Startup Companies in Manchester: 114 Active Firms (2026)
Startup companies in Manchester build early-stage products and services for scalable markets across the surrounding city region.
Buying centres in this cohort tend to sit with founders, finance leads, operations teams and sector specialists rather than large procurement functions. Many propositions sell into B2B customers, local service operators or regulated buyers that need a narrow workflow, compliance support, analytics layer or customer-facing tool. Engagements are usually pilot-shaped: founder-led conversations, short proof-of-value periods, and contracts that start as departmental subscriptions, service retainers or small commercial partnerships. The buyer profile is therefore mixed: some firms aim at SMB demand in Manchester, while others try to reach mid-market or public-sector-adjacent customers once product evidence and permissions are in place.
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Manchester has 114 actively trading startup-tagged companies, a small city-region cohort rather than a broad national pool. Reported employment across the cohort totals 1,061 people, which points to a labour footprint beyond a set of dormant shells or single-purpose vehicles. The age profile is still tilted towards recent formation: 37 firms were incorporated since 2022. Revenue scale is thinner, with 1 firm above £5M turnover, so the page is more useful for finding early commercial ventures than for mapping Manchester's largest private companies by reported turnover.
Startup status carries no separate permissioning regime; obligations follow the activity being carried out. Incorporated firms still have ordinary company-law administration, including confirmation statements and identity checks for some filings through Companies House and GOV.UK. Where the underlying model touches regulated markets, the relevant rulebook matters more than the lifecycle label: financial-services activity may bring FCA permissions, energy supply can bring OFGEM exposure, aviation activity can involve the CAA, health products may bring MHRA oversight, and personal-information handling puts the ICO in view. Early-stage teams tend to meet these requirements before procurement conversations mature.
Founder-led selling appears likely to remain the dominant commercial pattern, partly because many teams are still proving demand and partly because procurement-ready scale is rare. Manchester's startup base tends to span software, services and regulated activity rather than forming a narrow product category, which may make acquisition routes and partnership channels uneven. Firms that can move from bespoke delivery into repeatable contracts should be easier for buyers and investors to assess. Others may stay as small specialist operators, particularly where permissions, compliance work or customer onboarding create longer sales cycles.
What’s in the file
One row per company, 50+ columns — everything below plus each company’s verified directors, from Companies House filings.
Company data
Verified directors — included
114
Active firms
2026
37
Since 2022
New incorporations
1
Above £5M
Turnover threshold
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Key facts
About 1% of the trading cohort reports turnover above £5M (1 of 114 firms) — the rest sits below that revenue band.
32% of the cohort was incorporated since 2022 (37 firms), so a sizeable share is in its first few filing cycles.
Startup is a lifecycle and size label rather than a separately regulated UK industry, so permissions depend on the activity being carried out.
Companies House administration still applies, including confirmation statements and identity checks before some filings.
DBT estimated 5.5 million UK private-sector businesses at the start of 2024, including 5.45 million with 0 to 49 employees.
ONS reported 2.725 million UK businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE as of March 2024, down 0.1% from March 2023.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 ranked Silicon Valley #1 globally, with New York City and London tied at #2.
Top Manchester Startup companies
Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsOperates an online platform that connects music artists with venues to arrange live performances. Enables venues to browse performers, book gigs, manage schedules and invoicing, and publish event…
Serves UK live music venues, including pubs, bars, multi-site venue groups and entertainment managers, alongside music artists seeking gigs through a booking marketplace.
Financial Health
WeakWeak · Hiring · 41% CAGR over 3y
Location
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops biotechnology treatments for hair loss, including a follicle banking service that stores hair follicles for future use and cell‑based therapies that culture follicle cells for injection into…
Targets hair transplant clinicians and clinics, clinical partners, and male and female patients with androgenic alopecia seeking hair rejuvenation pathways; also addresses investors in biotech…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Growing, Hiring · 4% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides embedded payment processing for online platforms and marketplaces, enabling acceptance of card and digital wallet payments, seller onboarding, automated split payments, subscription and…
Serves B2B marketplaces, platforms and merchants that need embedded payments, seller onboarding, split payments and transaction monetisation, including enterprise platform operators.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops plant-based biotechnology for producing recombinant proteins using chloroplast expression systems. Manufactures growth factors and related proteins for use in cell culture, biotechnology…
Serves B2B life sciences customers, including cell culture, regenerative medicine and biotech organisations, plus research and production teams requiring growth factors.
