Today, 21 September 2015, we became Alliance Manchester Business School following a transformational donation from Lord Alliance of Manchester and his fellow Trustees of the Alliance Family Foundation.
The donation of £15m will be invested both in the School’s new building and to drive forward our research agenda. Together these will enhance the learning experience for all students.
The naming is in recognition of this support and Lord Alliance’s long-standing relationship with the University and the Business School. It comes at a pivotal moment for the School as we continue to attract more world-leading researchers and teachers, celebrate our 50th anniversary and break ground on a new building.
Lord Alliance, one of the North West’s most successful businessmen, founded the international textile group Coats Viyella Plc (now Coats Plc) and currently serves as Non-Executive Director of Manchester based N Brown Group, one of the UK’s leading internet and catalogue home shopping companies. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1988 and an Honorary LLD from the Victoria University of Manchester in 1989.
The landmark donation was pledged in October 2014 when Lord Alliance commented: “Over many years I have followed with growing admiration and pride the development of Manchester as a world-class centre for business education and I am delighted to support the next major stage in its growth and development. Twenty years ago I instigated the bringing together of separate disciplines to create the Federal School of Management, the pre-cursor to MBS as it is today, of which I am very proud. Manchester as a city has done so much for me and this is my opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the next generation of managers and entrepreneurs who will come to our superb business school to develop their leadership skills and contribute to the prosperity of our society in the future.”
The donation made by Lord Alliance and the Alliance Family Foundation will support the biggest transformation the School has seen since it was established some 50 years ago.
Find out more about our 50th Anniversary >>
Read the original Lord Alliance donation announcement from October 2014 >>