pro-manchester – By The Members – For The Members

If you’re a newer member of pro-manchester then it might come as something of a surprise to learn that pro-manchester is actually an organisation which is steeped in tradition with a long history. In fact, some of the many individuals who make up our membership would be far too young to remember when the pro-manchester journey began and some of the team would have only been toddlers too! 

pro-manchester was established in the late 80’s but back then it was known as The Manchester Financial and Professional Forum and was a small group of organisations namely bankers, accountants and lawyers (no this isn’t the start of a joke) who understood the value of building relationships and collaborating.

Who were those founding members? We can’t be sure as there are no official records exist and whilst many have made claim, we do know that some of our earliest recorded member firms were RSM. BDO. Barclays. DLAPiper. DWF. EY. Kennedy’s. Grant Thornton. Eversheds. KPMG. Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland. We are pleased to say that many are still with us to this day.

Over the years more and more businesses have joined the community providing more opportunities to form relationships and share intel at city hotspots. Now enjoyed by over 250 member firms,  the membership we see today allows pro-manchester to provide the crucial, most up to date services to the business community.

In 2003 pro-manchester became a limited company but remained ‘not for profit’, meaning that whilst there are fees for membership and some events, pro-manchester only ever seeks to cover the cost of providing its member services and this remains the case in 2021.

A lot more has changed since its inception, but the fundamental purpose of the organisation has remained the same ‘to bring businesses together and the founding values have remained too. pro-manchester was formed by its members – for its members and this is still the case 35 years on in 2021. Through our board and committee structure, the decisions about pro-manchester are made by the people they impact the most. Our events and initiatives are shaped by the committees and groups which, supported by the executive team, ensure that the activity which takes place is what our members truly want.

Find out more about our programmes and events.