Bath firms with expansion potential can apply for growth funding to a £25m pot of Government cash launched this week. The West of England Growth Fund aims to bring about job creation and private sector investment that would otherwise not have happened, or that can be accelerated through public sector grant support. Some £15m...
Upmarket fashion brand Mulberry’s chief executive Bruno Guillon resigned with immediate effect – with industry insiders pointing to the Somerset-based group’s troubles during his two years at the helm. His sudden departure comes less than two months after the iconic brand’s third profits warning in 18 months – the most recent blamed on prices...
National business groups welcomed today’s Budget, particularly the measures aimed at boosting manufacturing and lower energy costs. The CBI, which had called it a “make-or-break” Budget, said it “will put wind in the sails of business investment, especially for manufacturers”. Director-general John Cridland, pictured, said it had come at a critical time in the...
The West’s drinks industry has cheered the Chancellor’s decision to lower duty on beer by 1p and to freeze it on cider along with his announcement to scrap the duty escalator which aims to automatically increase the tax on alcohol. National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) chair Paul Bartlett said: “We are very happy...
Chancellor George Osborne delivered a major boost to the region’s exporters in his Budget today by announcing the amount of lending available to the UK firms doing business overseas will be doubled to £3bn. Interest rates charged on that lending will also be cut by a third, he said. And he gave some help...
Business West has called on Chancellor George Osborne to use today’s Budget to focus on youth employment, training and enterprise – all crucial to securing future growth and avoiding a ‘lost generation’ as the UK economy continues to recover, it says. In its 2014 Budget submission, the business support organisation, which runs the Bath...
Development of Bath’s Quays South, which will form a major part of the city’s planned Innovation Quay scheme, has moved a step closer following talks between defence group BMT and Bath and North East Somerset Council. They have reached an outline agreement on how the two parties can work together to redevelop the area...
Directors in firms across Bath and Somerset have less than two weeks to enter the region’s top business awards that recognise boardroom excellence and enterprise. The South West Institute of Directors (IoD) Awards 2014 are open to anyone working at director level in any type of business or organisation – they do not have...
Bath businesses are being urged to take part in a cutting-edge event for young people to highlight the skills and job opportunities available in an innovative low-carbon economy. Called Your Green Future, it will feature industry thinkers and experts who will advise and inspire more than 400 secondary school students from across Bath and...
Chippenham-based drug development firm Vectura today strengthened its position in the respiratory diseases treatment market with the €130m (£108m) acquisition of specialist German pharmaceutical company Activaero. Privately-owned Activaero’s proprietary smart nebuliser-based technology targets drugs at particular areas of the lung. It is currently part in seven clinical and several pre-clinical stage programmes. Vectura, which...
