PL represents the interests of the Liverpool city region’s financial and professional services sector and will hold its annual general meeting at the city’s Town Hall on Thursday. Tony McDonough reports.

Membership numbers at Professional Liverpool (PL) have soared 27% over the past year – from 220 to 280.

And chief executive John Hall told members at the annual general meeting on Thursday that there are another 30 potential new members in the pipeline.

PL represents the interests of the Liverpool city region’s financial and professional services sector.

On Thursday its members will gather at Liverpool Town Hall to hear about the year’s successes from Mr Hall, as well as chairman Jim Gill, and company secretary Andrew Lovelady.

It has been a busy year for Professional Liverpool which moved into a new office at the Cotton Exchange in October and welcomed a new addition to the team, marketing student Rosie Davis.

Mr Hall said: “2015/6 has been another year of strong progress for the organisation as we continue to promote professional excellence in the Liverpool city region.

“We believe collaboration is crucial so we continue to work with other business organisations involved in the G12 group to present a broad private sector view on important issues such as devolution of powers to the combined authority.

“More generally, we collaborate with, amongst other bodies, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Vision, Liverpool and Sefton Chamber of Commerce and the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) on matters affecting the professional and financial sector.

“We have also strengthened our connections with the city’s universities and have established a basis for working with the LEP on strategic issues affecting the sector.”

Over the year, Professional Liverpool has held 50 sell-out events for its members including the popular Cannes Do event in March which was attended by around 600 professionals and the successful inaugural Professionals’ Dinner in association with Liverpool Law Society.

Professional Liverpool also strengthened its links with the city of London through a second Mansion House lunch which saw a headline address from Lord Heseltine.

At a later date, the organisation welcomed the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman the Lord Mountevans to the city.