Changes to legislation that will mean individuals can have their Wills witnessed via video links have been welcomed by Bath-headquartered law firm Royds Withy King, which has been using WhatsApp to liaise with clients in this way during lockdown. The government this week said that it will introduce a retrospective law to reassure thousands...
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the number of profit warnings issued by South West listed businesses to a 20-year high, with those in the travel and leisure sector hardest hit. According to new figures from accountancy group EY, profit warnings soared by 73% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 26 – with 85%...
Government figures showing another monthly fall in corporate insolvencies are hiding the true picture of the damaging effect of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses, according to the South West branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3. Insolvency Service statistics for June show 732 company insolvencies in England and Wales, lower than May’s figure...
Practical ideas on how businesses can continue to support charities during the coronavirus pandemic are to be aired at a webinar hosted by Quartet, the community foundation for the West of England. The third sector is facing its toughest time for a generation with hundreds of thousands of people needing support just as charities’...
Bringing Capital Gain Tax (CGT) rates in line with those for Income Tax could hit buy-to-let landlords, portfolios, second homeowners and people with inheritances, according to an expert at Bath-headquartered law firm Royds Withy King. Earlier this week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a review of CGT, with many commentators claiming it could result in...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his economic statement in the Commons on Wednesday by saying the government would do all it could to help prevent job losses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The main points were: Government will pay £1,000 to businesses for each furloughed employee they bring back and retain until January....
Bath is to stage its first virtual business festival to help firms in the city start to bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Taking place on July 22, Bath Business Festival (BBF) will celebrate the city’s business offering as well as giving its firms a unique chance to meet, learn, share,...
Business confidence has bounced back stronger in the South West than any other part of the UK, according to a new survey – but many firms remain gloomy and one in 10 expects to stay closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The monthly Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking had shown a huge...
Lawyers trained in mediation at Bath-headquartered national law firm Stone King have been helping a growing number of people with relationship difficulties caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. The firm said mediation – a procedure by which parties discuss disputes with an impartial trained mediator to help reach a settlement – has become increasingly helpful...
Regional law firm Thrings has appointed two senior associates - succession and tax expert Gavin Smith and commercial property specialist Natalie Day – to advise the firm’s fast-growing portfolio of land development and private wealth clients. Gavin, who joins Thrings’ Bath office, advises on all aspects of private client law, including succession and estate planning, tax,...
