THE latest "super Chamber" for Greater Manchester businesses has been officially launched.

The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, formed by a merger between Manchester and North Manchester Chambers of Commerce, has more than 7,000 members and covers all ten local authority areas in the region.

It will be led by Angie Robinson, former head of the Manchester Chamber.

The merger was passed unanimously at both Chambers' extra-ordinary general meeting held last month, and marked the final legal steps towards the merger.

The new body is the largest organisation in the Chamber network and the strongest sub-regional Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

The Greater Manchester Chamber will, it is claimed, rival the likes of the CBI and the Institute of Directors as the voice of business in the North-west, the second largest economic area outside of London and the South-east.

Mrs Robinson, chief executive of the new Chamber, said: "We are unlike any other Chamber in the network. We operate a unique model that has allowed us to create the most comprehensive policy, research and PR resource offered by any Chamber of Commerce in the country.

"As the single largest Chamber in the UK, more than twice as big as any other, there is a huge responsibility on us to meet the requirements of major national, international and regional influencers as well as those in Greater Manchester."