More than 200 employees of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are set to be located in Manchester by 2025 after the watchdog announced a new base in the city.
Manchester will be the home of the new Digital Markets Unit (DMU), which has been established to oversee a new regulatory regime for the most powerful digital firms.
The CMA said the DMU’s remit is to "promote greater competition and innovation and protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices".
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In a statement, the organisation said the city has been chosen because it "offers a diverse and highly-skilled labour market as one of the top locations for digital as well as legal, IT and finance roles".
CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: "Last year I pledged that the CMA would get closer to the needs of people right across the UK.
"Since then, we have taken action on issues from refunds on package holidays to tackling excessive pricing on key drugs.
"Now we are going a step further and bringing our own offices and staff closer to more of the people we serve."
He added: "There are bright and talented people everywhere and we want to do our part to give them the opportunities they deserve."
The CMA has said it will now seek "suitable accommodation" for approximately 50 staff to be based in Manchester initially.
