Manchester International Festival

Name

Manchester International Festival

Legal name

Manchester International Festival (MIF) t/a Factory International

Website

https://mif.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from ticketed events and exhibitions at Aviva Studios, including major exhibitions like Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, Lightroom series, and theatrical productions.
2. Membership Program: Monthly membership subscription at £5/month offering priority booking, discounts, and exclusive benefits for access to events and programming.
3. Venue Hire: Commercial hire of Aviva Studios spaces for filming, broadcasts, receptions, product launches, conferences, fashion events, brand activations, and outdoor location filming.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Brand and corporate partner sponsorships, including naming rights for Aviva Studios. Includes co-commissioning opportunities for international partners.
5. Donations and Major Gifts: Individual donations, major gifts, legacies, and giving circle programs for supporter engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Manchester International Festival (trading as Factory International) is a non-profit cultural organization that produces the biennial Manchester International Festival and year-round arts programming at Aviva Studios in Manchester. It commissions and presents world-first contemporary exhibitions, performances and immersive experiences, supported by a digital content platform (Factory+), artist development programmes, professional training (Factory Academy), a paid membership programme, and commercial venue hire for corporate events and productions.

Product overview

Factory International operates as a cultural organisation producing the Manchester International Festival and managing Aviva Studios. The portfolio consists of Aviva Studios as the primary venue, Factory+ as the digital content platform providing online access to exhibitions, podcasts, games and video content, Factory Academy for professional training, and Artist Development programmes. The organisation also produces major exhibitions and performances including Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, Lightroom, and It's a Sin, while offering a membership programme for visitor engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Factory+: Digital content platform featuring video interviews, podcasts, games, and commissioned articles related to exhibitions and programming
• Factory Academy
• Dream Space Podcast
• Factory Settings
• Factory Sounds

Products and services

• Aviva Studios Venue Operations The primary venue operated by Factory International, offering flexible spaces for exhibitions, performances and events including the large-scale Warehouse and Studio spaces. Open to public ticketed audiences and commercial venue hire clients.
• Membership Programme Paid monthly membership at £5/month providing priority booking, discounts, offers and other annual benefits for visitors to Factory International events and exhibitions at Aviva Studios.
• Lightroom (Immersive Exhibition Series) Ticketed immersive exhibition series at Aviva Studios featuring large-scale projected experiences, including David Bowie: You're Not Alone and Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs, running from December 2026 into January 2027.
• It's a Sin (Dance Production) Ticketed theatrical dance production co-produced with Rambert, adapting Russell T Davies' landmark television series 'It's a Sin' into a dance story of love and survival, staged at Aviva Studios in February 2027.
• Ai Weiwei: Button Up! (Exhibition) Major ticketed exhibition from internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei exploring history, power and empire, presented at Aviva Studios as part of Factory International's summer 2025 season.
• Factory Academy Free training programme for future producers, technicians and arts professionals, run by Factory International to develop the next generation of creative workers.
• Commercial Venue Hire at Aviva Studios

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Manchester City CouncilcoreOthersCore public sector partner and funder of Manchester International Festival and Factory International operations. Part of the public sector partner ecosystem supporting the organization.
• Arts Council EnglandcoreOthersNational arts funder providing core funding and support for Factory International's programming and operations. Major public investment in the organization's cultural mission.
• AvivaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNaming sponsor of Aviva Studios, the flagship venue operated by Factory International. Provides significant brand visibility and association with the organization's cultural programming.
• ArtangelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for commissioning and producing new works, as demonstrated in projects like Hetain Patel's 'Come As You Really Are' mapping project.
• RambertcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership with Rambert dance company for theatrical productions, including the adaptation of 'It's a Sin' into a dance performance.
• Brand and Corporate PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVarious brand partners engaged through corporate membership, sponsorship, and venue hire arrangements at Aviva Studios.
• International Partner Venues and FestivalsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal network of partner venues and festivals for international touring and presentation of commissioned works produced by Factory International.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Barbican Centre: A major London cultural venue presenting international performing arts, cinema, and visual arts with a similar diversified revenue model spanning tickets, memberships, venue hire, and corporate partnerships — comparable in scale and operational complexity to Factory International.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest arts festival, running annually in Edinburgh with thousands of performances across multiple categories. Comparable as a UK-based international cultural festival competing for the same artists, audiences, and sponsor attention as MIF.
• Southbank Centre: The UK's largest arts centre operates year-round performing arts programming across multiple venues in London with a comparable mix of ticketed events, venue hire, memberships, and public/corporate funding — directly mirroring Factory International's Aviva Studios operating model.
• Sadler's Wells: A London-based dance and performing arts venue that commissions, produces, and tours new work internationally — closely comparable to Factory International's commissioning model, particularly its partnership with Rambert and choreographers like Benoit Swan Pouffer.
• Edinburgh International Festival: Edinburgh's flagship international arts festival, founded in 1947, is the closest UK analogue to Manchester International Festival — both produce world-class performing arts programming and commission new work from leading international artists. It is the most directly comparable festival-format peer.
• Salzburg Festival: One of the world's premier annual performing arts festivals, presenting opera, drama, and orchestral concerts with world-leading artists. Directly comparable to MIF in its commissioning of high-caliber international artists and pursuit of cultural prestige.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Opera House: A much larger UK performing arts institution combining a permanent venue with year-round opera and ballet programming, plus extensive learning and outreach work. Comparable in its blend of venue operation, artist commissioning, and public/corporate funding, though at significantly greater scale.
• Tate Modern: A major UK visual arts institution operating a flagship London venue with ticketed exhibitions, memberships, corporate hire, and public funding — sharing Factory International's venue-operator and ticketed-exhibition model, particularly relevant to exhibitions like 'Ai Weiwei: Button Up!'.
• Glastonbury Festival: The UK's largest greenfield music and performing arts festival, operating on a biennial cadence with a major permanent site. Comparable in biennial cycle and scale of UK cultural footprint, though oriented more toward music than MIF's contemporary arts focus.

Regional players

• Festival d'Avignon: One of Europe's most prestigious annual performing arts festivals, presenting theatre, dance, and visual arts in France. Highly comparable in mission and commissioning profile, but operates in a different national market with its own public funding ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MIFestival
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCfCpoHbisF8-hJuR2CnBFxg
• Facebookfacebook.com/factoryinternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/factoryintl
• Instagraminstagram.com/factory_international
• TikToktiktok.com/@factoryinternational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Manchester International Festival