HOME’s £26 million economic impact on Manchester

HOME had an economic impact to the city of £26 million in 2019/20 according to a new assessment, including £1 million in health and wellbeing cost savings for the NHS.

Dave Moutrey, our Director and CEO, said: “At a time when it feels more important than ever for arts organisations to show their worth, this assessment proves that not only does HOME play a vital role in the arts ecology of Greater Manchester, it plays a crucial part in the region’s financial success as well.

“We’re exceptionally proud of the results of this assessment. The fact that these figures are so high despite the impact of Covid-19 starting to be felt in February and March shows how devastating the loss of arts venues would be to the city.

“Without arts organisations cities are poorer not just metaphorically – but literally.”

The assessment was carried out by economic research and consultancy firm Ekosgen and took into account HOME’s role as a provider of local employment, as a driver of visitors to the city and the organisation’s purchasing power within local supply chains.

The details are released the day HOME was due to reopen following the national lockdown (2 Dec). Under Tier 3 rules, arts venues must remain closed, despite having made significant investment into becoming Covid-secure, in a move Moutrey criticised in an open letter to MPs for preventing “one of the few joyous and safe options available to families this Christmas.”

Through direct employment at HOME and our catering partner Wardley plus induced employment – jobs in the city that are supported by the spending of employees at HOME – the assessment calculated a Gross Value Added (GVA) figure of HOME as an employer of £12.3 million per year.

Additionally, the report shows just what a huge percentage of employees at HOME live in the local area – with four-fifths of our staff Greater Manchester residents while among those working for Wardley, HOME’s catering partner who run our bar and restaurant operation, that figure rose to 100 per cent.

As a visitor attraction, Ekosgen calculated that HOME added £11.2 million to the local economy in visitor spending, and almost £1.5 million added to the local economy through purchasing goods and services in the local supply chain.

The social value was calculated by looking at the value of volunteering hours delivered by the organisation, and using research which highlights the social benefits arising from engagement in arts and culture.

In addition to drawing audiences for our three artforms – film, theatre and visual art – HOME runs an extensive engagement programme which in 2019/20 worked in partnership with 124 schools and colleges, and supported three paid internships, four apprenticeships, 364 work experience participants and 2,795 talent development opportunities. Over the course of the year, the team delivered 3,528 sessions engaging 21,910 active participants.

Using research by Simetrica and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which identified engagement with the arts as reducing GP visits and the use of mental health services, the report calculates that HOME generated a cost saving of £1 million per year for the NHS.

To download the full report, click here.