In 2007, the NBS Northern Business School gGmbH (non-profit limited liability company) was founded in Hamburg. The formation was supported by trade associations and individual companies, which are still represented today on the board of trustees. The NBS gGmbH initially offered extra-occupational courses in Hamburg. During the course of their NBS studies, students were enrolled at public or accredited universities. NBS gGmbH took on service tasks such as marketing, quality control measures, planning of on-site courses and regional student support. In 2012, the demand for study courses which were not part of the cooperative universities' portfolios led to deliberations about the establishment of an officially accredited university under the supervision of NBS gGmbH. In February 2014, the NBS Northern Business School University of Applied Sciences received the state approval of Hamburg, and has since been offering accredited courses both full-time and part-time.