Bath’s Tier 2 restrictions when it comes out of the national lockdown next week will have a “chilling impact” on its economy, with much of its hospitality sector remaining “frozen” in the vital run-up to Christmas, business groups have warned. Bath Chamber of Commerce group Business West said despite having escaped being put in...
Bath’s acquisition-hungry media group Future has hit the takeover trail again with a near £600m offer for the firm behind the Co Compare website. The £594m cash-and-shares offer, which has been accepted by GoCo Group’s board, was revealed on the same day that Future posted a 300% increase in annual pre-tax profits to £52m on sales...
Bath independent stationery retailer and printer Meticulous Ink is in the running for a major national award that champions the UK’s best creative small businesses. Meticulous Ink, which was opened 10 years ago by designer Athena Cauley-Yu, sells a range of stationery and paper goods, calligraphy pens and inks as well as offering a...
Bath is to be promoted as a prime location for international conferences, meetings and events at one of the top exhibitions for the global events industry as its key players look beyond Covid-19 to make bookings. The annual IBTM World in Barcelona attracts a worldwide audience of conference, events and incentive travel planners. Although...
The award-winning Trading Through Brexit service run by Business West has been relaunched to help companies make crucial last-minute adjustments to the way they operate ahead of the end of the UK-EU transition period. Regardless of whether or not a deal is reached between UK and EU negotiators ahead of deadline on December 31,...
Business West, which runs Bath Chamber of Commerce, was disappointed with the lack of capital investment promised by the government for the West of England. Policy manager Claire Ralph said: “Some minor funding has been allocated to the West of England Combined Authority for local transport improvements through the Transforming Cities Fund. “Elsewhere it...
Business groups have welcomed the investment in infrastructure and jobs in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review but said many firms still needed more help from the government. The CBI praised the Chancellor for making “some bold autumn decisions” to power a spring recovery even as the stark forecasts pointed to tough times ahead. But...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week delivered his much-anticipated Spending Review, outlining how the government will tackle the huge economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Among the main points were: The government is spending £280bn on tackling Covid-19 But the Chancellor says: “The economic damage is likely to be lasting.” Forecast for UK borrowing...
The government has been warned that it cannot “keep switching businesses on and off like a light switch” through Covid-19 related national lockdowns and regional tiers without expecting severe consequences. Instead, firms need a plan that keeps them, and the economy, open throughout winter and beyond, according to Business West, the organisation that runs...
Inspecs, the fast-growing Bath-based eyewear design house and manufacturer, is poised to double in size after conditionally agreeing to acquire a German firm for €94.85m (£84.78m). Inspecs said the takeover of Eschenbach Optik would represent a key strategic step in its expansion as a global, vertically-integrated eyewear firm. The deal would make Inspecs, which...
