Salford is a vibrant city with a rich industrial heritage and a bold vision for the future. Salford is more than just a place to live and work – it has become a thriving hub for innovation, creativity, and sustainable growth. Whether you are an entrepreneur, just starting out or an established business seeking new opportunities, or an investor looking for the perfect location, Salford can help to support you to succeed.
Salford has an established and growing business base, comprising of 11,195 companies, employing 162,000 people**. Salford’s growing business base has helped to support major growth in local employment.
Salford’s economic growth has been driven by sector diversity and growing specialisation in recent years. Sector specialisms are emerging such as advanced manufacturing and specialised materials, AI and robotics and immersive technology.
This growth has been driven by the investment in Salford’s strategic growth areas, namely City Centre Salford, MediaCityUK and the Western Gateway, which combined have the potential to create an additional 40,000 jobs over the next two decades.
As one of the fastest growing economies within Greater Manchester, Salford is home to a wide range of businesses, predominantly made of up of SMEs (Small to medium enterprises). We also have a number of iconic large firms that have joined Salford's growing business base such as BBC, BUPA, CGI, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, ITV, Moorepay, Swinton Insurance and many more.
** Source - NOMIS - Labour Market Profile - Salford
According to the ONS Inter departmental Business 2024, Salford business base compromises of
| UK Business Counts (2024), number of employees | Salford (Numbers) | Salford(%) | North west (Numbers) | North west (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (0 to 9) | 10,020 | 89.5 | 235,360 | 88.4 |
| Small (10 to 49) | 940 | 8.4 | 25,075 | 9.4 |
| Medium (50 to 249) | 190 | 1.7 | 4,565 | 1.7 |
| Large (250+) | 50 | 0.4 | 1,135 | 0.4 |
| Total | 11,195 | - | 266,135 | - |
Source: Inter Departmental Business Register (ONS)
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