Greater Manchester has launched a £1 billion Good Growth Fund, with an initial £400 million investment aimed at accelerating workspace and residential projects across the region. The fund, overseen by the city’s local authorities, is designed to unlock a pipeline of projects with an estimated value of £10 billion by providing crucial early-stage financing for schemes that might otherwise struggle to progress.

The initial £400 million investment includes funding for the redevelopment of the former Kendals department store into 450,000 square feet of office space, the Victoria North scheme to facilitate up to 15,000 new homes, and the creation of the Sister science and innovation campus. Investment will also support affordable housing, laboratory spaces, and major regeneration projects in areas including Wythenshawe and Stockport.

The Good Growth Fund aims to provide just enough finance to make projects viable while encouraging long-term sustainable growth. It is expected that the initial investment will unlock an additional £1.3 billion in private sector contributions, generating thousands of new homes and modern workspaces across Greater Manchester. The strategy also seeks to improve public transport and infrastructure to support population and economic growth in the coming years.

This initiative reflects Greater Manchester’s commitment to inclusive, region-wide regeneration, using returns from central city investments to support development in less-developed boroughs and setting a model for devolved investment across UK city regions.