brand is shattered the moment they step inside your door. But it’s not all about image. How your staff feel about their work space is also crucial. Your staff are your brand ambassadors and a bright, vibrant and creative environment can also help inspire and boost productivity. The office is also a place for you to showcase your corporate culture and live out your brand – a concept that is all too often overlooked. So let’s face it. The economy is changing. Business is changing. Businesses have to adapt, and so it follows that our definition of what an ‘office’ can mean, has to change. Bruntwood is a family-owned and run property company that specialises in creating spaces that help businesses to succeed. From a single desk for a day to a whole building for 25 years, they have solutions to suit a wide range of requirements. With over 110 properties across four UK city regions, they provide office space, serviced and virtual offices, meeting rooms and retail premises to companies across a range of different business sectors. They don’t see themselves as a landlord but rather as your property partner, making sure that their choice of premises adds the best possible benefit to the way your business works. Bruntwood have worked with all sizes and types of companies from start-ups and SME’s to international market leaders, from designers to lawyers and everything in between. To help you make the space distinctively your own, they openly encourage a collaborative approach to the design of your office. They want you to view the work space not as something to be taken ‘offthe-shelf’ but more as a ‘blank canvas’ for you to turn your ideas of the perfect office into a reality. There is a range of inspirational spaces available across Manchester city centre and help is at hand at every step of the way with design consultancy, space planning, fit-out and relocation. The idea is to create a space that reflects you and your brand whilst challenging your perception of what an ‘office’ looks like. So maybe you do your best work in the kitchen and want to make that the hub of your meeting space? How about a pool table in your boardroom or rowing machines to replace fax machines? A putting green perhaps or hot-desking at breakfast bars with Sky News on tap? A gym, somewhere to practice yoga or an office fitted out like a library… the possibilities are endless.

To get inspired visit: www.bruntwood.co.uk/blank-canvas or call a member of the Bruntwood sales team on 0800 731 0300.

CITY OF MANCHESTER BUSINESS AWARDS 2013

he air was thick with competitive tension between two of Manchester’s top technology businesses UK FAST and ANS were the big winners at Downtown’s third annual City of Manchester Business Awards held at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester in March. UK Fast won best technology business and the sponsor’s award as recognition for the growth the business has demonstrated, and for the unique vision and single minded leadership from CEO Lawrence Jones. Scott Fletcher of ANS won the Chairman’s Award in recognition for the rapid expansion of his business and the extra work he has committed to the City as a board member of the LEP and for campaigning for business in the city. Hiring-Hub.com, a disruptive recruitment industry platform was winner of best recruiter and best start-up. The business has this year been acquired by private equity investor JLP. The event also saw the launch of the Factory 100 campaign, a challenge for 100 Manchester businesses to raise much needed funds for the inspirational work of the Factory Youth Zone in Harpurhey, north Manchester. The City of Manchester Business Awards, celebrating its third year, provides Downtown Manchester in Business the opportunity to recognise the contribution that entrepreneurs and business leaders make to the economic growth in the city. Manchester’s most dynamic businesses attended the event which celebrated the recent achievements in the city and were praised by Manchester City Council’s chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein who spoke at the event. Downtown Manchester chairman Michael Taylor said: “These awards are a great opportunity to recognise some of the businesses that make such a difference to the business life of our city. We recognise the input of businesses of all sizes, and the valuable contribution of start-ups and new professional services firms. A massive well done to all our winners, as well as everyone who was nominated.”