Manchester City Council is to establish a holding company to help support the growth and development of strategic digital sites, creating new employment and business opportunities in the city.

The holding company will act as a 'mother brand' for the family of 'Projects' bringing together a portfolio of existing city-owned digital assets – including the The Sharp Project – and acting as the fulcrum for the development of new digital assets in the city.

The new sites that will be brought into the company, including One Central Park on Central Park and the former Fujitsu building in West Gorton will have separate branding identities and will operate as individual enterprises.

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Combined the three sites will have in excess of 450,000sq ft of floor space dedicated to creative digital businesses that could create up to 1,300 jobs over the next three years. The sites all include the development of skills and advancement of education as an additional focus.

The City Council wholly-owned holding company will help provide strategic direction to the digital sector, harness the activities of a range of agencies involved in this sector, identify gaps in provision and bring forward strategies to fill them. It will also be responsible for managing the three separate subsidiary 'Projects'.

A business plan for the company will be submitted for approval by the City Council's Executive later this year.

(CD/JP)