Business Improvement Districts and enterprise zones are becoming increasingly important aspects of regional growth, with the majority providing the premises and scope for small businesses to expand and thereby contribute strongly towards their local economy. According to the latest annual report by the Heart of Manchester BID, this has had a significant impact upon the city’s retail landscape, boosting both footfall and spending within the district whilst providing much needed support for smaller retailers at the same time.
The BID, which celebrated its second anniversary on the 1st of April this year, revealed that retail spending in Manchester reached £910 million during the 2014/2015 financial year, thus allowing the city to retain its title as the UK’s top retail destination outside of London. In part, this was due to the wide variety of flagship city centre events and tailored marketing activities supported by the BID, driving year-round footfall and raising the city’s prestige as a tourism destination during peak seasons.
Heart of Manchester BID Chair and Selfridges’ Exchange Square general manager, Jane Sharrocks, believes that the efforts by the BID have helped retailers in the city to fight back against the lull in consumer spending following the recession.
She says; “We’re extremely pleased with the results of the BID’s second year of activity, which demonstrate another year of growth.
“Though the last 12 months have posed challenges for retailers across the country, we are very confident in Manchester city centre’s performance and the results clearly show the positive impact that BID events have had on the city.
“We believe that we have built on the solid foundations made in our first year, and the results show excellent year on year growth – we have another strong calendar of events planned for year three and are confident we can continue to improve on our success.”
Representing more than 380 city centre retailers and bringing more than £5 million of extra investment to Manchester’s retail district over the next five years, the Heart of Manchester BID is arguably one of the most influential bodies in the North West’s retail landscape. Along with encouraging growth and attracting an increased level of investment both at home and abroad, the body has helped to boost the profile of a number of key events within the city, including the 2015 Chinese New Year celebrations, the Big Student Night In and Dig the City – the latter of which saw retail sales increase by 86 per cent during the event in August 2014.
This year also saw the launch of the BID’s Heart of Manchester Retail Awards, which honour the exceptional work carried out by city centre retail businesses. The awards aim to highlight the vital role retailers play in the local economy as a means of encouraging further investment and development within the sector.
Manchester city centre spokesman, Councillor Pat Kearney, says; “With an exciting programme of events planned for the next few months, including Manchester Day, the Great City Games, Dig The City and this year’s Manchester International Festival, visitors will continue flocking to the UK’s fastest growing city.”
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