Inflation remains a concern for West businesses despite November’s small decrease, according to the region’s largest business organisation. The annual rate of inflation dropped from 2.2% to 2.1% last month as falls in the cost of food, gas and electricity prices took effect. But Phil Smith, pictured, managing director of Business West, which runs...
Business confidence is running at its highest level for more than three years as the recovery gathers pace and firms put austerity behind them at last. Manufacturers in particular are upbeat about their prospects going into the new year, according to the latest Business Trends report by accountants BDO. Optimism among manufacturers, driven by...
Ideas on the best way to create sustainable jobs and growth across the West of England are being invited from Bath firms. The Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) today launches a six-week public consultation on its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) – a blueprint for growth over the next six years. The Government has challenged England’s...
Shares in 1pm, the Bath-based specialist funder, climbed strongly today after it said it is on target to achieve significant revenue and profits growth. In a trading statement to the London Stock Exchange, the AIM market-listed firm also said it continued to enjoy strong demand, writing more than £5m of new business during the first...
Duncan Parkes, head of compliance at West accountants and financial planners Old Mill, has been named Protection Planner of the Year by the Financial Times’ Money Management magazine. Duncan had to go through a rigorous judging process to win the title, including providing a solution to a real-life financial problem set by industry experts....
Bath-based Epoch Wealth Management has been awarded the Chartered Insurance Institute’s prestigious Corporate Chartered status – widely regarded as the gold standard for the financial services industry. Epoch joins 575 other financial planning firms across the UK in being awarded chartered status, which demonstrates its commitment to delivering the very highest professional and ethical standards...
An ambitious plan is being drawn up to harness Bath and the West of England’s creativity and innovation to potentially create more than 100,000 jobs over the next 17 years. The emphasis will be on five key sectors spanning digital to aerospace, and in which the area is already strong, to drive growth and...
Barclays has provided a £1.5m finance facility to help Norton Radstock College achieve its £3m campus upgrade. The package has helped fund the construction of a 26,167 sq ft two-storey building at the further education college in Radstock, replacing the 1950s North Side Building. More than 1,000 full and 5,000 part-time students undertaking a...
The managing partner of West accountants Bishop Fleming has a simple, one-word recommendation for what Chancellor George Osborne should do in his Autumn Statement next month – nothing. Matthew Lee believes if the Chancellor, pictured, is serious about ensuring the economic recovery takes hold and benefits business then he should resist the temptation to...
Bath area firms are being advised to check whether they qualify for valuable tax credits under the Government’s research and development (R&D) scheme. West accountancy firm Milsted Langdon, which has an office in Bath, says many firms are unaware they are eligible for the scheme which increases tax relief against taxable profits. To qualify,...
