Greater Manchester universities oppose Bolton’s name change

A university’s plan to rebrand itself regionally in a bid to attract more students is facing a legal challenge after nearby institutions objected.

The University of Bolton has applied to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester.

However, the University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the University of Salford, which uses the word Manchester in its branding, said the new name was “misleading” and could confuse potential students.

Bolton vice-chancellor George Holmes said he disagreed with the claim and added that the rebrand could bring a “huge” financial boost to the region.

He told BBC Radio Manchester that a consultation on the name change bid was being held by the universities’ regulator, the Office for Students, and the results were expected “sometime in July”.

He said using the Greater Manchester title would more accurately reflect the fact that up to 70% of its students come from the region and it has plans to expand to sites in Oldham and Bury.

“The new name is not confusing,” he said.

“There are already two other institutions in Greater Manchester with the City of Manchester in the title.”

He added that other regions of the city, such as Greater London, Liverpool and Leeds, have multiple institutions that share names “with no reason for confusion”.

All three other universities responded to the regulator’s consultation and legal name change request.

MMU said objections had been raised to Bolton’s trademark applications “where we feel they impinge on our own trademarks”, while the UoM said it believed the proposed name change would be “highly misleading and confusing”.

According to its own website, the University of Bolton traces its roots “back to 1824 when it opened as one of the first mechanical institutes”.

It was granted university status in 2005, has a worldwide student body of approximately 11,000 and employs approximately 900 staff.