A group of engineering students from the University of Bath have come second in an international competition to design and build an unmanned flying vehicle. Competing under the name Team Bath Drones, the Faculty of Engineering and Design students earned the silver medal spot at the four-day-long IMechE UAS Challenge, becoming the UK and...
Defence manufacturer Avon Protection has said it is seeing the benefits of its transformation plan faster than expected, with annual revenues and profits now likely to be slightly higher than previously expected. The Melksham-based group spent much of last year recovering from a tough period during which its shares lost around 70% of their...
More than £11m has been lent to start-up firms across the South West ranging from a sewing café to a mobile cocktail bar over the past year under a programme run by the British Business Bank. Since its launch in 2012, the Start Up Loans scheme has supported more than 9,000 businesses through £90m in loans...
Global defence consulting firm BMT is to relocate its Bath staff to the city’s No.1 Bath Quays office building, making it the third firm to take space in the flagship development. BMT, which has two offices a stone’s throw away on Lower Bristol Road, joins financial services consultancy and software provider Altus and chartered...
The West of England’s economy is forecast to grow faster over the next five years than any other part of the UK outside London, according to two new reports. The region, along with South Wales, will achieve economic expansion of 1.4% a year between now and 2029, according to the analysis commissioned by the...
The CEO of iconic Somerset-based fashion business Mulberry quit the group last week after nine years in the role – with the firm naming the former CEO of Danish womenswear label Ganni as his successor. Andrea Baldo, who has more than 20 years' experience leading brands in the global fashion industry, replaces Thierry Andretta, who...
Specialist UK semiconductor maker Graphcore, which has its roots in Bath, is poised to take on the global giants of the industry after being acquired by Japanese investment group SoftBank. The idea for Graphcore was born in 2012 when co-founder Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles met in Bath's Marlborough Tavern to discuss their next...
The new government’s pledge to devolve more powers from Whitehall to the West of England offers “a really exciting opportunity” for the region, according to the organisation behind Bath Chamber of Commerce. Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, said the move could trigger more jobs, homes and infrastructure as well as better transport...
More than 6,000 jobs were created across the South West last year as investment by overseas firms in the region recovered to its strongest for six years. The South West attracted 43 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in 2023 – a 23% increase on the previous year and the highest total since 2017. According...
Bath’s burgeoning life sciences ecosystem is to be strengthened through a new partnership that brings together some of the major players in the sector across the region. South West Life Sciences aims to increase the visibility of a sector with huge growth potential and the ability to create high-skilled jobs as well as boosting the...
