Stockport economy set to grow to £6.5 billion by end of 2023

The economy of Stockport is set to hit £6.5 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) by the end of 2023, according to analysis by law firm Irwin Mitchell in their UK Powerhouse report’s City Growth Tracker, but gaps between North and South are set to widen.

Irwin Mitchell’s analysis, produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), examines in detail the expected economic fortunes of 50 major towns and cities across the UK.

Stockport’s predicted GVA growth off £200 million from Q4 of 2021 to Q4 2023 is expected of to account for over 10% of the total growth predicted for the all of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs. The city-region as a whole is expected to add £1.9 billion to its economy over the next two years, rising from £69 billion to nearly £71 billion, with year on year growth of 1.7%; the number of jobs in the city-region is also set to grow by nearly 28,000.

Growth in Greater Manchester is expected to be driven by the performance of the city-centre economy, with the City of Manchester currently experiencing annual growth of 4.4%, the fifth fastest rate of any town or city analysed in the report. However, by 2023, just one town in the North of England, Warrington, was among the 20 fastest growing places analysed by Irwin Mitchell and Cebr, suggesting that despite the government’s focus on levelling up, the gap between London and the South-east and the regions was set to widen in the coming years.

To tackle growing regional inequality, the UK Powerhouse report argues that rebalancing the gap in Foreign Direct Investment could offer a solution; Josie Dent, Managing Economist at Cebr and one of the report’s authors, commented:

“The economy is still expected to face some turbulence between now and the end of next year, notably through volatility in commodity prices, supply chain pressures, and the emerging cost-of-living crisis domestically. All of these factors are set to impact growth both at the aggregate level and, to a varying extent, within individual cities.

“This report highlights that much of the fastest growth during next year will be concentrated in the South. Locations such as Milton Keyes, Cambridge and Oxford have economies which are dominated by fast-growth sectors and they have also been hot spots for overseas’ investment. If economic levelling up is to be tackled effectively, these two issues must be recognised and quickly addressed.”

Bryan Bletso, Partner at Irwin Mitchell, said:

“FDI brings potential for higher productivity and improved economic output for many years into the future. There are signs that despite a fall in the number of projects last year compared to the previous 12 months, more recent data from the United Nations points to a strong recent recovery. We are certainly seeing some encouraging signs with an increase in enquiries relating to organisations looking to invest here.

“I’m optimistic that levels of FDI into the UK will increase, however from a levelling up point of view, it is important that it doesn’t become concentrated in locations which are already growing quickly. The whole of the UK has a lot to offer and the regions which benefit most from investment from abroad are likely to see more growth and job creation in the coming years.

“According to our report, the West Midlands and North West are third and fourth for regional FDI. There is therefore hope that these regions may level up to see the investments that their southern counterparts currently attract.”