In a surprise move and with only a week to go until the 2019/20 tax return filing deadline, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced on January 25 that it would not be charging the usual automatic late filing penalties of £100 for any 2019/20 tax returns that were not filed by January 31, 2021....
Malachy McReynolds, the chair of regional alternative finance lender SWIG Finance, is to step down in March after five years in the role. He will be replaced by Christine Allison, a former lead economist for the World Bank, who has been a non-executive director of SWIG Finance for the past three-and-a-half years. During that...
It is sadly inevitable that this year’s staff Christmas parties will not be the usual get-togethers and businesses will, no doubt, already be looking at more inventive ways to have a festive celebration, be it virtual or with individual gifts, etc. writes Pearson May partner Matthew Rutter. From online cookery classes, virtual pantomimes and streaming...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, has welcomed the latest extension to the governments’ furlough scheme, but urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to come up longer-term measures to protect firms. Mr Sunak, pictured, this afternoon announced the furlough scheme would now run until the end of March, with the Treasury continuing to pay 80% of...
Quartet, the community foundation covering Bath and the West of England, has appointed its philanthropy director Ronnie Brown as interim CEO following the departure of Sue Turner. Sue, pictured, who has led the organisation for more than five years – a period in which she helped more than double its endowment to £50m – has...
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-based financial planning firm Unividual has joined a national campaign aimed at overcoming the difficulties women face when planning their financial future. Called ‘Insuring Women’s Futures’, the campaign has been instigated by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) to tackle the male-dominated industry’s attitude of treating women in a way that tends to alienate them. ...
Many of us would like to be able to reflect our personal values in our investments but have been held back in the past due to lack of choice and perceived poor performance of funds in the ‘ethical’ space. Historically, ethical or Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has been about excluding stocks in sectors such...
Innovative small and medium-sized firms from the Bath area can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £75,000 to carry out research and development following the relaunch of an established funding programme. Innovation 4 Growth (I4G) funding totalling £500,000 is available to businesses from across the West of England in all sectors who...
West of England accountancy group MHA Monahans has become one of the first in the region to be awarded a licence to undertake non-contentious probate work. The firm, with offices in Bath, Trowbridge, Chippenham, Melksham, Frome, Glastonbury, Swindon and Taunton has received accreditation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to...
