The Government’s 2026 Budget contains a series of measures that could strengthen Greater Manchester’s position as a place to invest, innovate and grow.
From major new life sciences investment and an AI Cyber Security Centre of Excellence in Manchester, to greater fiscal devolution and new national funding for strategic development sites, the Budget provides further opportunities to build on Greater Manchester’s strengths and support the next phase of the city region’s growth.
For businesses and investors, we’ve rounded up some of the announcements that stand out and what they could mean for Greater Manchester.
Major investment in Manchester’s life sciences sector
One of the clearest votes of confidence in Greater Manchester is a significant new investment from global medical products and technologies company Convatec.
The company will invest more than £500 million over the next decade in a new global R&D hub in Manchester, supported by government grant funding from the Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund.
The investment will accelerate the evaluation of innovative products and strengthen Convatec’s end-to-end research and manufacturing capability.
It will be a significant addition to Greater Manchester’s already strong life sciences proposition, bringing international investment into the city region and reinforcing Manchester’s role within the UK’s research and innovation economy.
The Budget also confirms £19.75 million from UKRI to support university partnerships that bring together complementary innovation strengths. This builds on the £4.8 million Cambridge-Manchester Innovation Partnership announced at Spending Review 2025, creating further opportunities for collaboration and innovation across the UK.
Building Manchester’s capabilities in AI and cyber security
Manchester’s growing digital and technology ecosystem is also recognised in the Budget, with the Government announcing plans to develop a new AI Cyber Security Centre of Excellence in Manchester.
The announcement provides a further boost to Manchester’s position as ‘The UK’s Most AI Ready City’ and a leading destination for AI, cyber security and digital innovation.
Alongside this, the Budget announced that UKRI will concentrate £1 billion of investment on ‘big bets’, directing funding towards priority clusters across the country aligned with Industrial Strategy sectors.
Taken together, these measures have the potential to create further opportunities for Manchester’s universities, businesses and innovation ecosystem to translate research and expertise into commercial growth.
Unlocking more investment-ready sites
The Budget also includes measures that could help bring forward the commercial sites businesses need to locate, invest and expand in the UK.
The new Strategic Sites Accelerator will mobilise around £700 million through the Office for Investment and National Wealth Fund to unlock strategic commercial sites across the country. For Greater Manchester, it could provide a new route to support some of the city region’s major pipeline development opportunities.
Applications are now open to qualifying sites, with the first investments expected by the end of March 2027.
This sits alongside City Investment Funds for Greater Manchester and other mayoral areas, combining grant, loan and patient capital funding to support city densification.
For Greater Manchester, these measures provide further mechanisms to help turn ambitious development opportunities into investable propositions, supporting the places and infrastructure needed for future economic growth.
Greater local control over growth and investment
One of the most significant longer-term elements of the Budget is a further shift towards fiscal devolution, marking another important step in Greater Manchester’s devolution journey.
The Government is publishing a new Fiscal Devolution Roadmap, setting out plans to reform how regional government is funded. From April 2027, mayors will receive a share of business rates income, alongside a permanent 20% share of business rates growth in their areas.
Subject to approval, new Business Rates Retention Zones will also enable participating areas to retain 100% of business rates growth above an agreed baseline for 25 years, creating another mechanism to invest in local priorities.
The roadmap also sets out plans to enable strategic authorities to introduce visitor levies, with local leaders able to set out how revenues would be invested.
The Government is also supporting the creation of Good Growth Funds. By following Greater Manchester’s example, The Government is giving local leaders greater flexibility to invest in growth priorities. This includes £285 million in transitional seed funding in 2027-28 and a £1.5 billion devolved borrowing facility for Mayoral Strategic Authorities from April 2028.
For a city region with an established track record of devolution, greater control over funding can help align investment more closely with Greater Manchester’s priorities and create the conditions for sustainable, long-term growth, adding further momentum to the city region’s ambition for a decade of good growth.
More capital to support ambitious businesses
There are also several national measures relevant to Greater Manchester companies looking to start, scale, innovate or export.
The British Business Bank will see its total financial capacity increase by £5 billion, enabling greater commercial equity investment, a new venture debt product for innovative companies, including defence and dual-use technology businesses, and additional support for community lenders.
The National Wealth Fund will receive an additional £15.4 billion of capital to continue investing in UK businesses and projects, including a £2 billion down payment for the Energy Wealth Fund.
The Government is also recommitting to growth across the North through its Northern Growth Strategy, with up to £7.8 million of funding to support the development of the Northern 500 and backing for the next stage of the North’s potential bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For internationally ambitious SMEs, changes to UK Export Finance will expand access to working capital guarantees, alongside a new SME export finance scheme from 2027. A separate pilot will offer more flexible finance guarantees to selected overseas buyers with significant potential to increase their procurement from the UK.
Together, these measures could give Greater Manchester businesses greater access to the finance they need to innovate, scale and reach new international markets.
Supporting Greater Manchester’s talent pipeline
The Budget also announced changes to visa routes that could help businesses access and retain highly skilled international talent.
The Government will allow the highest-skilled workers to access a visa curtailment period of up to six months, giving eligible workers longer to find new employment.
It is also expanding the High Potential Individual visa route to graduates of the world’s top 150 institutions. The Graduate visa will also be set at two years for individuals graduating from eligible high-compliance universities with strong labour market outcomes.
The Budget also included measures aimed at improving inclusivity in the technology sector. Two new voluntary industry standards developed by the Women in Tech Taskforce, ‘Tech Forward’ and ‘Inclusive Investment’, will promote more inclusive employment practices in tech and fairer access to investment for female entrepreneurs, supporting women to start and scale businesses and build careers in the sector.
For an internationally connected city region with strengths in sectors including digital and technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and financial and professional services, access to highly skilled talent remains an important part of Greater Manchester’s offer to growing businesses.
Backing growth across Greater Manchester
The Budget’s benefits are not confined to Manchester city centre.
Bury will receive £10 million from the Growth Mission Fund, subject to a final business case, to support the restoration and reactivation of the world-famous Bury Market, contributing to the town’s wider regeneration ambitions.
The wider focus on local regeneration, strategic sites, city densification and devolved investment reinforces an important part of Greater Manchester’s economic proposition: delivering good growth across the city region.
A stronger platform for Greater Manchester’s next phase of growth
The Budget arrives at an important point for Greater Manchester, with the city region focused on delivering its ambitions for a decade of good growth.
Direct investment from Convatec, a new national centre focused on AI and cyber security, greater fiscal devolution and expanded access to investment and business finance all have the potential to strengthen the foundations of the city region’s economy.
For investors, the significance goes beyond any single announcement. The combination of international private investment, innovation, greater local financial flexibility, support for ambitious businesses and new mechanisms to unlock development strengthens the environment for businesses looking to invest and grow.
Together, these measures support our region’s ambition to drive the next decade of good growth. They will help Greater Manchester to bring forward major investment projects, help businesses scale and compete internationally, create new jobs, attract and retain talent, and strengthen the region’s position as one of the UK’s leading destinations to invest, innovate and grow.
