An exciting new era of spontaneity is set to land in the North-West as Cambeo, the completely FREE app that turns “What shall we do tonight?” into an instant adventure, officially soft launches in Manchester.
Created by hospitality insiders, college friends & local lads Sam Howkins (The Mews Bar & Charcuterie) and Ethan Davis, Cambeo is an independent start-up initiative, connecting people to live, limited-time offers from pubs, cocktail bars, breweries, street-food kitchens, independent gig venues and more—no advance booking, no hidden fees.
The app is designed to make spontaneous city adventures effortless and rewarding. Simply download it, set your vibe—whether it’s live music, craft beer, retro arcade games, or late-night pizza—and get notified when a nearby venue launches a live, time-sensitive offer that matches your interests.
From sunny outdoor tables and empty bowling lanes to unsold gig tickets or leftover shuffleboard slots, local businesses use the app to fill spaces in real time. When the alert hits your phone, all you have to do is show up, redeem, and enjoy. It’s like a surprise button for your social life – connecting you with the best the city has to offer, while helping local businesses thrive exactly when they need it.
Unlike traditional advertising or outdated discount platforms, Cambeo goes beyond food and drink. Users can discover experiences such as indie gigs, comedy nights, escape rooms, art classes, VR arcades, board-game cafés and late-night vinyl sessions (to name just a few). All in one place, separate from your social media. After all, you shouldn’t have to follow every pub, bar & restaurant in Manchester just to keep up with what’s happening.
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Since launching, local hospitality partners include games bar Electric Shuffle, Crown & Kettle, The Freemount, Kongs Nq, 53Two, Quarter House and more, taking part in the app’s private BETA testing phase last month. With many more onboarded for its public beta.
Both Howkins and Davis feel passionately about supporting the local hospitality industry, having grown up in Manchester and established careers in hospitality.
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Sam Howkins, co-founder of Cambeo, said: “I’m a firm believer that the best days & nights out are the truly spontaneous ones, where you meet up with friends after work for one drink and before you know it you’re dining out in a restaurant you’ve never heard of and tagging along to a last-minute gig. We’ve worked really hard to bring that concept of spontaneity into the app, to help people be more spontaneous and explore new experiences.
Whether you’re struggling for ideas for date night, wanting to dine somewhere different with friends, or looking for an experience to socialise without it being based entirely around drinking, we’re looking to offer everything all within one app. No more scouring dozens of websites.
We’re confident we’ve created a truly win-win situation for everyone with Cambeo, businesses are able to instantly combat quiet periods of trade, while users can experience somewhere new, save money AND know they’re helping local businesses.
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I’ve worked in hospitality for over 11 years, so I know the struggles that the industry is facing with more and more businesses closing every week. Everyone wants to support their local, but it’s tough on the consumer also. We’re aiming to help fix all of that.
I’ve had the idea for the app for about 9 years, working on it for the past 3 and I’m really, really excited for the people of Manchester to experience it, I only wish I had started on it sooner!”
Ethan Davis, co-founder of Cambeo, said: “The current struggles aren’t just limited to hospitality, so Cambeo is a platform that is open to all businesses which have quiet times, from bars & restaurants, independent pubs, experiences, activity venues, gig venues, theatres, museums & art galleries. You name it, we want to help you experience it. If you’re a business that wants to welcome more people through your doors, Cambeo is here for you.
Hopefully people want to live more in the moment and try somewhere new? And best of all, it’s completely FREE!”
Cambeo is available to download from Monday 29th September on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Early adopters will unlock surprise launch perks and become Manchester’s go-to experts for where to head next.
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Following the soft launch in Manchester, Cambeo will be expanding to cities across the UK, helping users to find places and recommendations personalised to them. With plenty more features to be added into the app.
The app remains in its early stages, with the team encouraging support & patience from the people of Manchester as it continues to grow. As a small start-up focused on strengthening the hospitality industry during a challenging period, the initiative also aims to provide users with valuable opportunities to save money.
A huge Stanley Chow exhibition featuring inflatable portraits of Manc icons is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Some of Manchester’s most famous faces are about to get even bigger, with a new Stanley Chow exhibition coming to town this summer.
And rather unusually, the artist’s portraits will be inflatables…
The huge new MCR Made exhibition is set to take over Manchester Arndale from 3 August all the way into the autumn.
Shoppers and locals will be able to admire 13 portraits of Manc icons, which will be up to six metres in length, whether it’s Oasis legends or Suffragettes, football heroes or creative pioneers.
The gigantic inflatable Stanley Chow portraits will be suspended right across the iconic shopping centre for an art trail that celebrates the figures who have shaped the city.
The impossible-to-miss exhibition features famous faces from the worlds of music, sport, science, politics, art and culture.
Along the trail you’ll spot the likes of Liam and Noel Gallagher, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Emmeline Pankhurst, Alan Turing, L.S. Lowry, Lemn Sissay, Caroline Aherne, Aitch, and a host of other trailblazers, all in Stanley’s signature and distinctive style.
MCR Made showcases the work of legendary local artist and illustrator Stanley Chow in an exciting new way, encouraging exploration through photo opportunities and a social media competition.
Stanley Chow said: “The Arndale Centre for me is my Mecca, and I’m sure it is for so many people from Manchester. I’m old enough to remember when it first opened as a shopping centre nearly 50 years ago, and I haven’t stopped coming here since.
