Bath businesses can benefit from free soft skills training following new research showing their importance in the modern workplace. Business West, the regional business group that runs Bath Chamber of Commerce, has worked with the West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT) to launch a new soft skills certificate with modules including digital skills for...
A Bath firm developing innovative bioplastic food packaging from seaweed has secured more than £3m to take its technology another step closer to everyday use. Sustainable biotech business Kelpi invented the unique compostable material to replace single-use fossil fuel plastics, which take hundreds of years to decompose. The seed round, led by Bristol-based specialist...
More than 100 firms across the West of England have signed up to a regional Good Employment Charter which pledges to pay staff a Real Living Wage and clamp down on the use of zero-hours contracts. Introduced by Metro Mayor Dan Norris as part of a campaign against poverty pay, it also commits employers...
Defence manufacturer Avon Protection has continued its recovery from a difficult couple of years by receiving its second delivery order, worth $6.7m (£5.5m), from the US government for its Advanced Combat Helmet. The Melksham-based group, which specialises in protective gear, masks and breathing equipment for the military and first-responder markets, said rigorous testing was still ongoing on...
A spin-out company from the University of Bath is set to develop ultralight and low-carbon next-generation materials for the aerospace and automotive industries. Aerogel Core has been set up by engineers from the university to specialise in products containing innovative and environmentally friendly aerogels for use in soundproofing and heat shielding. The team’s research...
Bath’s long-awaited creative centre in the city’s former Stothert & Pitt crane works has been officially launched – with more than half the space already let. The once-derelict riverside buildings on Lower Bristol Road have been transformed by developer and regeneration specialists TCN into modern workspace of the type that firms in Bath’s burgeoning creative...
International healthcare firm Alliance Pharma has strengthened its board by appointing Martin Sutherland as an independent non-executive director and promoting Richard Jones to senior independent director. Chippenham-headquartered Alliance, whose products range from stomach ulcer treatments to anti-dandruff shampoo, said the move supported its growth strategy as it recovers from Covid-induced supply chain disruption and global...
Confidence among the South West’s small businesses has plunged to the lowest level since the country emerged from Covid lockdowns, according to a new survey. The latest quarterly confidence report from the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) reveals that fears of inflation, falling consumer demand and the general cost of doing business left optimism...
Revenues at Avon Protection, the defence manufacturing group, edged ahead by 6% in the past three months on higher sales of its body armour, it said today in a trading update. The Melksham-based group, which specialises in protective gear, masks and breathing equipment for the military and first-responder markets, also said it had a strong...
Shares in Inspecs, the Bath-headquartered spectacles designer and manufacture, soared by more than 50% after it said cost cutting and efficiencies brought in late last year and a stronger order book were paying off. The group suffered a tough end to 2022 following a warning over future sales and the resignation of its chair,...
