The second ever Man@Manchester Comedy Luncheon at the Palace Hotel was a huge success with £62,000 raised for local cancer charity Beechwood Cancer Care.
Sponsored by Pareto and Brown Shipley Private Banking and hosted by MC Mark Jones, 450 guests enjoyed a sit down lunch and an afternoon of hilarious entertainment from comics Stan Boardman, Austin Knight and Gary Marshall.

Retired Aston Villa legend Stiliyan Petrov and Irish national goalkeeper and patron of Beechwood Shay Given made speeches to guests thanking them for their support. Tanya Bardsley, model and Real Housewives of Cheshire star, also sold jewellery at the event to raise further funds for the charity.

A charity auction took place on the day offering up high value prizes such as a Stone Roses box for eight with hospitality at their upcoming June concert, two tickets for the Hacienda Classical concert with signed items by notable figures and two premium tickets for the next Manchester Derby.

John Stevenson, director of Pareto FP, said: “The event was fantastic from start to finish and we managed to almost double last year’s takings thanks to everyone’s generosity.

“It was great to see everyone digging deep for Beechwood Cancer Care, a local charity based in Stockport close to our hearts.

“The comedy luncheon is fast becoming a sell-out annual fixture of the Manchester social calendar.”

Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given took to the stage to talk about his connections with Beechwood and losing his mum to cancer when he was just five.

Petrov also took to the stage, saying: “When I had my diagnosis it was really difficult to deal with – not only the cancer but being able to help my wife and children with it – I had to do this myself.

“It was hard and it would have been fantastic to have the support of somewhere like Beechwood – who help the patients and the family.”

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