Amazon has opened its first UK corporate office outside of London, with plans to employ over 600 skilled tech and non-tech employees in Manchester. Once fully operational, Amazon aims to employ more than 6000 people in the North West, including the new office, and the fulfilment centres in Warrington, Bolton and Manchester Airport.

Amazon will occupy six floors and 90,000 square feet in the centuries-old Hanover Building, and according to the global company, their office has been designed as a “collaborative and sustainable workplace” with the objective of “minimising waste and optimising space.”

Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon said: “I am delighted we’re opening our first corporate office in the North of England. Manchester offers an incredible talent pool, a thriving hub of fast-growing UK tech start-ups and is a centre of academic and intellectual excellence. We are already actively hiring from a range of skillsets for our new Manchester office, so if you’ve always wanted to build the future, come build it with us.”

In picking Manchester as its new home, Amazon follows in the footsteps of the BBC, which in the last ten years has created or relocated thousands of jobs into Salford, Manchester.

In addition to its new headquarters, Amazon has also announced its ‘Future Engineer Bursary’ for Computer Science students at The University of Manchester, providing £3500 to certain students during their undergraduate studies.

Professor Robert Stephens, Head of Computer Science at The University of Manchester said: “The University of Manchester is delighted to be part of the Amazon Future Engineer programme and welcomes the support that Amazon is providing to fund undergraduate students studying computer science.”

As well as the ‘Future Engineer Bursary’ Amazon are launching a AWS Startup Garage, supporting startups in the early days of their business development. The garage will be located at Amazon’s new headquarters.

A boost to the city’s economy

Back in September, we reported that Manchester was ranked as number one in the UK for Graduate Employment and Amazon’s new home only cements that fact. As it stands, Manchester has the largest student population in Europe, with 51% of students from Manchester’s universities remaining in the city after graduation. In addition to this, 57% of students from Manchester who left the city for their studies, returned to Manchester after graduation.

The high percentage of graduates deciding to live in Manchester after finishing their studies is attributed to how much of a boost there has been to the city’s economy in the last decade, with the new Amazon office adding to this.

Large student population = high rental demand

With the largest student population in Europe and a high graduate retention rate, the rental demand in Manchester is through the roof.

Fortunately for the future and current tenants of Manchester, we’re in the process of constructing several new residential developments, for both students and professionals alike. One of these buildings is situated just a stone’s throw away from Amazon’s new headquarters. Located in the much sought-after Ancoats area, Ancoats Gardens is a luxury residential development with two roof gardens, 155 high-spec apartments, an exclusive on-site gym, coffee roastery and shared social space for tenants.

Ancoats was recently regarded by The Times as one of the top 20 coolest places to live in the UK, increasing rental demand in the area, making it a lucrative choice for potential investors.

If you’re interested in investing in our Ancoats Gardens development, get in touch today.