VTR North to open in Manchester

Leeds-based post-production firm VTR North is investing £500,000 in a new office in Manchester.

The firm, which has worked on ads for DFS, Gala Bingo and Jet2, has taken a lease on 3,000 sq ft in John Dalton Street, in central Manchester.

VTR, which has 11 staff in Leeds, is converting the space into a facility that will provide visual effects, editing, graphic design and sound mixing services for TV and advertising. The office, which is due to open in April, will employ eight people.

Carl Walters, who set up the business with Chris Birks in 2005, said he hoped to capitalise on the BBC's move to MediaCityUK but he chose to work from the city centre to be close to the big advertising agencies.

"We don’t want to pigeon hole ourselves as just providing services for the BBC. Being in central Manchester allows us to work with BBC North and the rest of MediaCity but, importantly, also allows us to be within walking distance of Manchester’s biggest advertising agencies.

"It also gives us proximity to bars, restaurants and other amenities that might appeal to people who want to do their visual effects, graphics and audio work outside of Media City.”

Five years ago there was talk of VTR branching out into Manchester through a tie-up with Sumners which Walters described as a first 'toe in the water'.

“We’ve always had one eye on Manchester,” he said. “Leeds has been good to us and will continue to be our home but Manchester is a bigger market that offers more opportunities.

"With the arrival of BBC North and the city’s booming commercials sector there is major demand for the type of high-end finishing work that we do. We don’t want to take over the world but if we want to grow the business, then opening an office in Manchester seems like a natural progression.”

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