Inspecs, the fast-growing Bath-based eyewear design house and manufacturer, is poised to double in size after conditionally agreeing to acquire a German firm for €94.85m (£84.78m). Inspecs said the takeover of Eschenbach Optik would represent a key strategic step in its expansion as a global, vertically-integrated eyewear firm. The deal would make Inspecs, which...
The developer behind an upmarket student accommodation scheme in Bath has received a £10m finance facility from Barclays to help fund its completion. Aquila Court, on the site of the former Pickford’s warehouse on Lower Bristol Road, is being developed by Bristol and Exeter-based Eagle One Group. Work on the £30m, 203-bed complex is...
An online tool to help businesses make sure they are ready for the employment implications of Brexit has been launched by the immigration team at Bath-headquartered national law firm Stone King. The free self-audit tool includes a short series of questions answered online. The instantly-generated results then indicate what action needs to be taken ahead...
Novia, the Bath-based provider of wealth management service for investment advisers, is to renew its sponsorship of Bath Rugby for the 2020/2021 season. The deal continues the use of Novia’s branding on the team’s training kit and naming rights on the Novia Stand (South Stand) at The Rec for a third season, along with...
Boosting skills and developing the physical and digital infrastructure will be vital for South West to build back better from the economic ravages of coronavirus, the CBI said in a major new report. Called Reviving Regions, the paper highlights long-standing regional inequalities across England which have inhibited growth, opportunity and productivity for generations. These economic disparities, both across...
Bath’s burgeoning business links with China are to be mapped for the first time in a major research project. The Bristol and Bath Chinese Ecosystem Analysis, which will be published next spring, will track all business, investment and academic connections between the area region and China, offering a definitive guide for years to come. ...
The introduction of two Covid Safety Officers to Bath’s streets this week has been welcomed by the organisation that brings together hundreds of city centre businesses. The uniformed offices are working with businesses to ensure they comply with current coronavirus regulations as well as encouraging and advising on social distancing by the public. The...
Businesses forced to close or significantly impacted by the latest coronavirus restrictions can now apply for government support grants from Bath & North East Somerset Council. The government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum (LRSG(C)A) supports businesses that had been open as usual, providing services in person to customers from their business premises, but...
Six firms from in and around Bath have been named by the London Stock Exchange as some of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium-sized businesses. The six, which operate in sectors ranging from green energy to publishing and financial services to pharmaceuticals, appear in the London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies...
Bath firms trading in Europe have been told that it is ‘almost too late’ if they have not planned for a worst case scenario following the end of the Brexit transition on January 1. The 50-day countdown to that date was on Wednesday and Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, fears many firms...
