NWUPC Turns 25: Celebrating a Journey of Collaboration and Growth
This August, NWUPC celebrates 25 years as a company—and almost 50 years of working together to support higher education procurement. Today, we’re proud to support 32 Full and Associate Members from across the North West of England, North Wales and Northern Ireland. Whether it’s through procurement, learning and development, or simply sharing knowledge and ideas, NWUPC is here to help members do more, together.
But our story started well before we became a company…
Back in 1976, a group of universities—including Liverpool, Manchester, Keele, Lancaster, Salford, Bangor, and Birmingham—joined forces through a sector-led group called AIMS. By 1986, the group had grown, appointed a full-time coordinator, and took on the new name of the North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC).
At that time, NWUPC wasn’t a company. That change came on 1st August 2000, when NWUPC became a not-for-profit company owned by its members. This gave us the structure and flexibility to grow our services to better support our membership. A new Board, made up of senior leaders from full member institutions, was formed.
We have delivered a wide range of valuable support services to our members in that time, one of our highlights was the delivery of a successful NVQ programme. More than 1,000 people have taken part in our learning programmes, and NWUPC was recognised as a CIPS Centre of Excellence.
At the heart of it all is one idea: Delivering Value Through Responsible Procurement and we couldn’t do it without our procurement community that we’re proud to support. As we mark 25 years of incorporation, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved and excited to continue the journey with you.
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