Bath Spa University is calling on businesspeople based in the city to become mentors to its graduates as they begin to find it harder than ever to join the workforce. The university has launched its scheme MentorMe following an 11% increase in the take up of mentoring since last year. It is now recruiting...
Investment group BGF’s South West team overcame challenges sparked by the coronavirus pandemic to invest a record amount last year. Some £67m was injected into businesses in 2020 – up on the £37m achieved in 2019 and overtaking the previous record of £50m in 2018. The new investments take BGF’s total funding in the...
Recently released research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has indicated that as many as 250,000 small businesses could collapse in the next 12 months. Whilst many businesses affected by the latest national lockdown are receiving assistance via the various government financial support measures, such as the furlough scheme, grants and loans, Milsted...
Bath area firms are being urged to join a scheme that aims to bridge a digital divide made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic by refurbishing laptops and donating them to disadvantaged families. Wiltshire Digital Drive was launched last year by a group of businesses in Bath and West Wiltshire working on a pro bono...
A graduate of Bath Spa University has won an international 3D printing competition, landing $25,000 (£18,350) worth of investment to turn his idea for a special motorbike bracket into reality. Heath Townsend discovered his passion for problem solving while studying for a BA (Hons) at Bath Spa. He has since gone on to launch...
Twenty-one firms that represent Bath’s innovative business culture and talented workforce will be highlighted this year as the city’s Bath Unlimited campaign is stepped up. Bath Unlimited was launched last October to support the city’s Invest in Bath inward investment arm in attracting businesses to the area by celebrating some of its dynamic, successful,...
Bath’s small businesses can access help and advice to grow internationally through a new, free, post-Brexit programme. The Export Academy involves overseas trade experts from the Department for International Trade (DIT) hosting a series of online workshops and events offering advice and support directly to business owners. The programme has been designed for businesses...
Innovative Bath firms and freelancers with creative technology projects focused on post-Covid renewal and recovery are being invited to apply for grants of between £500 and £5,000. The grants, which total £20,000, are being offered by The Studio at Palace Yard Mews, Bath Spa University’s enterprise and innovation hub, and are aimed at freelancers,...
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...
The latest lockdown will be another “body blow” to Bath firms, coming after the uncertainty caused by Brexit and lost trade in the run-up to Christmas, the region’s biggest business group has warned. Business West, which runs Bath Chamber of Commerce, said firms that had survived so far with Covid-related support from the government...
