Philip Morris International, the US tobacco group behind the Marlboro cigarette brand, is to buy specialist pharmaceutical firm Vectura for just over £1bn after outbidding global private equity giant Carlyle. Vectura, which has its roots in a spin-out from the University of Bath, had agreed to Carlyle’s £958m approach but withdrew support after receiving...
Bath firms are being urged to join pioneering city-based charity Designability’s new Ten for Ten Club as it marks 10 years of its flagship kids’ powered wheelchair loan service. Designability has been providing its unique Wizzybug wheelchairs free of charge to very young disabled children across the UK since 2011. Without dedicated funding for...
Bath firms will be guided through the latest changes to the UK’s innovation incentive landscape in an online event staged by accountancy firm Smith & Williamson next week. The Zoom webinar will highlight new rules around the Patent Box regime, which came into force on June30, as well as the recent government consultation on Research And Development (R&D) Tax relief. It is targeted at professionals...
A University of Bath senior lecturer has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 50 women in engineering for her work on improving personal protective equipment for women – an issue brought into sharp focus by the Covid pandemic. Debbie Janson’s Women’s Engineering Society award highlights her research at the university’s Department of...
A business mentor, coach and advisor who spent much of his career in the Bath area’s defence electronics industry has become vice-chair of the Institute of Directors’ South West region. In his new role, Steve Hill, pictured, will support the transition to a new chair later this year when current chair Muir Macdonald steps down...
As many Coronavirus restrictions will now remain in place until July 19, the government has decided to extend some of the temporary Covid insolvency rules to support struggling businesses. While an extension to the measures is welcome but businesses in distress still face tough months ahead. Originally introduced in March last year, the Corporate...
R3, the restructuring and insolvency trade body, has launched a free guide for company directors on how to spot signs of financial distress, options open to them to resolve it and where to get expert advice. Called Get Back to Business: A guide to dealing with corporate financial distress, it is available to download from www.backtobusinessuk.com The guide: ...
West of England business’s confidence in the economy has bounced back for the first time in four years, according to a new survey, but there are growing fears that the recovery will be choked off by a lack of skilled workers. The latest quarterly economic survey conducted by Business West, the region’s largest business...
Bath-based alternative financial services group Time Finance has become an accredited lender under a government scheme to help businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The group, which specialises in asset, loan and invoice finance products, is now able to support small and medium-sized firms looking for additional funding by providing loans and...
Public relations consultancy Clearly has launched a project for young people to help businesses in its home city of Bath tackle climate change and increase positive social impact. In what it believes is the first venture of its kind for a UK PR firm, Clearly has committed £5,000 to fund the research, development and...
