19 Jan 2021, 09:08Comments (9) Welcome to Place North West. This week: will a major civil service relocation from London lead to a big win for Manchester, or will Leeds be celebrating? Manchester’s £2.8bn digital sector is flourishing but turning home-grown success into floorspace might not be so easy, recruitment consultants tell us. And why there will be more American money in North West property this year, despite pandemic uncertainties. Subplot has gone digging so you don’t have to. Credit: George Evans WHITEHALL FARCE Excited chatter about a ‘Whitehall of the North’ has been pretty much an annual pre-budget event since 2009. So far, it has been a reliable let-down. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to relocate 22,000 civil servants to the regions kick-started the latest seasonal wave of speculation. What can Manchester expect from the 3 March announcement?