A recent report by Oxford Economics states that Manchester has been the UK’s star economic performer since 2008. That long-term momentum is one of the reasons Datum chose Greater Manchester for its newest data centre.
Manchester's growth story – why we’re investing in the region
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Why we chose Manchester
A city combining growth with productivity
According to Oxford Economics, Manchester stands out because it has achieved something many places have struggled to deliver: strong employment growth alongside robust productivity gains. Recent analysis from Oxford Economics helps explain why Manchester continues to attract high levels of investment. Its report describes Manchester as the UK’s ‘star performer’ since 2008, pointing to a model of growth that other major cities may look to follow.
The UK’s productivity performance has been a long-standing economic challenge since the global financial crisis. Manchester, by contrast, has managed to move against that trend. According to Oxford Economics, much of this has been driven by the expansion of knowledge-intensive service sectors such as finance, legal services, marketing, advertising and head office functions.
These are exactly the kinds of sectors that depend on secure, reliable and scalable digital infrastructure. As service-led businesses grow, so too does demand for the platforms behind them – connectivity, colocation, resilience and business continuity.
City centre growth and its benefits to the wider region
One of the key findings in the Oxford Economics report is that Manchester’s strongest growth has been concentrated in the city centre. Far from being a weakness, that concentration is presented as a core part of the city’s success.
Manchester’s growth has been supported by the expansion of its urban core, underpinned by housing-led regeneration and major investment in transport. That has increased the city’s effective density, making it more attractive to businesses and workers and helping knowledge-intensive sectors benefit from the clustering of people, services and infrastructure in one place.
For businesses, that concentration creates practical advantages: access to skills, better transport, stronger networks and a deeper commercial ecosystem.
But this is not only a city-centre story. Oxford Economics also notes that while GDP growth has been strongest in central Manchester, Greater Manchester is benefiting significantly. In other words, the centre may be the engine, but the wider city region is still moving forward with it.
Why Wythenshawe is the right place for digital infrastructure
A data centre does not need to sit in the middle of the commercial core to support a booming business ecosystem. In fact, the best data centre locations tend to offer a different mix of strengths: connectivity, resilience, operational access, security and room for long-term growth.
Wythenshawe offers exactly that. Datum’s Manchester campus is close to Manchester Airport’s City Enterprise Zone and is ideally located for air, motorway and rail links across the UK. It is also one of the most well-connected and protected data centre sites in the country.
That makes south Manchester a strong location for businesses that want proximity to one of the UK’s most dynamic city-region economies without compromising on the practical requirements of mission-critical infrastructure.
Connectivity is what turns momentum into value
A useful lesson from the Oxford Economics analysis is that successful urban growth is not just about strengthening the centre. It is also about making sure surrounding areas can connect into that centre and share in the opportunities it creates.
As Manchester continues to attract high-value businesses, the demand for robust infrastructure across the wider region will only increase. Data centres need to be close enough to serve that demand, while also being located in places that can provide the resilience, access and scalability modern organisations expect.
That is a key reason why Wythenshawe makes sense – not despite Manchester’s city-centre-led growth, but because of it.
Stability matters to long-term investors
Manchester’s success is also rooted in consistency. Oxford Economics highlights the value of a stable political and policy framework in supporting the city’s long-term growth. That consistency gives investors greater confidence because it reduces the uncertainty created by fragmented leadership or constantly shifting priorities.
For infrastructure businesses, that matters. A data centre is a long-term investment. It depends on confidence in regional demand, confidence in connectivity and confidence that the wider business environment will continue to support growth.
Investing in what Greater Manchester is becoming
Datum’s decision to build a brand-new data centre in Manchester was a deliberate investment in a region with the right long-term fundamentals: a growing knowledge economy, strong connectivity, a broadening spread of opportunity and a policy environment that supports investor confidence. That confidence is already being reflected in market demand, with half of the existing capacity in MCR2 already committed and a second hall coming online, when required.
Manchester’s growth may be led by its centre, but the opportunity it creates extends well beyond it. For businesses that need secure, scalable and well-connected digital infrastructure, south Manchester is well placed to support the next phase of regional growth.
If you are exploring data centre options, you can visit our Manchester campus, home to MCR1 – and our brand-new MCR2 facility launched in 2025. Or, for organisations looking for capacity closer to the capital, our London edge campus includes FRN1 and our in-progress build of FRN2, which will feature the same specification as MCR2. Get in touch to find out more.