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 68% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops super‑resolution optical imaging technology for nanoscale analysis. Designs and manufactures SMAL microsphere lenses, the Nanoro microscope platform, and custom microsphere optics for…
Serves academic research institutions and industrial R&D, engineering, and quality-control teams in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, materials science, and life sciences.
Financial Health
StableStable · -69% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops behavioural AI technology that analyses user behaviour in real time to identify who or what is performing actions. Provides continuous authentication and identity confidence for mobile…
Serves organizations operating live mobile apps or environments, particularly security, identity and product teams evaluating continuous authentication for user verification.
Financial Health
StableStable · Hiring · 29% CAGR over 2y
Location
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Provides AI-powered software for employee background screening, compliance checks, and digital onboarding, with document management, integrations, and continuous monitoring to help employers vet and…
Serves B2B employers and outsourcers hiring frontline workers, especially security, gig economy, marketplace and social care organisations, targeting recruitment, HR, people, welfare and compliance…
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N/AN/A
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Provides a software licensing and activation platform for developers, offering online and offline product activation, licence generation, payment integration, trial management, and web‑based tools to…
Serves software developers and independent software vendors that sell downloadable applications direct to end users, particularly small businesses needing licensing, activation, payment and trial…
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N/AN/A
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Develops data analytics and AI‑driven software for social housing providers, including tools for rent collection and arrears management, repairs and asset management, and property data analysis used…
Serves B2B social housing organisations, including housing associations, local councils, ALMOs and other social landlords of all sizes, from small local providers to large regional and national…
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Develops data analytics and software for social housing providers, including tools for rent arrears management, repairs analysis, damp and mould monitoring, and property data insights using…
Serves UK social housing providers, including housing associations, councils, ALMOs and social landlords of all sizes, with buyers across income, repairs, asset management and service delivery teams.
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Computed from 4 filingsDevelops digital mental health monitoring software for people with severe mental illness. Provides a smartphone app for daily symptom check-ins and self‑management tools, alongside predictive…
Serves healthcare providers, mental health clinical teams and care services supporting people living with severe mental illness, especially psychosis; also addresses individual patients involved in…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides an online platform for collecting and managing group payments. Users create payment links or QR codes to request contributions, allowing others to pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with…
Serves consumers organising informal group payments, including friends, parents collecting for teacher gifts, clubs or activity organisers, and people pooling money for presents, events, fundraising…
Financial Health
WeakWeak · Hiring · 12% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops generative conversational AI agents and role‑play personas for healthcare and life sciences organisations. Platform provides AI assistants and simulation tools for workforce training,…
Serves B2B health and life sciences organisations, including life sciences companies focused on HCP engagement and field teams, plus healthcare institutions and health systems training staff and…
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed · -89% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides digital identity and age verification services using Open Banking data. Offers APIs for customer onboarding, KYC checks, e‑signing authentication, direct debit setup, and pre‑employment or…
Serves UK businesses needing online identity or age checks, including financial services KYC teams, eCommerce and gaming operators, employers, landlords, e-signing providers and platforms subject to…
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Hiring · 7% CAGR over 5y
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops computer vision AI software for retailers that analyses in‑store camera feeds to detect self‑checkout errors, recognise produce, track high‑value items, and identify safety hazards,…
Serves B2B retail chains and store operators, especially grocery and self-checkout environments, targeting loss prevention, operations, facilities and customer experience teams, plus retail…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · -87% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops artificial intelligence software for medical diagnostics, analysing clinical imaging and related data to detect and predict neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple…
Serves healthcare organisations and clinicians involved in neurological diagnosis, plus pharmaceutical and clinical research teams running dementia and neurology drug-development studies.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · -55% CAGR over 5y
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops small‑molecule drug candidates for immuno‑inflammatory diseases. Uses proprietary molecular design and patient stratification platforms to identify and optimise compounds, advancing…
Serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including large pharma partners, focused on immuno-inflammatory disease pipelines; also addresses investors and shareholders in life sciences.
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed
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Computed from 3 filingsProvides a cloud-based platform that connects with accounting software to access invoice and payment data, enabling assessment of business invoices for financing. The app allows businesses and…
Serves businesses in England and Wales that issue invoices to third parties, along with accountants supporting business clients and managing accounting data.
