The Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Chris Price as regional director of commercial banking for the South West, Midlands and Wales. Chris, pictured, will head the commercial banking team responsible for supporting SME customers across the region. Seven local directors of commercial banking will report to him along with their respective relationship management...
Accountancy firm Bishop Fleming, which has a major office in Bath, has signed up its 350th academy school client. The addition of the Riviera Primary Academy Trust in Paignton bolsters Bishop Fleming’s position as one of the UK’s top three auditors for academy schools. Riviera Primary Academy Trust director of finance Claire Shiers said:...
West firms and business organisations need to collaborate more and embrace innovation to help nurture the region’s talent pool, according to the regional president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Speaking to more than 500 delegates at the ICAEW annual dinner in Bristol last night, Rick Sturge said firms needed...
Unemployment has continued to fall in the South West, bucking the national trend and pointing to a brighter outlook for the region’s businesses. But Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, warned the national rise signalled a slowing economy and could impact on firms in the Bath area if the Government did not take...
Students at Bath College have secured work experience at Deloitte, one of the UK’s biggest accounting firms, after entering a national competition. Twenty students studying BTEC business and AAT accounting courses raised nearly £300 for charity after taking part in the Micro-Tyco Challenge. They were given £1 and asked to see how much they...
Juice Recruitment, the Bath-headquartered employment agency, is looking to grow its branch network as the region’s jobs market continues to strengthen. Between January and March the firm recorded its highest number of recruits securing permanent positions – up 32% year-on-year – since it was launched 18 years ago. The number of permanent job placements...
Firms are being urged to donate their old computers and help raise much-needed money for a locally based charity. The call has come from Trowbridge-based Priority IT, which is refurbishing second-hand computers for sale and giving the proceeds to its chosen charity, Alzheimer’s Support. The scheme is proving so successful that the specialist IT...
The South West and Thames Valley investment team of BGF (Business Growth Fund) has expanded with the appointment of Alex Snodgrass. Alex, pictured, is the latest addition to the 10-strong team, which is responsible for identifying investment opportunities and managing the deal process from origination through to completion. Alex has more than 10 years’...
The West of England’s small and medium-sized law firms are among the most profitable in the UK having achieved an average 26% increase in their margins last year, new research has revealed. The continued expansion of the region’s legal sector now places it second only to London for profit growth, according to the report...
Profits at Bath Building Society grew by more than 10% last year and its reserves by nearly 14% despite historic low interest rates. The mutual society’s mortgage book increased by nearly 4% to a record high of £226.9m with gross mortgage lending up £3.5m at £40.9m. Assets rose by 4.8% to £292.6m, with reserves...
