British content creators are making a beeline for Manchester as the city is turning into an ‘influencer hub’, experts said.
The city, known for Oasis and football, is a content creation ‘ecosystem’ that includes talent management agencies, studios and Instagrammable bars and restaurants, as influencers descend on Manchester.
A new report by The Times found that ‘micro influencers’ in their 20s are moving to Manchester in droves after big-name social media stars like Molly-Mae Hague and Zoe Sugg (who goes by Zoella) first glamorised the city.
This is allegedly because the city affords creators, who may not have ultimate influencer Molly-Mae’s social clout, the ‘London lifestyle for less’.
Alex Bown, the founder of Manchester-based content creation agency Campfire, said: ‘The rent is 50 per cent cheaper in Manchester. You can start living a very good lifestyle much earlier in life.’
Media expert Chad Teixeira agreed that influencer culture has moved firmly away from London and towards Manchester because it ‘provides a far more sustainable foundation’ than the capital.
‘Lower living costs mean influencers can invest in content, production, and long-term growth rather than simply maintaining their lifestyle,’ Chad told the Daily Mail.
‘That financial breathing room is critical, particularly for micro-influencers who are still building momentum.’
A micro-influencer is someone with less than 10,000 followers. Scroll through TikTok, and you will find hundreds of videos of these fledgling lifestyle content creators ‘moving to Manchester’ from all across the UK.
In one clip, Hannah Carter, who works in project management and has just over 1,300 followers on TikTok, documented her first day at a glitzy high-rise in Deansgate Square on Owen Street.
In another, freelance model Georgia Wood (with less than 10,000 TikTok followers) shared a video of herself dancing in her new apartment, adding: ‘Manchester has my heart.’
Together with creators like Anjali Gohil, Emma Eliza, Lauren Fraser, Harry Balmer and Kitty Halket, they are among a new generation of influencers turning to the city to build their careers.
And they’re reportedly moving into high-rise apartment complexes located in Collier’s Yard and Deansgate Square – dubbed ‘influencer towers’ – because of their popularity among the content-creating set.
The Daily Mail’s Influencer Editor, Molly Clayton, reported that ‘it’s like one big Instagram party’ inside these apartment buildings that seem designed exclusively for a ‘social-media savvy tenant’.
The city’s ‘aesthetic’ look is another big draw.
Kaydian Taylor-Anderson, who has 1,600 Instagram followers, said: ‘There’s an aesthetic look to the city, and so many nice side streets. You get to create your content and avoid getting in people’s way.’
Influencer hotspots include industrial-chic Onda Pasta Bar on Oxford Road, Egglslut on Deansgate and Morning Glory in the Northern Quarter, as well as Acai & The Tribe – an endlessly Instagrammed cafe.
Another reason Manchester has found favour with up-and-coming content creators is that there is ‘strong and growing ecosystem across fashion, beauty and e-commerce’ to leap-frog off of.
‘With major digital-first brands, agencies, and creative talent based there, influencers have direct access to collaborations and opportunities without needing to be in London,’ Chad explained.
For instance, fast fashion brands like Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, and Luxe to Kill, which leverage influencer marketing to bolster sales, are all based in Manchester.
In February, London-based social and influencer publishing agency Jungle Creations opened a permanent office in Manchester, as a top company executive hailed the city’s ‘deep pool of socially native talent’.
Manchester is now also home to studios like The Lumi Room – equipped with ‘two content rooms’ as well as a makeup room, lighting, and kitchen amenities – that can be booked on an hourly basis.
A one-hour session costs as little as £35, whereas a comparable booking in London will set you back by £100, The Times reported.
But access is only one side of the coin; Manchester’s rise as an influencer hub reflects a broader shift in the creator economy away from scale and towards substance, according to Chad.
Brands are now moving away from pricey collaborations with influencers like Molly-Mae – who reportedly earns as much as £60,000 for a sponsored post – to work with smaller content creators, as Alex from Campfire said: ‘There is a huge de-influencing going on in social media.’
He explained: ‘Social media used to be about seeing content based on people you are following.
‘But the algorithms fuelling Instagram reels and TikTok now it is about novelty and newness and randomness. It is an interest-based algorithm which is surfacing content from everywhere.’
Instead of doling out the big bucks for celebrity endorsements, lifestyle brands are spreading their budgets across ‘thousands of smaller creators’, Alex said.
‘Manchester’s rise as an influencer hub reflects this broader shift in the creator economy away from scale and towards substance,’ Chad said.
‘As brands prioritise engagement over reach, micro-influencers have become significantly more valuable, offering niche audiences, stronger trust, and higher conversion,’ he added.
‘Culturally, the city aligns with what audiences now want. It feels more authentic, less saturated, and more community-driven.
‘For micro-influencers especially, Manchester isn’t just an alternative to London, it’s a smarter, more strategic place to build a credible and commercially viable platform,’ he concluded.
