Bath’s small businesses are being offered the chance to get free help to manage their finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to a new programme launched by West of England Mayor Tim Bowles. The accountancy support programme is being delivered in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and...
Clean energy group Good Energy has taken effective control of Zap-Map, the popular app for the UK’s 300,000 electric vehicle (EV) drivers in which it bought a minority stake last year. Chippenham-based Good Energy snapped up a 12.9% share in Zap-Map’s parent company Next Green Car in March last year for just over £1m...
An online service promising impartial financial advice for Bath firms on funding options has been launched by Business West, the region’s largest business organisation. According to Business West, which runs Bath Chamber of Commerce, its Finance Hub will be free from confusing jargon or any hard sell, enabling businesses to decide what sort of...
More frequent train services in the Bath area are a step closer following the expansion of a major project aimed at improving rail links and easing overcrowding across the West of England. The MetroWest scheme proposed by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) – which includes Bath & North East Somerset Council –...
Business groups have cautiously backed the reduction of many coronavirus lockdown restrictions announced earlier this week by the Prime Minister. But they also warned that other measures to boost the economy were still needed to avoid widespread business failures and job losses. In a major boost to the West of England’s vital tourism and...
Unemployment has soared by 145% in the West of England since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures published today, with just nearly 40,000 people claiming jobless benefits. At the same time, around 22% of the region’s workforce – 132,600 people – have been furloughed while job vacancies have fallen sharply, down...
Three buildings from the Bath area – a new university campus, a community hub and an architects’ office – are in the running for a major regional architecture award. Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus, the community hub at the city’s Mulberry Park housing development and architecture firm Stonewood Design’s office in Corsham are among...
Small and medium-sized Bath businesses investing in digital innovation to address challenges arising from Covid-19 can access grants of between £10,000 and £40,000 under a new scheme started by UWE Bristol. The university’s £1m Digital Innovation Fund is aimed at helping firms ranging from start-ups and micro businesses to more established organisations as they...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, has joined bodies representing business, education and employment in urging the government to rethink its controversial quarantine rules for travellers arriving in the UK. In an open letter to the home, foreign and transport secretaries, Business West, UK Hospitality, Universities UK and others argue that it was...
A new support programme has been set up to help Bath firms whose employees’ mental health and wellbeing have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is investing £100,000 to develop Thrive West, which aims to address some of the key mental health issues businesses say their employees...
