FAQs

How important is networking?
Networking is crucial to professional firms, whatever the size. Generating and using personal contacts in the top echelon of the corporate community is invaluable when it comes to new business – you can’t make potential clients do all the legwork. However, a worrying number of firms still restrict networking to their senior management and partners, when the younger members can potentially be one of their most valuable assets. It is vitally important to provide them with the opportunity to develop their own network before they are forced to go out on a limb later in their career with no idea of networking etiquette and few, if any, established contacts. That is why pro∙manchester facilitates networking at all of its events. With so many networking events on offer people are justifiably becoming very choosy about how they spend their time. Networking events have to show their value with good speakers, interactive presentations and relevant topics.

What types of events does pro∙manchester organise?
pro∙manchester hosts a wide range of events for its financial and professional community. Members can refer to a calendar of discussion groups and networking lunches. pro∙manchester also provides opportunities specifically for its younger members with such events as mix and mingle drinks and speed networking events as well as more traditional speaker events. The young members committee – future pro∙manchester - ensures that the young members have fun while expanding their network.

How resilient is Manchester’s Financial and Professional community?
Manchester's economy has proved more resilient than London due to less global exposure and its ability to be more flexible and open. The financial and professional services sector continues to grow. The global economic challenges are nothing short of a major opportunity for the financial and professional community in Manchester. Taking advantage of the opportunities of global markets in the coming years remains imperative for Manchester professionals. For insights, click here for more information.

Are Manchester professionals involved in PPP/PFI?
Very much so. The UK PFI and PPP sector is booming, international companies are coming into the market in droves, and Manchester’s professional services community is at the heart of the action. As the line between public and private sector services becomes increasingly blurred, a vast number of new partnership opportunities are opening up for Manchester businesses. Manchester is already a hotspot for Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
To find out more, click here.

Do pro∙manchester members provide advice to companies considering flotation?
Look no further! Manchester has played a key role in the development and prosperity of the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The recent and relatively rapid emergence of AIM as a cost effective and well-regarded means for companies to raise capital is striking. Manchester has established itself as a pre-eminent centre for providing advice to companies considering flotation, both in the region and internationally, and now has the full range of advisers available in the city, from Nomad and broker, to lawyer, accountant and financial PR. Companies need look no further for top quality advice from our members.
To search for a member of pro∙manchester, click here.  

Why does pro∙manchester undertake so many skills initiatives?
pro∙manchester has signed a partnership agreement with the Greater Manchester Strategic Alliance (GMSA) to advise on the skills required by the city’s financial and professional services sector from school and higher education leavers. The aim of the partnership is to ensure the accelerated growth of the city’s financial and professional services sector by ensuring the future workforce has the necessary skills. It follows a report commissioned by the GMSA in Autumn 2006, which highlighted the importance of the financial and professional sector to the Greater Manchester economy. The report found that between 2006 and 2021, Manchester’s financial and professional sector will require an average annual requirement of 6,500 new ‘level 4’ qualified workers.

How important is US FDI?
Extremely important, though the UK’s share of US FDI in financial services into Europe (including Switzerland) is declining; it was 61% in 1999 and only 43% in 2006. An explanation could be that larger and more capable companies have already invested in the UK and are now growing that business elsewhere in Europe. New business landed today tends to be smaller niche companies and boutique services. In addition, more European countries are opening up their economies and this gives rise to more opportunities than in the UK, which is a mature market. More information>>

How does pro∙manchester recognise rising talent within the sector?
North West financial and professional firms are able to nominate their rising stars for the Young Professional Awards, organised by pro∙manchester in conjunction with NW Insider. The awards recognise emerging talent and those who are already making strides in becoming the business leaders of the future. The awards are entering their fifth year and continue to go from strength to strength. We’re delighted that past winners have already progressed significantly in their careers and look forward to recognising more rising talent from the financial and professional services sector.
More information>>

Do you know any jokes about professionals?
Yes we do! Did you hear the joke about the professional services organisation that liked to poke fun at its sector? No, well let me tell you. pro∙manchester, the organisation that represents financial and professional services in the city, has created a joke book that takes a light-hearted view of the sector. The joke book, named ‘It’s Grin up North’, contains 101 jokes about lawyers, accountants, marketers, financial advisers, insurers and bankers and has been created to reflect Manchester’s cheeky personality!
Read on...

How important are Carbon Markets and Emissions Trading?
A key objective in carbon markets is to establish the UK as a model for carbon trading schemes around the world with the view to make contracts viable thereby increasing the size of the overall market and reducing capital requirements; to bring more international players to the market; and to promote the strengths of Manchester’s related areas of business services. Currently the UK, and London in particular, is the world centre for carbon finance. The UK is the leading investor in Clean Delivery Mechanisms (CDMs) and is the dominant exchange contract in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), being traded on ICE Futures in London.

Why does pro∙manchester engage in so actively with the Bank of England?
That’s because one of the Bank of England's two core purposes is monetary stability. Monetary stability means stable prices - low inflation - and confidence in the currency. Stable prices are defined by the Government's inflation target of 2% set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which the Bank seeks to meet through the decisions on interest rates taken by the Monetary Policy Committee. The MPC sets the Bank Rate for the whole of the United Kingdom. But the Bank is only too aware that the economic picture varies by sector and region. The job of the MPC is to aggregate a wide range of information to form a judgement about the best course of action for the UK as a whole to achieve the inflation target. The role of monetary policy is to achieve price stability by balancing aggregate demand and potential supply in the UK economy.