Co-founders Steven Bartlett and Dominic McGregor have announced today they are to step down from their roles at Social Chain after six years.
CEO Bartlett and COO McGregor were just 20 and 21 respectively when they became founding members of the Manchester-based social media publishing and marketing company that has since grown to over 750 staff globally and has revenues forecast to hit $200 million this year.
Announcing his stepping down across social media this morning, Steven Bartlett said: “Social Chain was conceived on a small desk in the backroom of the uni I had just dropped out of in Manchester. I was 20, full of wild dreams, and I believed we could take on the world.
“What started as a crazy and sometimes ridiculed idea, in the mind of a few drop-out underdogs, at a time when people didn’t believe in the potential of this new thing called social media.
“As I write this, at 27, we have more than 700 Social Chainers around the world, a world-beating team, we went public last year, we are the best at what we do, and we’ve just posted record numbers. The company is showing unbelievable momentum and I remain Social Chain’s biggest fan, supporter, and believer.
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“I owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to my team, past and present – if it wasn’t for you, my board, our chairman, (and mum and dad), I would be nothing.”
Twitter – Steven Bartlett
In a post to LinkedIn today, Dominic McGregor added: “I’m deeply proud of everything we’ve achieved, the relationships we’ve made and the lessons learned,”
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“Social Chain is a very special company, the growth we’ve seen over the last six years has been quite frankly phenomenal, we recently posted record numbers, and based on some of the exciting things I’ve seen over the last year, the future promises to be even brighter than the past.
“This business has been my rock, even when I faced difficult times in my personal life. The purpose it gave me, and the people I worked with got me through – they gave me something to fight for and without it, and without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
LinkedIn – Dominic McGregor
The pair has overseen exponential growth throughout the past six years at Social Chain.
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The journey may have started with humble beginnings in Manchester, but Social Chain now has bases in London, Berlin, New York and Munich, and works with global brands such as Amazon, Coca Cola and Apple.
It claims an owned media reach of over 2 billion views a month.
Last year, the company merged with German online retailer Lumaland AG to become The Social Chain AG and list on XETRA and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange, and it recently announced the largest acquisition in its history by taking a 51% stake in A4D Inc – a Southern Californian digital performance marketing agency.
It has been confirmed that Wanja S. Oberhof – currently Co-CEO of Social Chain AG – will retain his position as CEO upon Bartlett’s standing down.
You can find out more about Social Chain AG via its website here.
Business
The plans to build 107 new homes in Manchester city centre – including affordable housing
Daisy Jackson
A new community of homes – including affordable housing – is on the way to Manchester city centre.
Fresh new images have been unveiled of Ferrous, a brand-new 107-home rental scheme that will be built in Piccadilly East later this year.
The new development from Capital&Centric will include 15% affordable housing, as well as a new pocket park.
The new scheme is partly thanks to a £1.6m investment from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which will see a previously underused brownfield site regenerated.
The site near Manchester Piccadilly was previously owned by Transport for Greater Manchester.
Although the planning consent didn’t require an affordable housing, Capital&Centric has committed to delivering around 15% of the new homes as affordable.
Alongside the pocket park, there’ll be a small kiosk designed as a launchpad for an independent food or drink operator.
Piccadilly East was named by The Sunday Times as one of the UK’s most up-and-coming places to live, thanks to developments like Crusader Mill and Neptune Mill, plus the landmark ‘Jenga’ Leonardo Hotel.
Tom Wilmot, Joint Managing Director at Capital&Centric, said: “The GMCA funding is helping unlock new homes on a challenging city centre site while allowing us to deliver affordable homes as part of the scheme.
“We’ve also carved out space for greenery and an independent operator because small pockets of public space make a massive difference. In a post-industrial city you have to go big on planting. Kampus showed that and we want to create a mini version here.”
Construction on Ferrous is expected to start later this year with completion anticipated in 2028.
New state-of-the-art modern wellness and recovery destination opens in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s wellness landscape has just changed… for the better.
Brysk has arrived in our city, unveiling a premium, design led studio dedicated to recovery, performance, and preventative health.
Opening its doors just off St Ann’s Square, offering what it calls a ‘technology-led approach’ to everyday health, Brysk is all about helping people stay ahead of stress, poor sleep, inflammation, skin concerns, and low energy.
Designed as a wellness studio rather than a spa or clinic, Brysk aims to bridge the gap between premium comfort and clinical level care, and is currently the only place in Manchester to provide a full suite of modern recovery and wellness services under one roof – including the city centre’s only hard-shelled hyperbaric oxygen chamber delivering 1.8 ATA sessions.
Whole body and localised cryotherapy treatments are also available, alongside red light therapy and compression therapy.
Manchester was chosen for Brysk’s launch due to the city’s strong wellness and fitness culture.
Tailored for everyday people, not just amateur and elite athletes, Brysk supports busy professionals, parents, and shift workers, as well as those managing menopause symptoms, skin concerns, chronic inflammation, or recovering from injury.
The studio is also set to host a weekly run club, wellness events, and group recovery sessions now that it’s open to the public, while corporate wellness mornings and private group bookings are also available in Thursdays and Saturdays, supported by Proflex Therapy – the studio’s physiotherapy partner.
Brysk is a new modern wellness and recovery destination in Manchester / Credit: Supplied
Brysk owners, father and son team Chris and Nathan, say their aiming to become Manchester’s go-to destination for cryotherapy and modern wellness, building a culture where recovery and preventative health are viewed not as a luxury, but as essential to everyday life.
All services on offer are delivered through structured safety-led protocols, backed by sports science and nutrition knowledge.
Single sessions, tailored service packages, and flexible credit-based memberships are all on offer, meaning clients are able to integrate recovery and preventative health into their routines in a way that suits their lifestyle.
Emily Sergeant -
17th August 2020 
