Spotlight on Manchester

Today, Manchester stands as one of the UK’s fastest-growing regional economies: a magnet for talent, infrastructure investment, and regeneration.

With a thriving tech and life sciences sector, world-class universities, and bold urban development plans, it offers a compelling case for long-term real asset investment.

Innovation and infrastructure thrive in places built to connect people, ideas and industries.

Our investment into Manchester Goods Yard — part of the Enterprise City development in the St John’s area — reflects our belief in the power of place to drive productivity.

This mixed-use asset brings together high-quality office space, retail and leisure in a vibrant urban setting.

It’s home to fast-growing businesses in media, tech and professional services — sectors central to Manchester’s economic future.

But our commitment goes beyond bricks and mortar. We pledged long-term support for Aviva Studios — Manchester’s new world-class cultural venue and the permanent home of Factory International.

Through this partnership, we’re helping to make arts and culture more accessible and inclusive. It’s how we invest in the North’s creative and commercial potential — supporting jobs, skills, and the spaces where innovation and culture meet.

At the gateway to Enterprise City, the Globe Building stands as a symbol of Manchester’s industrial past and digital future.

Once home to the Globe and Simpson motor works, Aviva Investors has helped transform this iconic site into a state-of-the-art headquarters for the media, tech and creative industries.

With 88,000 square feet of premium workspace, the building combines sophisticated architecture with cutting-edge digital infrastructure.

Tenants like WPP are already anchoring the space, drawn by its connectivity, design, and proximity to Manchester’s innovation ecosystem.

Powered by 100% green energy and awarded an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating, the Globe Building meets the highest standards of environmental performance.

Strong ESG credentials are increasingly favoured by occupiers, command premium rents, and offer resilience against future regulatory and market shifts.

It’s a rare opportunity to back a heritage-led regeneration that delivers on sustainability, innovation, and long-term value — all in one of the UK’s fastest-growing urban districts.

Our investment into the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme reflects our commitment to building the physical foundations of regional growth.

This major upgrade to a critical water network serving 2.5 million people across the Northwest is more than an engineering project.

It’s an enabler of urban expansion, providing capacity for essential services such as hospitals, as well as some of the high-value sectors emerging across Greater Manchester.

Stable, inflation-linked cash flows make this a compelling opportunity for long-term investors.

But the impact goes deeper: climate resilience, reduced leakage, improved efficiency, and up to 1,200 jobs created, it’s how we invest in the North’s future — not just through ideas, but through the infrastructure that helps them scale.

Some buildings carry legacy. The former Granada Studios site — once the creative engine of British television — is being reimagined as a landmark mixed-use destination in the heart of Manchester.

From restored studios and container workspaces to a boutique hotel and the Soho House members club, it’s becoming a hub for media, hospitality and creative enterprise.

The character of the building — its history, architecture and cultural resonance — makes it a rare asset.

Our investment into Northern Gritstone — alongside Northern LGPS —reflects our commitment to unlocking the North’s innovation economy.

Gritstone is an independent investment company set up to support the leading businesses of tomorrow.

By backing university spinouts in deeptech and life sciences from Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, we’re helping to commercialise world-class research into scalable businesses.

These ventures are already driving innovation in AI, semiconductor design, and healthtech — sectors with the potential to reshape UK productivity.

Patient capital investment at the venture and growth stages can help drive financial, social and environmental returns. Manchester’s story is one of transformation — from industrial powerhouse to innovation capital.

At Aviva Investors, we believe that long-term investment in real assets, infrastructure, and enterprise can unlock regional potential and deliver meaningful outcomes for our clients and communities.

These are investments that go beyond financial returns —they support jobs, skills, sustainability, and inclusive growth.