The Wrap: OBI’s Take on November’s Notable Moments

The Office for Budget Responsibility might make a big, indeed seemingly impossible job out of timely publication of key communications, but there are no such problems here – we present to you the first OBI end-of-month digest, a wrap-up of notable goings-on, things you might have missed and things you can still catch up on.

Corporate deal of the month

A good result for the good guys this month, with James Wilkinson’s Zuto selling a majority stake to Bridgepoint Capital. Zuto, founded in 2006, has to date matched 450,000 people with the right car finance deal. A certified B Corp, Zuto now turns over £75m a year. Bridgepoint’s small cap growth fund will support the business as it looks to accelerate development of its tech platform and add to its product range.

Property deal of the month

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the announcement of a £1bn Good Growth Fund for Greater Manchester is the reaction from business observers in other city regions, which could largely be summed up as “good for them, we need to kickstart things like this here”. A mix of loans, grants, GMCA borrowing and pension fund investment, this is a fund all about maintaining momentum as a city region, levelling up inequalities around the 10 boroughs, and supporting key projects, such as Bruntwood SciTech’s Sister and the Kendals redevelopment – which in another major November story, now has Relentless working with Investec to make the vision a reality.

One to watch

Working for Kadans Science Partner, Morgan Sindall Construction has started work on 217,000 sq ft of lab space at Manchester’s Upper Brook Street, a £100m project due for completion early in 2028. Kadans’ first Manchester outing is part of a 7.5-acre masterplan also featuring Property Alliance Group, Moda and McLaren, in what can be seen as the blossoming outward of the innovation district envisioned a decade or more ago for the Oxford Road corridor by Bruntwood and the city council.

One for the future

Supplementary planning documents and the like may not be everyone’s idea of heart-racing,  page-turning reading material, but one thing they’ll give you is a hint of where civic leaders and planners see as the next big thing. The 320-acre framework agreed by Manchester and Salford councils now becomes a material planning consideration, effectively mapping out the future for 7,000 homes around Strangeways and the Cambridge Industrial Estate, with residential of up to 30 storeys and 3.1m sq ft of commercial space. Town, quite simply, is getting bigger.

Eyecatcher of the month

Continue the “second city” debate all you like, but it’s inarguable that Manchester left Birmingham in the dust football-wise years ago. However, both Brum clubs now have ambitious owners, and big plans. Villa Park, one of England’s great heritage grounds, will have its North Stand and surrounds improved ahead of Euro 2028, while Birmingham City’s big reveal of its proposed new stadium at Bordesley hit headlines. Its 12 chimneys signify local manufacturing history, and undeniably set the place apart. A 62,000 capacity feels optimistic, but a £2bn Sports Quarter needs a show-stopper centrepiece, and this is certainly that.

Business of the month

How about Crossbar? The brainchild of hospitality entrepreneur Brett Duarte, this is a move to introduce a football concept into the leisure sector’s “competitive socialising” market segment: joining axe-throwing, shuffleboard, Sixes for cricket and Flight Club for darts. A new player has entered the game, as they say. Promising skills challenges in tech-enabled box areas, along with bars and a restaurant, the brand has this month signed for 25,000 sq t at both Liverpool ONE and the revamped Manchester Printworks.

What we’ve liked this month

Euan Kellie’s Flashback Friday is always a good reason to check LinkedIn as the weekend approaches, offering some great ‘then and now’ shots highlighting the seismic changes around Manchester over the last 30 years. Check it out if you haven’t.

Also harking back to the 1990s (and as Oasis reach the end of a mammoth world tour), Miranda Sawyer’s ‘Uncommon People: Britpop and beyond in 20 songs’ is a rollicking read. The Wilmslow-raised music journo, who was very much on the scene, relates with typical deftness and empathy one of the defining cultural movements of our times.

“Architecture for the People”, an exhibition at Manchester Central Library celebrating the work of the council’s City Architect’s Department, between 1902 and 2003, runs until the end of February, and is well worth a look.