Manchester is a thriving city with a well-connected business community, world-class facilities, and a burgeoning hospitality scene to rival anywhere across the globe. Throughout the years, we’ve been asked why we have never moved our HQ to London. Our response? There’s no need! TLC is a leading event planner in Manchester, and we have flourished in this vibrant city for over thirty years. So we’re passionate about the place.
Manchester has everything you need to make a corporate event a success. Excellent transport links and a huge range of event spaces from internationally renowned conference and event centres. To funky shared workspaces and venues with historical and cultural significance. We’re ideally located for travelling delegates and there’s something for everyone when it comes to things to see and do in the city.
In reality, there are hundreds of reasons. But here new business development manager, Amy Brown, has managed to whittle it down to what she considers to the top five reasons to choose Manchester for your next corporate event. Here goes…..
A GLOBALLY ACCESSIBLE CITY
The first in our five reasons to choose Manchester for your next corporate event is all about accessibility. The UK’s third largest airport (behind only London and Gatwick) serving over 110 destinations in 42 countries, will ensure your delegates arrive on time and well refreshed ready to engage with your event. A number of long-haul routes that which are not available anywhere else in the UK outside London operate from Manchester. These include Houston, Jeddah, Singapore, Hong Kong and more.
On home turf, Manchester is widely regarded in the UK as the ‘gateway to the North’ with around 22 million people and 60% of all UK businesses easily accessible within a two-hour drive time.
CITY CENTRE TRAVEL IS A DODDLE
We may not be getting a HS2 link to Manchester, but transport inside the City Centre and throughout Greater Manchester has had an impactful upgrade with the much-publicised Bee Network.
It promises better, more affordable transport with fares capped across an integrated public transport system that combines buses and Metrolink trams. A fleet of brand-new yellow buses, including 50 zero-emissions electric models now operates in the city with more upgrades planned for the future.
Whether travelling by tram, train, bus or bike the Bee Network promises a ‘joined up’ approach to travel. But if all else fails, it’s completely possible to walk from one side of the city to another in well under an hour (trust us, we’ve done it in heels).
PROXIMITY TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
Drive 30 minutes in almost any direction from Manchester City Centre and you’ll find an abundance of green space. From the Cheshire countryside to the dramatic moorland of Saddleworth, there is plenty to explore.
Why not bolt on a team away day to a City Centre conference. Visit some of the UK’s most stunning countryside, quaint northern villages, landscaped parklands and a wealth of stately homes and gardens. We love to work with venues such as Capesthorne Hall, Tatton Park or Arley Hall. Or the more rustic Stock Farm Barn, where we have staged many corporate events and team building days.
City slicker to country chic in under 30 minutes.
A CITY OF FIRSTS
Manchester was a driving force in the industrial revolution. It’s where our ‘worker bee’ symbol comes from. A citywide branding exercise dating back to the Victorian era that proudly represented Manchester as a leader of industry.
Not only this but we’re a city of firsts. The first passenger railway stations were in Manchester. And the first public library ever to open was here on our doorstep. Google ‘the first computer in the UK’ and Manchester is widely regarded as the place where it was made.
Manchester has an abundance of talented artists to thrill and entertain your guests. The cultural significance of the city speaks for itself. Oasis, New Order, Factory Records, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, The Hacienda, Take That and not one but two world class football teams flanking the city to the east and southwest.
If you’re in search of academics to share their expertise with your audience you’re sure to find them in the city’s two world-leading universities.
A MEDIA HUB ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Finally in our choice of five reasons to choose Manchester for your next corporate event, it’s all about the headlines. In 2006 Salford was chosen as the site to which the BBC would move its flagship news and current affairs programme teams on BBC Breakfast and Radio Five Live. This prompted other broadcasting experts to follow suit.
Media City is now home to the BBC, ITV and over 250 digital and media businesses. A hub of creatives, journalists, digital specialists. If you want media coverage for your event, this is the place to get it. And it’s encouraged a much more youthful, edgy corporate event sector in Manchester – which has been seen in the growth of cool café bars, urban venues and restaurants.
THE BEST CORPORATE EVENT VENUES IN MANCHESTER
Hopefully we’ve convinced you that Manchester is the place to hold your next corporate event, but the next question is, where? Manchester has a huge range of event venues, and we couldn’t share our five reasons to choose Manchester for your next corporate event without sharing our pick of the best venues.
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Manchester Central
- A world class convention centre which can house multi-day events for thousands of delegates, and with large hotel accommodation close by.
- Established, experienced, award winning team.
- Great central location in the heart of Petersfield.
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The Lowry Hotel
- Privacy meets luxury. A celebrity hot spot thanks to the exclusive surroundings.
- Flexible, versatile ballroom space with dedicated break-out rooms on one level.
- Superior levels of service.
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Aviva Studios
- An exciting new multi-purpose event space with a cool, edgy architectural style.
- Incredibly flexible spaces, ideal for multiple sessions of a conference or break out seminars.
- Excellent central location.
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Diecast
- The kitchen and menu are designed around the famous Firehouse menu which is already extremely popular in the city centre.
- Has a large outdoor space as well as two separate spaces inside which could hold up to 2000 people. Both indoor spaces could be adapted into smaller spaces, so it is versatile.
- Has an urban/edgy feel to the space which fits in well with the Northern Quarter surroundings and feels different to the more corporate spaces in the city centre.
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Forty-Seven
- Ideal location, only stone’s throw away from Manchester Central so would be ideal for a post conference dinner or drinks reception.
- Excellent bar space for drinks receptions and private parties
- Amazing food options available from the world-famous Asha’s restaurant, who are well known for their award-winning Indian food after winning the national curry awards.
Manchester also has an eclectic range of live music venues, perfect to accompany a corporate event as team build activity. Check out our top five here.
AND FINALLY…COST SAVINGS
OK, so I said five reasons to choose Manchester for your next corporate event – but this is a big bonus to any corporate event planner. Compared to London, where wages are 28% higher, holding your event in Manchester could make a significant difference to the bottom line of your event. A hotel room in Manchester is rumoured to cost £127 less on average than one in the Capital. And the average cost of a meal for two at a mid-range restaurant in Manchester is around £45. While in London, it is around £60. In the current climate, that’s one big reason to look again at Manchester for your next event.
