Danbro hosts Lytham Festival suppliers event

Danbro has hosted a major 'Meet the Makers' networking event in the run up to Lytham Festival – the first time the former Lytham Proms will become a week- long celebration of music, comedy, literature and the arts.

Lytham-based chartered management accountants Danbro, which has 8,000 clients across the country, is the key corporate sponsor of the new-look festival which has grown rapidly from a single concert starring soprano Lesley Garrett – itself a real coup - in 2010 to one of the leading annual events in the UK.

This year’s festival could potentially boost the Fylde economy by more than £2m and the benefits extend along the Fylde coast and further afield. The catchment for the audience is now international.

Daniel Cuffe, one half of the Cuffe & Taylor partnership which blazed the trail for the original Proms, says: “When we first started, this was all we did, now it’s a small part of what we do – but the most prestigious part for us, and perhaps the one closest to our heart. It’s very much our baby. After all, this is our home town.”

Co-founder Peter Taylor adds: “Our aim is to attract 70,000 people and ultimately many more to the event. It will bring massive financial benefits to the area exceeding the financial benefit of the Open Golf fivefold.”

Peter paid tribute to sponsors for ‘sharing the vision’ and making possible a bill topped by big names such as Faithless (“a controversial choice”), homegrown Fylde coast talent Rae Morris, Scouting for Girls and super group McBusted … among many more.

The company’s own community choir, Danbro Rock Choir, is itself performing at the festival in support to Tenors of Rock and also sharing the stage with TOR for a number – as well as returning for the traditional crowd pleaser Last Night of the Proms.

The company’s impressive 250-capacity Green Room, housed in the rotunda of Jubilee House, was the venue for the champagne-and-canapes Meet the Makers event.

Damian Broughton, managing director of Danbro, talked of his own company’s origins, growth and rise, from a 6’ x 6’ box room in Warton, to the impressive 66k sq ft Jubilee House today. He also reiterated Danbro’s commitment to the local community. “There’s a great spirit about Lytham and we’re proud and privileged to work here and want to play our part in the local community.”

"When the opportunity to get involved in Lytham Festival, presented itself, we grabbed it with both hands. The festival now has national recognition and being a company that has clients all over the UK, this will help spread the word about the accounting, taxation and financial services that we can offer.”

The event also featured a presentation by web specialist and digital marketing agency Bespoke Internet’s managing director Gary Bennion.

Lucky Lucy Judge (pictured) of Guild Promotions won VIP passes for 10 to the festival’s Last Night at the Proms –with her boss’s business card. “Tomorrow is the final day of my probationary period with Guild Promotions… I’m kind of hoping this means I’ll pass!”