Businesses should have optimistic outlook for 2012 says Lord Mayor of the City of London

pro•manchester the membership organisation for the financial and professional sector welcomed the Lord Mayor of the City of London on Tuesday for a one day visit. An annual fixture in the pro.manchester programme of events, the Lord Mayor of the City of London acts as ambassador for all UK based financial and professional services.

Alderman David Wooton is the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London and took office on Friday 11th November 2011; he was educated at Cambridge and is a solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP, advising primarily on corporate transactions of all kinds.
As part of his visit he addressed pro•manchester members  at a  lunch at Stock Restaurant sponsored by Cobbetts LLP where he stressed the importance of professional and financial services in supporting businesses. He praised the activities and working relationships within the Manchester family and said that cities must be co-ordinated and focused in order to succeed.  He also urged businesses to get involved with the opportunities on offer from his overseas programme of activity and said whilst 2012 may be a year of challenges for businesses he was optimistic for the future.

During his visit the Lord Mayor also met with key figures from the ‘Manchester Family’ including Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, MIDAS, Commission for the New Economy, Manchester Solutions, Marketing Manchester and UKTI to discuss the unique contribution of Manchester to the UK financial services offering.  He also visited the MediaCityUK complex for a tour of the site with Director of Communications Paul Newman before visiting the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK building with Keith Barnes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Strategic Partnerships and Development, and meeting with Director of BBC North Peter Salmon.  A private dinner hosted by Deloitte and to discuss the Lord Mayor’s overseas programme and encourage participation rounded off the day of events.

Speaking about the visit pro•manchester Vice Chairman and Partner at Cobbetts LLP Paul Johnson said “we are honoured to welcome the Lord Mayor of the City of London to visit Manchester and to showcase the exciting things that are happening in our city, the excellent relationship we have with the Lord Mayor of the City of London is vitally important in promoting the financial and professional sector which we represent”