In November 2018, Manchester Airport received a huge boost as the brand new direct flights between Manchester and Mumbai were launched. Jet Airways’ service which operates five times a week was hailed as a huge success by many leading officials, including Aviation Minister Baroness Liz Sugg. It is expected to add a significant amount of fuel to the fire for businesses and organisations involved in the Northern Powerhouse as the new route is set to deliver a £400 million in economic benefits over the next five years.
As well as boosting areas such as tourism and trade, the new connection between Manchester and Mumbai could also impact Manchester’s property market, with international investors being attracted to the city for some time now. Following the launch of a direct flight from Manchester to Beijing over two years ago, Chinese investors have been putting huge amounts of money into the city’s property market. Therefore, there is now a certain amount of speculation that the same thing may happen with Indian investors as well. Nick Mullins, Executive Director of Lambert Smith Hampton in Manchester, states that although we are yet to see ‘direct investment’ in Manchester’s commercial and residential property market, in the past high-net-worth investors have ‘traditionally supported well known Manchester based property companies with indirect investment.’
As Chinese investors appear to be taking a step back, with some pressure from their government to increase investment on home soil rather than internationally, Indian investors seem to be stepping forward to fill this gap. A Trafalgar Square office block from Blackrock’s UK Property Fund was snapped up by Indian investors for a massive £80 million. Data from Savills also shows that in 2018 more than 19% of the investment in London’s office market came from Indonesia, putting it at the top of the overseas investment league. With such strong investment in London, it would be no surprise if these levels of interest were seen to spread to the North in the UK. Manchester has several appealing elements in comparison to London including its much lower entrance price and the relatively strong returns it can produce.
Tim Newns, Chief Executive of Midas, Manchester’s inward investment agency, points to the example of Beijing as an extremely strong indicator of what these new travel routes will do for Manchester, highlighting how ‘a year after launching the direct route between Manchester and Beijing, we reported a 265% increase in trade and investment.’ If these patterns repeat themselves then this could be a huge time for Manchester’s property market and have a knock on effect for property jobs in Manchester and in the north of the UK in general.
Jonathan Stephens, Managing Director for Surrenden Invest, believes that the scope for investment in the booming Manchester residential sector is strong, stating that ‘it wasn’t that long ago that investors from overseas looked only at London when it came to investing in UK cities, but the likes of Manchester have rocketed onto the global stage in recent years’ and that ‘those same attractions that convinced Chinese investors to look more closely at Manchester are now ready to woo investors from India.’
So it looks like prospects are strong for a significant amount of Indian investment into the Manchester property market. Stephens also went on to say that ‘where visitors go today, investors come tomorrow’ and it will be interesting to see over the coming years how these new travel routes impact Manchester as a city and in particular what it does for Manchester’s property scene and property jobs in Manchester.
Written by Rachael Gray.
Rachael Gray is a Director at Clifton Gray specialist property recruitment company. Rachael has recruited within the residential property industry for fifteen years. Follow Rachael on linkedin or email rachael@cliftongray.co.uk to discuss current Liverpool and Manchester property jobs, or to find out how Clifton Gray can secure the best talent for your property business.