Carter Jonas’ Manchester office expands its horizons in the commercial, science and technology sectors
The opening of the Carter Jonas’ Manchester office in May last year marked a significant milestone in the firm's strategic expansion in the North West region, while helping to further target the burgeoning life sciences, commercial and technology sectors.
Planning & Development InSite spoke to Harry Bolton, Partner and Head of the Manchester Office, and Matt Lee, Partner, who leads the Science and Technology Business for Carter Jonas nationally and heads up the Commercial team in Manchester.
The importance of the Manchester hub
Carter Jonas’ Manchester office is home to a team of specialists across various disciplines, including planning, development, science and technology, investment, industrial and infrastructure.
In explaining the rationale for setting up the Manchester office, Harry says the building blocks of the Greater Manchester economy are strong. “There are excellent educational institutions coupled with very strong student retention rates that ensures a deep talent pool – a consideration many businesses cite as a key reason for locating within Greater Manchester.
“This growing economy has, in turn, created a robust residential market with a vibrant associated cultural and leisure economy.” It is these factors that Harry says are powering the Greater Manchester property market.
Given the Carter Jonas model is based on having a presence in the most active regions, Matt says Manchester, “was one which was really needed.”
He adds: “In terms of the wider regions outside of London, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol, we have the central spine in the Midlands and a Leeds base which covers Yorkshire and the North East but we felt the North West needed a separate office given its significance as an economic region.”
Opening a new office expands opportunities
Harnessing the opportunity that comes with setting up a business from scratch, Harry, who says the first year was “brilliant,” describes the benefits of starting a business with a blank sheet of paper, but within the context of the firm’s new Vision 2030 Strategy: “It has allowed us to take a very client-centric approach to how we provide our advice.”
This prioritises collaboration and focusses the team on responding to the brief rather than over-thinking which team is delivering the advice. “We want our advice to be structured around the demands, concerns and interests of our clients,” says Harry.
Matt adds: “It's about working more collaboratively, gearing ourselves up to be more outward-facing and focused on our clients’ concerns as opposed to dealing with which part of the business is working on which particular project.”
Gaining a stronger ability to tap into a strengthening science and technology and commercial sector
Establishing the Manchester workplace came at a time when the science and technology and commercial sectors remained strong in the traditional regions of Cambridge, Oxford and London, while at the same time growing across well-established regional hubs like Manchester that are seeing continued growth, according to the Spring 2025 Carter Jonas Life Sciences Research Report.
While undoubtedly the Golden Triangle is a world recognised location for science and tech companies, Matt says Manchester has the “cauldron of life science, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, energy and digital technology both through the research and company base.”
Why Manchester is sought-after by occupiers
He adds: “There has been heightened interest in Manchester, Liverpool and other parts of the North West, based on the specialisms within the region's universities and the NHS. After Oxford, Cambridge and London as a collective, Manchester and Liverpool are on everybody’s radar as a developed ecosystem.” As an example, Matt highlights that Citylabs1.0 was built in 2015, and Citylabs 2.0 started in 2019, “before anyone was shining the COVID spotlight on the life science sector.”
Today, the Manchester innovation district has a unique cluster of assets, including Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, with life sciences in the city accounting for 27% of 2024’s total UK uptake at 200,000 sq ft.
New schemes are boosting the region and beyond
Meanwhile, imminent projects include Kadans Science Partner’s Plus Ultra scheme on Upper Brook Street and Bruntwood Sci Tech’s Citylabs 4.0 on the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust campus.
Across the North West, the thriving science and technology sector is adding to the region’s attraction for global companies, cultivating a dynamic ecosystem for startups and established firms.
Matt cites two client examples of leading sports equipment designers, Net World Sport, which Carter Jonas worked with in Wrexham, and Sciontec, which is building Hemisphere One and Two at Paddington Village in the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool. The two schemes will deliver new office and chemistry, data, bio and innovation lab space when completed.
“These schemes are about us coming together to solve problems and create opportunities for our clients rather than us being too obsessed about whether it's a certain service line that is engaged or not,” says Harry.
Location hotspots continue to heat up
Hotspots for development in the North West include the Oxford Road Corridor and wider Manchester region, home to the University of Manchester NHS Foundation, which is the largest NHS trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the biggest single site cancer hospital in Europe and, in Liverpool, the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust which, combined with the University in the city’s Knowledge Quarter, results in “a really strong, vibrant cluster,” says Matt.
On the UK-wide issue of planning for new sites, and how local authorities are tackling potential delays, Harry says it is a “really exciting time in the planning system for Greater Manchester.”
He adds: “Places for Everyone has been approved, which is part of the Core Strategy plan, updated in 2024. On the back of that, we're now into a period where all 10 local authorities are considering bringing forward their own local plans.
“We're in an interesting position because the next wave of local plans will be providing the granularity of detail around how we realise the next phase of growth articulated within Places for Everyone.”
Looking towards a bright and growing future
For the sector generally, Matt says he is positive about what the next five years will bring.
“Disruptive technology and innovation have influenced everything we've ever had,” he says, adding that not only will it continue, “it must continue. It's part of what drives everything we do. People are always going to want the next new technological innovation, better technology, better ways to treat people, better ways to power their homes or propel their cars.
“Whatever you look at, science and technology have been at the heart of driving everything that's new.”
Harry says: “We strongly believe there is a significant amount of expansion in not just life sciences, science and tech, but across a whole host of sectors, including offices, logistics, industrial, and the residential sector, suburban and city centre and BTR.
“At Carter Jonas Manchester, we want people around us who can provide expert property advice across all of those asset classes.”
Matt adds: “We encourage people to get in touch if they want to learn about opportunities in the North West. The region, like our year-old office, is very much open for business and we are aiming to drive growth."
