It has been a very busy few years for immigration law. Firstly, absorbing Brexit and, more recently, with the impact of the pandemic with numerous temporary changes and concessions being introduced by the Home Office. 2022 has been no exception, with a number of these ‘quick fixes’ either being removed or enshrined as a...
Defence manufacturing group Avon Protection is looking ahead to a new “chapter of growth” it said as it reported higher annual revenues and a big cut in operating losses. Bosses at the Melksham-based group, which specialises in protective gear, masks and breathing equipment for the military and first-responder markets, continued to restructure the business...
Raising its prices and improving its supply chain helped Bath-headquartered global advanced engineering group Rotork increase its revenues by 18.6% in four months. The group, which manufactures flow control equipment for the global oil, gas, water and chemical industries, has been buffeted by global problems over recent years, including the impact of the pandemic. ...
The growth path for businesses and the UK economy may be “long, rocky, and protracted”, the region’s largest business group fears following the Autumn Statement. Matt Griffith, pictured below, director of policy at Business West – the organisation that runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce – described the statement as “a difficult budget for difficult times”. ...
The Autumn Statement has piled more pressure on the UK’s 5.5m small businesses, their employees and customers, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s measures were “high on stealth-creation and low on wealth-creation”, FSB national chair of Martin McTague said. “While tackling inflation is essential, so are measures to create conditions for...
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has presented his Autumn Statement. The main points were: Chancellor said priorities were stability, growth and public services and high inflation is the enemy. But he confirmed UK was in recession. GDP is forecast to shrink by 1.4% next year, before returning to growth in 2024. Top rate of tax will...
Confidence among small business in the South West has fallen to a record low as fears grow about rising costs – with the region now the most pessimistic of any part of the country. The gloomy outlook comes from the latest survey by the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), which measures business sentiment each...
Iconic office furniture maker Herman Miller, which has its UK headquarters in Melksham, is to take on additional distribution and space by occupying a major disused warehouse. The firm, best known for its instantly recognisable Aeron chair, is to occupy the 92,510 sq ft Consortium building on Trowbridge’s Canal Road Industrial Estate. The near six-acre...
James Durie, an executive director of Business West – the organisation behind Bath Chamber of Commerce – is to step down from his role after 21 years at the end of this year. James, pictured, who is also chief executive of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, is widely acknowledged as playing a significant role in the...
Shares in Inspecs, the Bath-based spectacles designer and manufacturer, lost more than half their value in one day after it warned that sales would continue to be hit by the cost of living crisis into next year. The departure of Inspecs chairman, the former Tesco boss and City grandee Lord MacLaurin, on 1 December...
