Salford Quays, Manchester is the new home of BBC North. Media City was developed by the Peel Group and is not just the northern home of BBC productions with programmes such as Dragon’s Den, Songs of Praise, Blue Peter and Match of the Day being produced there, it is the home of Coronation Street. Media City will also house the University of Salford, New independent production companies, high definition camera manufacturers together with retail and leisure outlets and apartments.

The move of much of its high-profile programming by the BBC to Salford Quays together with the significant bolt-on additional businesses will bring more and more investment and jobs and wealth to boost the economy of the North West.

Sustaining these many and varied businesses and attractions will have significant impact on other employers and jobs in the region. The supply of food products, printing and design together with maintenance and support jobs alone will bring significant benefits to the region, let alone its direct impact to Salford and Manchester.

With all this development comes the need for an endless supply of equipment. Not only will there be an on-going need for media production plant, there will be a huge need for catering equipment, IT equipment, printing plant, furniture and much more besides.

In a recession with a constant demand for the banks to be more supportive the need will be for entrepreneurs to be more inventive in ways of funding the potential that has landed on their plate.

More than ever before, asset finance is playing a vital role in funding equipment needed to run and expand businesses. Whether it is hi-tech instrumentation to build the latest HD production equipment or whether it is catering equipment to feed your favourite soap stars people are looking to equipment leasing to fund the assets to make profits for their companies. The fact that equipment finance is now such an integral part of business ‘banking’ is of major importance to Salford Quays and the whole of the North West. The more we become less London-centric the more the whole country can drive us into a prosperous tomorrow.