A booming property market needs better narratives

Manchester has once again been thrown into the spotlight as the Gorton and Denton by-election heats up, leading to a number of deep dives from national – and international – outlets on what exactly makes this city so special.

One such article in Bloomberg canvassed opinions from some of the most prominent voices in the city – including Chris Oglesby from our client Bruntwood – and painted a nuanced picture of a region that’s changing quickly.

What struck me, though, wasn’t the headline or the investment figures. It was the gap between how sophisticated the North West’s property market has become and how often the communications around it still feel like they’re playing catch-up.

Success creates noise

A growing market attracts attention – which is obviously a good thing – but it also creates a new problem. When every development, every scheme and every investor is competing for a share of the same narrative, differentiation becomes genuinely difficult. Saying you’re ‘part of a thriving regional economy’ isn’t a positioning strategy when everyone else is saying it too.

The projects that cut through are the ones with a clear, differentiated story that connects physical ambition to something more meaningful – whether that’s placemaking, long-term value creation or a genuine sense of purpose. And that requires communications that match the sophistication of the investment and the project in question.

Bridging the gap

We see this across our work in the city with clients like FEC, JLL and the aforementioned Bruntwood. The most successful schemes aren’t just well-designed and well-located; they’re well-articulated. There’s real alignment between what’s being built and how it’s being positioned in the market.

Too often, there’s a gap between the quality of development and the quality of the narrative around it. Not because the story isn’t there, but because it hasn’t been properly identified, shaped or told to the right audiences.

Not just a regional question

This dynamic isn’t unique to the North West, of course. Wherever there’s competition for capital and attention, communications strategy matters more than it might have done say five years ago. But the region is an interesting case precisely because the regional narrative is so strong right now. The Bloomberg piece is evidence of that. The challenge isn’t telling the story of the region; it’s individual operators finding a way to stand out within it.

By Francesca Kilby, Head of Real Estate & Real Assets at Citypress

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