Inflatable portraits by Stanley Chow will take over Manchester Arndale this summer
“I’m a proud Mancunian, so I was very flattered and touched to be asked to do this. Art needs to be seen everywhere, and not always necessarily in a gallery. I can’t think of a better place for as many people as possible from all walks of life to be able to see my work presented this way.”
David Allinson, Centre Director at Manchester Arndale, said: “Manchester has always been a city that outperforms and exceeds expectations. Through music, sport, science, politics, creativity and innovation, Manchester’s influence is recognised around the world, and MCR Made celebrates the icons whose talent, ambition and determination helped build that reputation.
“The exhibition feels particularly at home inside Manchester Arndale, itself a Manchester institution that has been woven into the city’s fabric for almost five decades. The shopping centre provides the perfect backdrop for celebrating Manchester, its creativity and the iconic figures behind its global reputation.”
Manchester Arndale will also be giving visitors the chance to own a piece of MCR Made, with 26 limited edition A4 prints signed by Stanley Chow up for grabs. Two prints of each icon have been produced, with winners allocated their artwork at random. To enter, simply follow @manchesterarndale on Instagram and like the competition post.
MCR Made will run at Manchester Arndale from 3 August – 24 October, and is totally free to visit.
P1 Fitness – The Manchester gym that strikes the perfect blend of PT and group-based coaching
Danny Jones
We here at The Manc team are trying to get fit; it can be hard to find time for the gym when you’re busy, not to mention staying in shape when you’ve got a food scene as good as Manchester’s, which is exactly why P1 Fitness Studio is a perfect match for us.
Maybe you’ve fancied giving a personal trainer a go, or even tried a class or two, but perhaps the schedule, the price, the location or some other factor meant it wasn’t for you.
Whatever your reasoning, if you’re the kind of person who can admit they need a bit of a kick up the backside to get their arse in gear and actually stick at this gym lark, we can assure you this is an ideal place to build the right kinds of habits.
And trust us, they’ll keep pushing to make sure it sinks in.
Top-end facilities, secure lockers, every bit of kit you’ll ever need and much more (Credit: The Manc)
Aside from the anti-ego environment in general – you won’t catch anyone staring at themselves in mirrors here – it’s also just nice to be around people with similar lifestyles.
Boasting tonnes of positive reviews online, P1 Fitness is a place for busy professionals who aren’t willing to let work and all other time-consuming parts of ‘adulting’ be an excuse to not carve out less than an hour to better themselves.
And for most people, that really is all it takes to start seeing a difference; two 50-minute sessions might not sound like a lot to some, but the effort you put in during the group workouts is more than enough to get the benefit.
They focus on quality, not quantity, making sure every day that you turn up is worthwhile, and no drop of sweat is wasted.
Better still, they keep the numbers low and even break off into smaller groups to explain and tailor workouts to suit each person.
It’s not just weekly blocks stuck on a wall that you have to stick to: everything is flexible, and they do try and give everyone as much one-on-one attention as possible from the P1 staff.
Here’s what some other members have had to say in their recent testimonials:
“The biggest difference isn’t that I’m fitter and stronger. It’s that I don’t have to think about it anymore. Before P1 I’d spend all week telling myself I needed to go to the gym, then I’d be too tired, it’d be busy, I didn’t know what to do, and I’d end up doing nothing and beating myself up about it.
“Now I just turn up twice a week. Someone tells me what to do, I get coached to do it right, then shower, go back to work and my fitness takes care of itself. It’s one less thing I have to worry about.”
Louise
“I genuinely thought I hated gyms. In fact, when I saw one, I used to cross the street to avoid it… Turns out I hated the ‘usuall’ gym experience. Wondering what I was supposed to be doing, fighting for equipment in the crowd and being self-conscious about my form.
“At P1, I simply walk in, everything’s ready – someone coaches me through the session, we have a laugh in the group, and before I know it I’m finished. I actually look forward to training now, which is crazy.
Damien
One of our very own, Lonnie, says it’s given him a sense of “structure, routine and a community” in the gym like never before, and added that “it’s become that third space where people can come together to better themselves in a fun and unique way.”
Abby is ever the hard-working, friendly face; her husband and fellow co-owner, Peter, is a ‘BFG’ who will always push you to your limits but knows when not to beast you; Ben is a great instructor with a great way of breaking down movements, and Mel is the smiling assassin who is as dedicated as she is smiley.
Then there’s Katie, who is somehow juggling a PhD and working at P1 part-time, all whilst being an absolute Duracell bunny of a trainer. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a better team.
Best of all, you can choose when to register for a session based not only on who you prefer working with, but whatever time suits you; you can even put your name down as last-gasp as you like – in fact, we’ve turned up with five minutes’ notice on more than one occasion.
It’s also great to see that they’re more than happy to roll out a mat or pick up a weight and properly get stuck in there with you.
Put simply: much like you, all of these guys have their own special traits, but one thing they do all have in common is an incredible amount of drive and passion for the work they do, not to mention the knowledge and experience to back it up.
We’re not going to give you any harder of a sell than that; all we’ll say is that we’re feeling more positive about our current fitness journey than we have in a long time, and if you want to make similar progress, P1 might just be for you.
So, if you are truly looking to get fitter in a setting where consistency, accountability and community thrive, consider this your sign to finally get serious.
You can find out more and enquire about joining right HERE.
You won’t find a friendlier team. (Credit: Supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
29th September 2025 
