Manchester is magnet for tech pioneers Manchester's status as a hub for the media and digital industries has been enhanced after one of the world's leading providers of 3D technology set up its European headquarters and research centre in the city. EON Reality, a California-based business, aims to employ more than 240 people within three years at the city's tech hub. It chose Manchester despite government efforts to promote Tech City, the area around Shoreditch in London, as the destination of choice for foreign investors. Dan Lejerskar, a Swede who is co-founder and chairman of EON Reality, said: "Manchester is the original technology city - they invented the computer and have been improving it ever since, designing, programming, creating content and sharing ideas. No other city in Europe has invested as much in its digital media and content operations, with billions being spent on creating a global hub for creative industries. Manchester is perfectly placed to be the UK's digital city. EON makes 3D interactive content for businesses to use in training and for the education sector. It already has operations in Singapore and Sweden. Its Manchester base will have a virtual reality showroom, development lab and 3D classroom infrastructure. It will also have an Entrepreneurial Coding School, teaching 500 students over five years how to write software to help bridge a skills gap. Manchester benefits from cheaper rents, international links via its airport, access to plentiful power, fibre optic connectivity and a pool of labour from universities, said Scott Fletcher, of ANS Group, a Manchester-based cloud hosting company. "Tech City is just a marketing gimmick," he said. Costs are 30 per cent higher and you are the wrong side of London for the airport. Technology developments in Manchester come, however, as Tech City continues to grow rapidly. The cluster now has more than 1,000 technology companies, with a number of big overseas internet companies, including Amazon and Google, having recently opened facilities in the area. In Manchester, ANS is investing £8m in a data centre at the Sharp Project, a former TV and video warehouse that has become a home for TV production and a high-tech hub, in preparation for a surge in demand. Sue Woodward, director of the Sharp Project, said it complemented Media City, the £950m development in Salford that houses the BBC and ITV and has attracted production and media companies. Tenants can chose between glass-fronted shipping containers at just £50 a week or larger, open-plan offices, around a central courtyard where the café provides an opportunity to network, swap ideas and collaborate. Henry James, 26, and Bryn Morgan, 27, met at Leeds university but moved to Sharp in March. Their product design company, Inventid, has already done work for other tenants. Hogan Burrows, of MocapOne, a motion capture company that creates 3D animation for games and adverts for shows such as CBBC's ZingZillas, said the cheap rent had enabled him to move out of his spare bedroom. He can also shoot on site, having just filmed two dancers who flew in from Memphis. There aren't many companies in the UK or US that could do this. When they sign those international contracts, a partner from law firm Ward Hadaway is housed in a shipping container opposite. Laura Hardy, a partner, said her board needed some convincing but had now embraced the idea: "This is where the clients are." They also rub shoulders with one of Britain's richest men, Fred Done, owner of the Betfred betting shop chain, who has set up a young, 25-strong team developing mobile games. We couldn't have them in Warrington [head office] among the suits and ties. It's a breath of fresh air," he said. Meanwhile, series such as Channel 4"s Fresh Meat and Sky One's Mount Pleasant are being filmed in Manchester. Open since June 2011, Sharp is 75 per cent full with more than 50 companies employing 287 full-time equivalent staff. The £16.5m development is owned by Manchester City Council with funding from the EU and the now-defunct Northwest Regional Development Agency. Across Greater Manchester 60,600 people work in the creative, digital and new media industries, generating £2.7bn annually. Ms Woodward says of Sharp: "The companies collaborate and grow. We are being asked to set up Sharps in other cities. But it is not a building, it is a philosophy. Additional reporting by Maija Palmer