Greater Manchester is to become the first region in the UK to use new data science to comprehensively map its technology sector.

MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, has commissioned The Data City to benchmark the region’s emerging technology capabilities against other areas in the UK.

It will highlight Greater Manchester’s strengths and assets, using data-based evidence to attract potential investment and new businesses.

The Data City is a Data Science & Software Company
which uses a combination of open data, licensed data, data from the web, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create real-time accurate insights into economic questions. Its team has created a unique set of tools that provide always-up-to-date analysis to inform investment and growth decisions and accelerate innovation in the UK.

The new company launched this month (September 2018) having grown out of a longstanding partnership between ODILeeds and Bloom Media. The two companies have together built a groundbreaking technology platform capable of using open data and innovative web analysis to find out where businesses operate, what sectors they work in, and the technologies they are using.

Rather than having to manually curate lists of businesses based on broad-spectrum information such as SIC codes, The Data City’s platform uses a sector mapping tool, capable of assimilating detailed information from company websites and analysing their language to understand exactly what they do. This allows them to identify disruptive technology trends and then find businesses associated with them.

Thanks to the speed and accuracy of the process, The Data City can draw upon information from the 4.2 million active businesses in the UK, over 100,000 technology and innovation events, and nearly 200 million scientific papers and patents to constantly update a platform showing business developments and innovation trends in real time.

Once the region’s technology sector has been comprehensively mapped, The Data City will build upon the results by identify companies most able to benefit from Greater Manchester’s unique strengths. At the end of the six-month project, a number of events will be held to showcase the findings, and publicise Greater Manchester’s offer.

Paul Connell, co-founder of The Data City, said: “The Data City uses a unique platform which processes and analyses data quickly and accurately, and which can provide definitive economic insights, based on information found on the web and through open data channels.

“We believe we can drive economic growth in the UK by providing data-based evidence for decisions which can help businesses expand, accurately identify priority areas for investment and inform economic policy.

“As well as allowing us to draw on a much wider range of information, our unique process applies sophisticated analyses based on keyword criteria and removes the expensive and time consuming data collection stage.

“It speeds up report generation and allows us to share not only the immediate conclusions but also constantly updated and openly published data.  This can be freely accessed and used to make and evaluate decisions on an ongoing basis, and we also offer an optional consultancy service to help interpret findings.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Greater Manchester is the UK’s leading digital city-region and an emerging player on the world stage. This is no accident – through our crowdsourced digital strategy we’re supporting businesses to innovate and thrive which makes us attractive to both start-ups and global companies.

“We have the infrastructure, secure digital environments, and the talent pipeline to make things happen. This puts us in the perfect position to trial new technologies: we’re agile enough to get up and running quickly, but large enough to test at scale before rolling out pilots UK-wide.

“Through this visual mapping project, Greater Manchester will be able to showcase our success in the digital sector, setting ambitious benchmarks to measure up against, and using accurate data to encourage further investment into the region.”

Tim Newns, CEO of MIDAS, said: “Greater Manchester is already established as a leading UK tech region, with a host of cutting edge technology firms located in the area, and a strong performance across all areas from the Internet of Things (IoT) to virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI).  It is also home to leading research institutions and universities.

“By fully understanding and harnessing our technology sector we can become one of the best places in the world for developing these capabilities to generate growth, attract investment and invite world class businesses to locate here.
“We are looking forward to seeing the results from The Data City’s research and will be making its findings open and accessible to showcase our strengths in emerging technology and establish the region at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution.”

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has announced that it is to become the main UK member of First Law International (FLI).

Established in 2001, FLI is based in Brussels and is a global network of over 80 independent national law firms, representing over 14,000 lawyers.

Irwin Mitchell has joined the network as part of its international growth strategy which involves establishing and consolidating a network of closely aligned law firms across the globe. Joining FLI will facilitate inward introduction of English legal work to Irwin Mitchell and it will also ensure it has a credible source of high quality law firms in most jurisdictions to which it can introduce clients requiring legal support outside the UK.

As part of the relationship, Irwin Mitchell Corporate partner and Head of International, Bryan Bletso, together with IP and Media partner Georgie Collins, will join a FLI delegation to the ACC Annual Conference in Austin, Texas on the 21 October 2018. The convention is the largest gathering of international General Counsels in the world. In addition, FLI will also unveil its newest IT innovations that will provide clients with a smoother and faster experience in dealing with multi-jurisdictional projects online from their mobile devices.

Victoria Brackett, Chief Executive of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services division, said: “We have been hugely impressed with FLI and I am confident the organisation will play a big role in helping us meet our international growth aspirations.  This is a key area for the firm and we are extremely excited to be joining one of the world’s most credible networks.

“FLI will not only help increase the amount of incoming work we generate from overseas, it will also offer a wide spread of jurisdictional coverage with firms of a size capable of supporting most queries that our client base could require.”

The chairman of property management and surveying group Scanlans is celebrating a 40-year career milestone.

Ian Stanistreet considered becoming a journalist or lawyer after leaving high school in 1978 but got a job as a trainee surveyor with Manchester city centre practice Frank Westbrook on £25 a week.

At the time, the practice was owned by Frank’s son Neil, a former Lord Mayor of Manchester who was later knighted.

Ian, 58, qualified in 1987 and shortly afterwards acquired the firm when Neil retired, becoming the sole principal.

He merged it with Scanlans in 1989 and became a partner. He was appointed chairman of Scanlans in October 2016.

Scanlans is a national practice with seven partners and 64 staff across offices in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and London.

It has a residential block division, a facilities management arm and a surveying consultancy which focuses on commercial and residential property valuations, building surveying, LPA receiverships, expert witness advice, rating and leasehold enfranchisement.

Scanlans also has a 50 per cent share in Pad Residential, a sales, lettings and management agency based in Manchester city centre.

In its most recent full financial year, Scanlans increased turnover by 16 per cent to £4.4m, with growth across all of its operations.

Ian said: “When I began at Frank Westbrook, I was thrown in at the deep end. The firm was mainly involved in the management of properties owned by the Westbrook family and I was the first point of contact for tenants who needed repairs.

“I was also involved in the management of a large property portfolio in the Northern Quarter in Manchester, most of which was occupied by clothing wholesalers.”

He added: “I’ve never thought about leaving Scanlans and even at the age of 58 I am not thinking about retirement. My roles have always been interesting and rewarding, and these are exciting times for the firm.”

Alongside becoming chairman, Ian said one of his proudest achievements has been increasing Scanlans’ residential block management business from a standing start to over £2m turnover.

“It is still growing, year-on year,” he added.

He said Sir Neil Westbrook has been his biggest career inspiration.

“Sir Neil was a no-nonsense businessman who didn’t suffer fools. He got things done and was highly-respected. Sadly, he passed away four years ago.”

Commenting on changes to the profession and the Manchester landscape, Ian said: “Regulation has increased over the years. While most of it is necessary, it has increased the burden on surveyors and property managers. We are all much more accountable.

“Manchester is unrecognisable from 1978, when the night-time economy barely existed.

“The IRA bombing of 1996 was a catalyst for regeneration and the city has gone from strength to strength.

“There are a number of exciting mixed-use and residential schemes currently under way that will improve the city centre even further and push its boundaries into areas that have been neglected for years. This will bring much-needed housing and facilities for families within easy reach of the city centre.”