Can anyone tell me if PA allow you to be based in Manchester office for consultancy roles?or anyone know how you can get to work there (as all roles advertised for London/Cambridge?)

Yes, mostly government and manufacturing people there I believe.Enter the recruitment process and then ask for base office, some practices will allow you to base there and others not.

you must be an experienced hire to base there, all grads go to London

Why not call HR and ask?

Base office is a Practice-dependent decision so HR won't be able to help. You'll need to begin the interview process and ask.

cheers for your thoughts guys. im not a grad, so thats encouraging news. plus am looking for the manufacturing/fmcg route.i have 3 years experience (does that class as experienced hire?), but not in consulting (industry side for large blue chip fmcg)whats the chances moving into consultancy in this area???

3 years counts as experienced hire. Hard to say, you need to prove to the area you are hiring to that you have a good basis of consulting skills and a competent networker, otherwise they'll ask you to join in London to get trained/ plugged in. People at your level do work in regional offices, but normally they have joined as a grad in London and moved after a couple of years.Just apply and try your best.