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed · -88% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 4 filingsDevelops adaptive digital twin software for modelling, simulation, and optimisation of industrial energy and process systems. The platform combines physics‑based process models, machine learning…
Serves B2B industrial operators and engineering teams managing complex energy and process systems, particularly organisations with volatile operating conditions and modelling or optimisation…
Financial Health
StableStable · Hiring · 48% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides software and consultancy for measuring, managing and reporting social value and ESG data. Platform captures, calculates and evidences social impact for procurement, bids and sustainability…
Serves B2B organisations and public-sector buyers involved in procurement, bidding, ESG and social value reporting, including construction, housing, digital, environmental services, facilities…
Financial Health
StableStable · Hiring · 11% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 2 filingsProvides mapping and location-based APIs for developers, including address autocomplete, geocoding, geolocation, distance calculations, store locator, geofencing and indoor mapping tools used in…
Serves B2B developers, product teams and enterprises, plus public service organisations, in retail, ecommerce, insurance, automotive, logistics, health and wellness, travel, hospitality, finance, and…
Financial Health
StableStable · -50% CAGR over 1y
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Develops membraneless redox flow battery technology for energy storage. Designs battery systems using non‑flammable, abundant materials intended to store renewable electricity and provide durable,…
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops connected pill dispensers and software that record time‑stamped medication access data, enabling real-time monitoring of patient adherence in clinical trials and pharmaceutical research…
Serves pharmaceutical and biotech companies, clinical trial sponsors, CROs and trial/site teams running clinical trials or launched drug programmes where participants dose at home, including…
Financial Health
StableStable · -67% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 4 filingsDevelops blockchain-based gaming software and infrastructure. Provides a launcher that aggregates users’ computer hardware into a distributed computing network and enables players to earn utility…
Serves gamers worldwide and game developers seeking to add NFTs, blockchain features and white-label gaming tokens to games.
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed · -73% CAGR over 4y
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Develops small‑molecule drug candidates for immuno‑inflammatory diseases. Uses proprietary molecular design and patient stratification platforms to identify and optimise targets, advancing discovery…
Targets global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, such as large pharma licensing teams, in immuno-inflammation and related therapeutic areas; also communicates with shareholders and life…
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops logistics management software that provides real-time shipment visibility, container tracking, and tools for managing purchase orders, customs documentation, and vendor collaboration through…
Sells to B2B logistics providers, freight forwarders and shipping teams that manage client shipments, customs clearance, purchase orders, vendors, carriers and container movements.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · -10% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 4 filingsTrades electricity in wholesale power markets using data analysis, models and proprietary capital to match supply and demand across time and locations, helping balance variable renewable generation.
Serves potential counterparties and participants in UK electricity markets, including organisations involved in electricity supply, demand, trading and renewable energy integration.
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 59% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 2 filingsDevelops software for biomanufacturing process modelling and optimisation, using AI to simulate bioprocesses, analyse downstream unit operations, and perform techno‑economic and life cycle…
Sells B2B to biotech developers and biomanufacturing teams scaling bioprocesses, plus equipment companies seeking to demonstrate technology impact and support application development.
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StableStable · 0% CAGR over 1y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides stock funding and revolving loan facilities to small and medium-sized businesses. Offers finance for purchasing inventory and trading activities, with credit limits typically from £25,000 to…
Serves UK SMEs and trading businesses that buy, hold or manufacture stock, including importers, wholesalers and product-led firms seeking £25k-£300k working-capital facilities.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · -60% CAGR over 4y
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Designs and installs commercial solar power systems, battery storage and workplace EV charging infrastructure. Provides end‑to‑end services including system design, installation, monitoring, grid…
Serves UK businesses, particularly organisations with workplaces and vehicle fleets that need on-site energy infrastructure for employees and guests; also indicates support for homeowners.
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops and operates a mobile application that enables users to send money internationally. The platform facilitates cross-border remittances and payments to individuals or businesses, allowing…
Serves consumers and entrepreneurs who need international money transfers, including migrants supporting family abroad, individuals paying overseas contacts, and business users sending funds to…
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HealthyHealthy · Hiring · 41% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 4 filingsDevelops a digital enzyme engineering platform combining AI modelling, quantum simulation and automated robotics to design, build and test enzyme variants. Provides enzyme optimisation and…
Serves B2B organisations with enzyme needs, particularly R&D teams and companies developing or improving enzymes for market-ready applications.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Hiring · 65% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops AI-powered data automation and robotic automation software for businesses. Provides a technology platform and AI tools designed to analyse data, predict outcomes, and automate operational…
Serves businesses of varying sizes and project scopes, including teams seeking AI and robotic automation for critical business functions, with stated reach across 68+ countries.
