We are pleased to announce the appointment of five leading figures from the Manchester business community to our board.
CityCo is The City Centre Management Company and is an independent membership organisation. We have brought in key individuals representing a range of sectors including property development and management, professional services and hospitality, to continue to support economic growth and create a vibrant, resilient city.
James Heather, Development Director at U+I, which is transforming the 24-acre Mayfield area of Manchester into a world-class urban neighbourhood, joins the board, alongside Paul Jonson, Senior Partner at leading Manchester commercial law firm Pannone Corporate, Annie Brown, General Manager of Manchester Macdonald Hotel & Resorts, Ciara Keeling, CEO of Bruntwood Works and Gabriel Erinle, Estate Director at Allied London and ALL+, developers of Spinningfields and London Road Fire Station.
These latest appointments follow David Allinson, Centre Director at Manchester Arndale, taking up the role of Chair in 2019.
CityCo brings private businesses together with public agencies including Manchester City Council, Salford City Council, Greater Manchester Police, Transport for Greater Manchester and Marketing Manchester. Between networks, we have nearly 1,000 members and are the leading business organisation in the city centre.
CityCo membership spans international head offices, property developers, owners and agents, facilities management, culture and leisure venues, media and professional services, hotels, education and transport organisations.
Members include Aviva, BDP, Biffa, Bruntwood, CBRE, Corn Exchange, Dakota Hotel, GG Hospitality, Great Northern, Helical, HOME, JLL, KPMG, MacDonald Manchester Hotel, Manchester Arndale, Manchester Central, NCP, NOMA, Pannone, The Printworks, The Hut Group, Royal Exchange, Science & Industry Museum, Spinningfields, Stagecoach, TCS and U+I.
Businesses benefit from a range of support including operational, environmental and security services, business contingency planning, lobbying, working forums, briefings and training, city intelligence and an annual calendar of corporate events.
The company runs Manchester’s Business Crime Reduction Partnership servicing hundreds of shops and night-time economy venues – and The PA Network, a thriving community of executive assistants.
CityCo also manages the city’s central Business Improvement District; a consortium of Manchester’s leading retail and restaurant brands. The BID delivers a business support alongside a programme of footfall-driving public events, PR, tourism and customer-services initiatives.
In addition, CityCo offers a suite of meeting and event spaces for hire at its office in Lloyd’s House; a former cotton-warehouse, overlooking Albert Square’s Town Hall.
James Heather, Development Director, U+I said: “CityCo is a fantastic organisation doing a really important job in promoting this brilliant city of ours. I am proud to be joining the board and look forward to working with the other directors and the passionate team at CityCo as we look to the challenges and many opportunities this new decade will bring.
“I truly believe that Manchester is a world city, but we cannot be complacent and must continue to collectively work on our ‘offer’ to stand out as a unique destination by playing to our strengths in innovation, education, culture, leisure and retail.
“Working together has been integral to Manchester’s renaissance over the last 30 years, and this will, I am sure remain a key focus for CityCo this year and long into the future as we respond to new trends in the way people are living, shopping and using cities.”
Gabriel Erinle, ALL+ and Allied London Estates Director, said: “I have worked with CityCo for over a decade and have been witnessed first-hand the amazing contributions they have made and are continuing to make to the city centre to support growth and create a vibrant, resilient city.
“I am excited to be appointed to the CityCo board and look forward to working with the team to build and add value to the good work already taking place and develop new exciting initiatives.”
Ciara Keeling, CEO of Bruntwood Works, said: “It is a fantastic opportunity to have joined the CityCo board, I am keen to support all the great things the team is already working on. CityCo has a strong strategy for Manchester that mirrors how we feel at Bruntwood Works. It’s an exciting time for the city and I’m grateful to be involved.”
Annie Brown, Manchester Macdonald Hotel & Resorts General Manager, said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to the CityCo Board. I look forward to bringing my experience to the organisation and supporting the development and progress of Manchester as a city.”
Paul Jonson, Senior Partner at Pannone, said: “Pannone has been a member of CityCo for several years and I am very excited about joining the new board and working with some hugely talented people.”
Vaughan Allen, CityCo Chief Executive, said: “These new board appointments reflect the breadth of CityCo’s membership and their input will be instrumental in taking us forward into the next decade.
Our work is focused on ensuring businesses can operate effectively, successfully, and with resilience, in our growing and changing city. We look forward to working with the new team.”
For more information, please contact Anoushka or Kat at ECHO anoushka@echo-pr.co.uk / kat@echo-pr.co.uk / 07732 846650.
