University of Bolton’s proposed name change triggers legal feud with rivals

A bitter legal dispute has broken out between universities in the north-west of England over Bolton’s efforts to rename itself as the University of Greater Manchester despite the objections of its regional rivals.

The dispute has led to Bolton’s vice-chancellor accusing three other universities in the region – including the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, two of the UK’s largest universities – of acting as a “cartel”.

Last year the University of Bolton applied to England’s higher education regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to be registered as the University of Greater Manchester, arguing that its campuses and students were spread across the region, making the new title more fitting.

The move has attracted opposition from the universities of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and Salford, which claimed the name would cause “significant confusion” among students and the public.

Related: Bolton graduates miss out on top jobs because of prejudice, says vice-chancellor

After protesting against the change through the OfS’s consultation, the universities have individually issued more than 100 legal challenges over Bolton’s use of Greater Manchester trademarks, such as Greater Manchester Business School.

According to a letter seen by the Guardian, Prof George Holmes, Bolton’s vice-chancellor, is preparing to mount a counteroffensive that includes appealing to the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

In the letter to Susan Lapworth, the OfS chief executive, Holmes said his university was concerned by the potential for “unlawful anti-competitive behaviour by a small but powerful collective of Manchester-based higher education institutions”.

Holmes added: “I would suggest that we are both seeing a cartel operating between the three universities against our proposed change of name and also suggest that at least one of those universities is attempting to use its dominant position in the higher education marketplace regionally to restrict the innovation of a competitor.”

Last year Bolton had 8,730 full-time students and an annual income of £136m. The University of Manchester had 42,000 full-time students and an income of £1.3bn, while Manchester Met had 31,600 full-time students and a £422m income.

A spokesperson for Bolton said they could not comment on confidential communications between the university and its regulator, or on the legal action over trademarks. But they confirmed it would be “appropriate” to contact the CMA, with the university’s governing body meeting to consider further action next month.

A spokesperson for the University of Manchester said: “We responded to the formal OfS consultation regarding the proposed name change and registered our concerns, and have also responded to a series of connected trademark applications. We believe the proposed name change will be very misleading and confusing.”

Manchester Met said in a statement: “We have submitted our views on the proposed name change to the OfS as part of its consultation process. We have raised objections to those trademark applications submitted by the University of Bolton where we feel they impinge on our own registered trademarks.”

The University of Salford was also contacted for a response.

In its evidence to the OfS supporting the name change, Bolton’s pro-vice-chancellor, Greg Walker, said the university had changed “beyond all recognition” in the 20 years since it was given its current title. The university, which now has campuses in Manchester and Salford, says 70% of its UK students come from across the Greater Manchester region while only 20% live in Bolton.

“The current and misleading provincial university name holds back determined efforts by the institution to enhance graduate employment,” Walker said.

In an interview with the Guardian last year, Holmes said the impetus for the Greater Manchester name had come from students, who complained that Bolton was not easily identified within the UK or abroad.

“We still get the ‘Is there a university in Bolton?’ question. Even after all this time, we still get that nonsense. And I genuinely think it affects our graduate outcomes,” Holmes said.