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StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 58% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops and publishes casual mobile games, including strategy, idle and arcade titles for iOS and Android app stores. Also explores development of web3-based games, including GameFi, play-to-earn…
Serves B2C mobile gamers worldwide, especially casual strategy, idle, sports and arcade players of all ages, plus users interested in GameFi, play-to-earn and metaverse gaming.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Hiring · 5% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops wearable body temperature monitoring technology combining a skin sensor and mobile app. The system records temperature readings every few seconds, converts them to estimated body…
Serves families, clinicians in healthcare settings such as hospitals and care homes, and employers seeking health monitoring for their workforce.
Financial Health
WeakWeak · 0% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides a marketing platform for beauty brands to manage influencer and creator campaigns, recruit brand advocates, run digital product sampling, collect customer data, and measure performance of…
Sells to B2B marketing teams at beauty, cosmetics, fragrance and skincare brands, including companies running influencer, creator, ambassador, product sampling and customer advocacy campaigns.
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Hiring · 20% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides competitive pricing intelligence for retailers and brands by collecting and analysing competitor product data from e‑commerce sites. Services include large‑scale web scraping, product…
Serves pricing, buying and merchandising leaders at major retailers, consumer brands and manufacturers monitoring competitors across ecommerce sites and marketplaces.
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HealthyHealthy · 0% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 4 filingsDevelops and operates hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, including a network of hydrogen refuelling stations. Supplies hydrogen fuel and refuelling services for heavy vehicles, municipal fleets,…
Serves UK and Ireland heavy transport customers, including commercial fleet operators, municipal fleets, bus operators, vehicle testing centres and transport bodies transitioning road vehicles to…
Financial Health
WeakWeak · -77% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops molecular diagnostic assays, aptamer reagents, and bioinformatics tools for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Offers custom aptamer development, assay design, contract…
Serves diagnostics teams, biotech and pharmaceutical companies developing molecular assays, IVD products, therapeutics and bioinformatics workflows, particularly in oncology, pharmacogenomics and…
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Hiring · 39% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 3 filingsProvides a cloud-based document intelligence platform that analyses insurance-related documents using artificial intelligence to extract key data, generate summaries, and organise information to…
Serves business users handling insurance-related documents, including companies and partnerships using it on behalf of their organisation. Targets operational teams and professionals reviewing…
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DistressedDistressed · -11% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides artificial intelligence and machine learning development, data analytics and automation solutions. Offers technical consultancy for startups and scale-ups, customer AI projects, and…
Serves B2B clients including start-ups, scale-ups, enterprise and industry teams, plus investors and acquirers involved in AI/ML investments, mergers and acquisitions.
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Hiring · 36% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops in‑ear biometric sensing and control technology, including sensor hardware, data platforms and software for health monitoring, medical research and device interaction. Products capture…
Serves healthcare providers, clinical research organisations, digital health and medtech companies, and earphone or hearables manufacturers developing patient monitoring, biometric data, oximetry or…
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StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 86% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 3 filingsProvides custom software engineering and AI development services, designing and building web applications, core business systems and data-driven tools for companies. Also develops products such as AI…
Serves SMEs and growth businesses, including internal teams and consumer-facing platforms across sectors such as media, telecoms/comparison, delivery, travel and e-learning.
Financial Health
WeakWeak · Hiring · 12% CAGR over 2y
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Computed from 4 filingsOperates an online platform and mobile app that helps students find and arrange off‑campus accommodation, browse rental houses and rooms, book property tours, request leases, connect with potential…
Sells to students seeking off-campus rental housing, including shared houses, flats and rooms. Also serves parents, and appears to target student accommodation partners and colleges in the US and UK.
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides a platform for individuals and businesses to calculate and offset carbon emissions by purchasing credits from verified environmental projects. Offers APIs and e‑commerce integrations…
Serves consumers seeking personal carbon footprint options, businesses addressing corporate emissions, and e-commerce or technology partners that want API-based offset options for their customers.
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HealthyHealthy · 0% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 5 filingsDevelops open banking API infrastructure that enables businesses and financial service providers to connect to bank accounts, access financial data, and process payments and transactions across…
Serves businesses and organisations across Africa, including e-commerce firms, importers, exporters, payment service providers, P2P lenders and bill payment providers that need access to banking…
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StrongStrong · 115% CAGR over 3y
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides energy consultancy for businesses, comparing and arranging electricity, gas, water and waste utility contracts. Manages contract renewals and supplier switching, analyses consumption and…
Serves UK mainland businesses that buy electricity, gas, water or waste utilities, including organisations seeking support with contract renewals, supplier switching and energy account management.
