Bath homeless charity Julian House is inviting the city’s firms to sharpen up their wits and enter a team for this year’s Brain of Bath quiz. The annual event, now in its 22nd year, is a major fundraiser for the charity as well as a source of intense – but friendly – rivalry between...
Confidence levels among businesses in the South West have bounced back from the gloom of earlier this year – making the region one of only two to register an increase in optimism. Overall confidence rose five points last month to 34%, while companies in the region became far more upbeat about their own business...
Bath area employers are being invited to take part in a new £2m programme that will support hundreds of individuals across the West of England to learn new skills. The scheme, launched by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), is designed to plug the skills gaps in the region that are slowing the...
One of the UK’s largest regional fund managers has opened a West of England office to provide finance to small and medium-sized business through the British Business Bank’s new £200m South West Investment Fund. FW Capital will manage the debt finance fund for the north of the region, providing commercial loans of £100,000 to £2m...
Bath-headquartered spectacles designer and manufacturer Inspecs has continued to recover from a difficult 2022 by focussing on driving sales and improving operational efficiencies, its CEO said this week. Revenue at the group, which produces a wide range of spectacle frames and lenses, including sunglasses and safety glasses, for markets across the world, increased by 6%...
This year’s TEDxBath is shaping up to be the best yet, according to its organisers as they prepare to announce 2023’s line-up. Taking place at The Forum on Saturday 14 October, will feature six speakers and two acts and, according to the team behind it, generate unlimited ideas. TEDx events, which are held across...
Bath area businesses are being urged to enter teams for a half marathon in September to help raise funds for a range of charities. More than 500 people have already signed up for this year’s Chippenham Half Marathon, with hundreds more expected to register over the coming weeks. But its organisers are keen to...
Bath and the West of England will become the UK’s centre for electric vehicle technology when the long-expected green light is finally given for a battery gigafactory in Somerset, according to business leaders and politicians in the region. The government this week agreed a deal with Tata Group, which owns Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), to...
Profit warnings from South West companies listed on the London Stock Exchange soared by 66% in the first half of this year as the cost of living crisis hit consumers. According to new research by international accountancy group EY, 15 warnings were issued by quoted firms in the region during the six months –...
Regional alternative finance lender South West Investment Group (SWIG) lent a record £14m to ambitious small and medium-sized businesses across the region in the past year, new figures show. The non-profit group, which supports viable businesses that cannot secure sufficient funding from their bank, provided 559 loans to 478 start-ups and growing firms in...
