The South West office of BGF, the business growth fund set up to help the UK’s growing smaller and medium-sized firms, has appointed Sarah Ledwidge as an investment manager. Sarah, pictured, will be responsible for identifying investable businesses in Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Thames Valley and working with them to achieve their growth plans....
Further evidence of an impending skills shortage among West firms that could threaten to derail the economic recovery has emerged from a report predicting the strongest jobs growth since 1998. The national survey by accountants BDO shows businesses’ hiring intentions rose sharply last month to surpass their pre-recession figure and reach their highest level...
Bristol & Bath Science Park, with its state-of-the-art innovation centre, has again been used as the setting for a film promoting advanced technology. The Science Park, based between the two cities at Emersons Green and backed by the University of Bath, stars in a promotional film for the new Samsung Galaxy S5, which tells...
Alliance Pharma, the highly-acquisitive speciality pharmaceutical company, has around £22m on tap to add to its growing portfolio of branded medicines and treatments, it said this week. The undrawn funds are available in its bank facility, the Chippenham-based firm announced in a pre-close trading update to the London Stock Exchange ahead of its interim...
A strong order intake from the US, including contracts worth £25m with the Pentagon, has helped manufacturer Avon Rubber overcome the impact of the strong pound. The firm, whose core respirator products are used by the military and emergency services, also benefited from buoyant orders for its dairy industry products, which are used by...
The strong pound has hit profits at Bath-based specialist engineering group Rotork, taking the shine off a record half-year order intake and increased activity in many of its markets. First-half pre-tax profit at the group, which makes high-value valves controls and actuators for the global oil and gas industry, fell by 3.3% to £61.5m...
Four pioneering Bath firms have showcased their innovation to a large group of senior business and technology directors at Barclays’ global headquarters in London. The four fledgling businesses were among six chosen by SETsquared – the business hub supported by the University of Bath – to represent its groundbreaking innovation. The event was part...
By Colin Skellett, Chair, West of England LEP Since the Government announcement a couple of weeks ago of the local growth deals awarded to England’s 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), there have been a lot of big numbers bandied about. Unless you’re close to the deals, the figures and the fuss may seem a...
A strong performance by the West of England in attracting business investment from overseas has helped the UK achieve the highest number of inward investment projects since records began in the 1980s, new figures show. There were 27 new investment projects by overseas companies in 2013/14 across the area covered by West of England...
Specialist adhesives firm ALH Systems has been sold to expanding Swedish industrial giant Indutrade. ALH, based at Westbury, has annual sales of £6m and employs 37 staff. It supplies formulated polyurethane and epoxy encapsulants, adhesives, sealants and potting compounds to the gas, construction and electronics sectors. ALH will become part of Indutrade’s Special Products...
