West of England insolvency practitioner Rupert Mullins, who has worked in the region for more than 25 years, has sold his practice to Hampshire-based accountancy firm Rothmans as it sets up a new business recovery business in the region. The practice, which previously operated under the Benedict Mackenzie name, will continue to be based...
Vectura, the Chippenham-based drugs development group, has appointed pharmaceutical industry veteran Dr Per-Olof Andersson as a non-executive director. Dr Andersson has an international research and development track record within the pharmaceuticals, bio-pharmaceuticals and speciality pharmaceutical industry and considerable experience in respiratory therapeutic development. He retired from Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall in 2011 after serving...
The BBC has awarded a contract worth up to £6m to specialist IT firm SciSys to buy its groundbreaking radio technology. Under the three to four year contract, Chippenham-based SciSys will supply its dira! product for use by BBC Radio, paving the way for an integrated audio production system across BBC national, regional and...
Aspiring entrepreneurs in Keynsham will be able to benefit from expert business advice at a free workshop in the town later this month. The Starting in Business workshop on April 21 is being staged by business growth consultancy Cool Ventures and Bath and North East Somerset Council. The interactive evening session – in Keynsham...
Sales at Metrotile UK, the Chippenham-based steel roofing tile firm, rose by nearly a third last year as more builders and developers rejected traditional tiles in favour of its lightweight, cost-saving products. The 32.8% year-on-year growth took sales to just over £7.1m in the year to the end of January. Annual pre-tax profits fell...
Lloyds Bank is to sponsor this year’s South West Manufacturing Dinner hosted by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. The flagship event – now in its third year – is a celebration of the region’s dynamic and flourishing manufacturing and engineering sectors. It was established to encourage networking, greater collaboration and the sharing of new ideas...
Shares in specialist IT group SciSys continued to fall today after its chairman warned that its performance this year would be “flat”. Dr Mike Love, pictured, who co-founded the Chippenham-based group, admitted the business faced challenges last year but insisted its 2014 financial results, announced yesterday, had been “solid”. Pre-tax profits doubled last year...
Environmentally conscious manufacturing firm dl bio composites has launched its first low-carbon product – a portable building made from a natural bio-composite of hemp, cork or balsa wood and a vegetable-based resin. Called the deepee, it is the brainchild of Jeremy Charlesworth, technical director at Frome-based dl bio composite, part of his Dobulous...
By Adam Powell, director of skills, West of England LEP Businesses in our region continue to face the challenge of a skills gap, impacting on growth and stifling productivity and future innovation. However, how can we ensure that the skill demands of the business community can be met now and in the future? The...
Annual sales and profits have fallen slightly at Chippenham speciality pharmaceutical company Alliance Pharma in what its chairman described as a “challenging year”. Revenues were down by 4% to £43.5m on lower sales of two of its portfolio of branded treatments in the period to December 31. As a result, pre-tax profits came in...
