Bath-based Lovehoney is poised to become the world’s largest adult toy business by merging with a German retailer of premium sexual wellness products. The link-up with WOW Tech Group will create a global business worth €1bn (£850m) and combine some of the industry’s largest brands. The move comes 19 years after Lovehoney was launched...
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been urged to block the £1bn takeover of specialist inhaler firm Vectura by tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI). Directors at Vectura, which has its roots in a spin-out from the University of Bath, last night recommended the Marlboro cigarette maker’s offer, unleashing a storm of protest from dozens of...
Low-cost airline easyJet has teamed up with Bristol Airport to use it as a test-bed to trial ways of decarbonising its operations and reduce waste. The airline, the airport’s largest operator accounting for about half of all its flights, said the partnership would involve a series of trials using the latest cutting-edge technology and...
The South West’s small and medium-sized businesses are among the UK’s most confident when it comes to their prospects and the wider economy, according to two new surveys. The latest regional survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reveals that small business owners in the region are the country’s most optimistic for profit...
More empty shops are being repurposed as part of a project to breathe new life into Bath city centre as the retail sector continues to grapple with the twin impacts of the pandemic and the rise of online shopping. Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Vacant Units Action Project finds new uses for void...
The Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau, part of the regional destination marketing organisation Visit West, has been named as a finalist in two prestigious event industry award schemes. The bureau team is shortlisted for ‘Best UK Convention Bureau’ at the M&IT Awards, the event industry’s biggest awards programme, where it will be competing against...
Nearly 70% of South West firms see climate change as a core business factor for them, according to a landmark survey of companies’ attitudes to the key issue – but, alarmingly, 21% have so far taken no action despite mounting concern over its impact. Just under half (46%) of the businesses that consider climate...
Luxury homeware brand Cox & Cox has appointed Paul Strudwick to its senior leadership team as marketing director. Paul, pictured, brings a wealth of knowledge to the Frome-based firm, which sells a range of lighting, rugs, textiles and indoor and outdoor furniture and recently announced a 75% increase in year-on-year sales. He has more...
Bath’s innovative Share And Repair Shop has relocated to a larger site in the city centre – a move that will enable it to expand its services. Share and Repair aims to improve the environment for everyone by changing behaviours. At the same time it is seeking to build a community that offers opportunities...
A Bath-headquartered specialist advertising agency that launched last year just as the UK was plunged into lockdown is marking its first 18 months of trading by opening satellite offices in Bristol and Belfast. Fueld Media’s client base and staffing levels have exceeded founders Oliver Brightman and Russell Gregory’s expectations since it started trading in...
