Deloitte's Manchester Crane Survey 2025 has been published, charting the the volume of development taking place across both Manchester and Salford City Centre over the last year. The findings show the region's determination to build in the face of uncertainty and demonstrates remarkable resilience.
Deloitte’s annual Manchester Crane Survey has revealed that construction activity has remained resilient in both Manchester and Salford in 2024, with 58 projects on-site.
The survey states that Manchester and Salford have demonstrated remarkable resilience, weathering economic uncertainty and adapting to ever-evolving landscapes which have warned a possible slowdown in construction. Despite this, 20 new projects brought to were brought to site, compared to 21 in 2023.
The number of completed projects also increased significantly in 2024, with 27 delivered across Manchester and Salford. The residential sector continued to dominate this construction activity.
Manchester’s residential market has remained strong in the last year, with 4,448 homes completed across Manchester and Salford. An additional 11 new residential schemes started on-site last year, which will bring a further 2,410 homes to market in the city-centre. A further 16 residential projects completed in the last year.
Between Manchester City Centre and Salford City Centre, there are currently 10,788 homes under construction and due for completion in the next 4 years, meeting Greater Manchester’s targets for housing delivery.
This large-demand for residential development shows confidence in Manchester and Salford’s appeal as a leading place to live and invest. The region’s vibrant cultural offer and thriving business ecosystem is helping to attract leading talent and therefore. With a growing city-centre population, the region is committed to creating thriving neighbourhoods and places to live both in the city-centre and in its surrounding towns for a more affordable offer.
In terms of student accommodation, no schemes completed construction in 2024 but the pipeline remains strong with 2,687 bedspaces under construction and further plans approved for the coming years.
The report recognises Manchester and Salford’s commitment to inclusive growth, ensuring all residents share in the city's economic prosperity. The region is committed to driving Housing First, ensuring all residents have access to quality and safe homes. This involves a multifaceted approach, encompassing diverse housing options including affordable and sustainable homes, creating more job opportunities for all and increasing access to opportunity.
In the office sector, activity was dominated by refurbishments and extensions rather than new build offices, showing the city’s commitment on retrofit.
In 2024, 1.07m sq. ft. of office space was delivered, reaching its highest level since 2020. Of the six schemes commencing construction last year, five were either refurbishments or extensions of existing office space. With a 32% increase in refurbished and extended office space this year, the city is demonstrating its commitment to retrofit and creating more sustainable working environments. This is allowing the city to make the most of historic architecture, creating modern workspaces and supporting its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2028.
Over 1.5m sq. ft. of total office floorspace remains under construction and is buoyed by varied pre-lets and co-working office occupiers.
Many of Manchester and Salford’s new office schemes are proving smaller scale than historic ambitions, set to only add c.400,000 sq. ft. of new floorspace when complete. This is comparatively lower to 2022, when five new starts added 1.1m sq. ft. of new floorspace.
Construction activity in the education sector was slower in 2024, with no new schemes starting on-site in 2024. However, the delivery of 306,000 sq. ft. of new floorspace at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Science and Engineering Building added a further boost to the education offering on the Oxford Road Corridor.
Despite this, the report notes that Manchester and Salford are fuelling growth through innovation, establishing themselves as leading innovation hubs. By prioritising technology-driven growth the region is attracting tech businesses, and investing in a skilled workforce and smart city initiatives that mean these businesses can thrive. Examples of this in the city-centre include plans for Crescent Salford, which maximises opportunities from The University of Salford as well as Sister Manchester and expansions at City Labs on the Oxford Road Corridor, famously known as Manchester’s innovation district. The city has big plans to drive education-led growth, so this is something we can expect to see increase in future surveys.
The report credits Manchester and Salford’s talent pipeline and stream of graduates as well as its supportive ecosystem for its attractiveness to businesses. It also recognises initiatives like the Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator and Investment and Growth Zones as well as investment in physical and digital infrastructure; all of which are making the region a great place to do business.
Manchester’s city centre has seen 744,378 sq. ft. of new retail and leisure floorspace being delivered since 2019. A further 213,000 sq. ft. is set to be delivered in the next three years, predominantly integrating into mixed use developments.
In 2024, 258 hotel beds were delivered to market across two schemes. However, a further 1,181 rooms are set to complete construction in the next three years, supporting the region’s new ambitions to grow the visitor economy.
The report credits Manchester’s thriving city-centre for this success. Notably the opening of Co-Op Live has been singled out as boosting the tourism industry, supporting over 45,600 and worth £8.7bn to the economy.
Transformative regeneration has established Manchester and Salford as world-class tourist destinations, with their dynamic 24/7 cultural scene across music, arts, sport, and nightlife. With a vibrant 24/7 city centre culture, bolstered by strong transport links through The Bee Network and a holistic development approach, the report claims that the city is attracting more residents and visitors. This is a vote of confidence that will help us to drive growth in population and in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig responded to the survey by saying: “The survey is a useful litmus test that makes sure that our city continues to thrive, and despite a challenging economic backdrop for much of the country, we are building record numbers of homes – including more affordable housing than at any other point in the last decade – we saw more than 1m sq ft of much-needed office space delivered to market last year alone, with more than 1.5m sq ft under construction, alongside a range of commercial space opportunities.
“Manchester is leading the way in construction, but this isn’t just about buildings. This is about driving investor confidence to create a long-term supply of development. This is about creating high quality employment opportunities that help our residents to prosper. And it’s about creating a global city that is attractive, welcoming and future proof.
“The pandemic presented a range of economic challenges for the UK’s towns and cities, and building has broadly slowed. Thankfully Manchester is bucking that trend and we are continuing to attract major business, investment and residential opportunities that will help meet demand and support our city’s ongoing growth.”