Debts wipe out Pro Manchester reserves
PROFESSIONAL services networking group Pro Manchester is aiming to move back into profit and build up reserves after recording its third successive increase in pre-tax losses.
Newly-filed accounts for the group show losses rose to £143,633 from £44,881 in the year to March 2013 on revenue of £606,018, down 4%.
The deficit wiped out reserves, leaving the membership body with £14,916.
In his report chairman Paul Johnson, a partner at law firm Linder Myers, said the widening loss was partly down to £75,000 of one-off costs associated with an office move from King Street to Spinningfields, and restructuring within the organisation.
He said: “Additional cost reductions have now been implemented to ensure the company returns to profit in 2013-14. The year will mark the final year in transition following the loss of the North West Development Agency role as a sub regional sector group organisation.
“With members’ funds falling to £14,916 by the end of the year, steps are in hand to restore reserves to a level of £100,000 over the next three years. The board and the executive team recognise the significance of the task ahead over the next 12 months.”
The North West Development Agency previously subsidised Pro Manchester but after its abolition these payments were cut with the final one contributing around £25,000 in 2011-12.
Chief executive John Ashcroft said: “The year should be seen in the context of the five-year plan on which we replace the funding from the regional development agency without any loss of impact on our substantial business development programme. As the chairman’s notes explained, the loss for the year 2012-13 included a number of one-off costs associated with reorganisation and relocation to the new offices in Spinningfields.
“In 2010, the NWDA accounted for 44% of total revenues. Since then we have increased total revenues by 20% with a return to profit anticipated in the current financial year and further growth in revenues planned in 2014.”
During the year subscription revenues were up to £333,000 from £325,000 and income from events rose to £167,209 from £164,632. Pro Manchester wants to develop a trio of “high profile and profitable” events – its annual dinner, a business conference and its Made in Manchester awards. Sponsorship income fell from £115,500 to £105,076 due to the end of a deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland to put its name to the group’s SME Club. Pro Manchester was last in profit in 2009-10 when it made £46,000. The following year this fell to a loss of £23,000 which widened in 2011-12 to £44,000.
* Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Joanna Preihs is joining Pro Manchester on a secondment to run its social media site SMExperts while Raquel Rios is joining from the New Economy think tank to work on economic research.
