Future, the Bath-based global platform for specialist media, has maintained its frenetic growth by acquiring another 12 titles, including The Week and Science & Nature. The firm said the £300m takeover of magazine publisher Dennis would expand its reach in the US, build revenues and deepen its presence in the wealth, knowledge and B2B...
A second round of funding to help address Bath’s digital skills gaps, as well as helping the city’s economy recover from the pandemic, is being released by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). Applications are being invited for projects which together will support more than 1,000 people, helping them gain much-needed digital skills...
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a wave of innovation among businesses in Bath and across the South West, with nearly half saying they pivoted their operations to survive. According to a new Lloyds Bank survey, 46% of firms in the region they were forced to become more creative and innovative in finding new areas of...
The government’s long-awaited strategy for the UK’s burgeoning hydrogen sector – which it says could create thousands of sustainable jobs and unlock billions of pounds of investment – has been welcomed by the region’s largest business group. Business West, which runs Bath Chamber of Commerce, believes the West of England can be a powerhouse...
Bath small business owners uncertain about why sustainability, net zero and climate change are relevant to their day-to-day operations are being invited to a special event next month. Staged by Britain’s biggest business representation group, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), ‘What is net zero and why is it important to my SME business?’...
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...