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Computed from 3 filingsDevelops and publishes indie video games for PC and online platforms. Titles include Hypercharge: Unboxed, New RetroArcade: Neon, Paranormal Tales, and Don’t Scream, distributed through digital game…
Serves consumer video game players, especially Steam users and indie game fans interested in retro-inspired titles, community updates, early previews and private testing.
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Computed from 5 filingsProvides an online academic research platform offering access to a large digital library of Arabic and regional publications, including papers, theses, and reports. Features AI-powered multilingual…
Serves academic researchers, students, authors, and institutional libraries needing Middle East, North Africa and Turkey scholarly publications, with plans for individual users, universities and…
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StableStable · Hiring · 69% CAGR over 4y
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Computed from 2 filingsDevelops virtual and extended reality video games, including narrative‑driven and puzzle‑based titles such as Thief VR, using immersive gameplay mechanics and licensed entertainment properties for VR…
Serves a mix of B2C XR/VR game players and gaming communities, plus B2B entertainment IP holders and platform owners looking to reach audiences through immersive games.
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How Manchester Startup companies work and how to sell to them
What they do
Manchester startups usually monetise a narrow problem before widening the account. Revenue may come from monthly software subscriptions, usage fees, transaction commissions, implementation work, service retainers or small partnership payments, depending on whether the company is building software, a data layer, a managed service or a sector-specific workflow tool. Pricing tends to be kept simple while proof is still being built: per-seat, per-location, per-project or per-transaction models are easier to sell than enterprise licence structures. Many teams still combine product revenue with services, partly to fund development and partly to learn the buyer’s operating detail.
Who they sell to
Most sell to owners, founders, finance leads, operations managers, technical leads or sector heads who can sponsor a trial without a large procurement committee. Local SMBs and service operators are common early customers, while mid-market, public-sector-adjacent and regulated buyers usually appear once the proposition has evidence, references and clearer onboarding. Sales are typically direct and founder-led, with referrals, local networks and partnerships carrying more weight than formal channel programmes. Procurement becomes slower where information security, compliance checks, insurance, integration work or budget sign-off sit outside the immediate buyer’s control.
What they buy
Most Manchester startups tend to spend on tools and services that save founder time, shorten sales cycles or make the company credible to cautious buyers. Common purchases include CRM, billing, accounting, customer support, analytics, cloud hosting, data storage, security monitoring, identity management and basic HR systems. Service spend often goes towards legal drafting, tax advice, grant support, product design, recruitment, bookkeeping and sector-specific compliance work. Early teams usually prefer modular contracts, short commitments and usage-based pricing, because cash timing matters and internal ownership is often split across founders, finance and operations rather than a dedicated systems team.
Why and how to sell to them
Startup buyers tend to evaluate vendors when a manual process starts to break, a first larger customer asks for controls, a regulated activity needs evidence, or new hiring creates internal coordination problems. Funding events, senior hires, partnership discussions and the move from bespoke delivery to repeatable contracts can all create buying moments. Outbound tends to work better when it names the operational constraint plainly: fewer founder hours spent on admin, faster buyer assurance, cleaner reporting, lower onboarding friction or clearer handover from sales to delivery. Generic enterprise language usually lands poorly unless the team is already selling into slower procurement environments.
How this list is built
Data sources
This list is built from UK Companies House filings, XBRL accounts data, and semantic analysis of each company's public website. Revenue and headcount figures come from the most recent filed accounts; where the company has not filed, values are estimated using a model trained on filed history and peer benchmarks and are labelled as estimates.
Classification
Rather than relying solely on SIC codes, Firmbase classifies each company semantically: the company's website is crawled, an AI model reads what the company actually sells, and the company is placed into the relevant industry and subsectors. SIC codes are used as one signal but not the only one. This means a company that registered under a generic SIC code but pivoted into (for example) fintech is correctly identified as fintech, not as its original SIC category.
Freshness
The underlying company data is refreshed from Companies House continuously; filings appear in the list within days of submission. The curated list ordering is regenerated when the underlying data moves meaningfully (company count changes by more than 5%, a new company enters the top-ranked segment, or the filed-revenue numbers for the top firms change). You can see the last-updated timestamp near the top of the page.
Also in Manchester
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Frequently asked questions
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What SIC codes does this use?
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