Manchester Launches £1 Billion ‘Good Growth Fund’ to Boost Housing, Jobs and Local Investment

Manchester, in northern England, has launched a £1 billion ($1.31 billion) “Good Growth Fund” to support housing and employment projects—marking a major step in the UK’s broader push to empower local regions.

The fund, the largest of its kind, will release an initial £400 million to back projects expected to attract around £1.3 billion in private investment into Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the initiative represents the most significant moment for the region since the government’s devolution deal a decade ago, which created combined authorities led by metro mayors.

Manchester continues to compete with Birmingham for the position of the UK’s second city. While economic imbalances between London and other regions remain among the widest in developed economies, Manchester has seen strong growth in recent years.

“Greater Manchester has been the UK’s economic success story over the last decade,” Burnham said, adding that the fund aims to include parts of the city-region that have not fully benefited from this rapid expansion.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planning reforms to give regions more authority and strengthen skills training, but Burnham noted that the Northwest is still waiting for long-promised investment.

Speaking in Stockport, a town south of Manchester, Burnham warned that “the biggest risk to Greater Manchester’s growth over the next decade and beyond is the lack of commitment to major rail and road infrastructure, which the Northwest desperately needs.”

With Finance Minister Rachel Reeves set to present her annual budget next Wednesday, Burnham said the fund could become even more powerful with support from Westminster.

“We are inviting other public finance institutions and institutional investors to join the fund as partners—just as the Greater Manchester Pension Fund has done,” Burnham added.

($1 = £0.7647)