A £50m all-weather leisure attraction planned for Weston-super- Mare, expected to attract 550,000 visitors in its first year and create more than 800 jobs, has gained planning approval. Based on a 12.7-acre site at Locking Parklands, a former RAF base on the town’s outskirts, the Leisuredome will be one...
A six-fold increase in South West company fraud has been reported by Fraudtrack, a survey carried out by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. The new data, covering the six months from December 2010 to the end of May this year, show that the value of reported fraud has...
Airbus has broken Boeing's monopoly at American Airlines by clinching a multi-billion dollar orders for 260 of its A320 and A320neo fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft. American, the world's fourth-largest airline by number of passengers, will also buy 150 of Boeing's rival 737s – and has taken options with both planemakers...
Bristol-based Atlas Genetics has raised £16.9m from a syndicate of new and existing investors led by Novartis Venture Funds and Consort Medical to accelerate the global launch of its Velox point-of-care test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Market potential for the Velox system is huge because, for the first time,...
Bristol hotels improved room rates and yield in May although occupancy was down marginally. Year-on-year occupancy fell 0.7% to 74.1% in 2011 but room rates were up 4.1% from £64.84 to £67.49 in 2011 boosting yield by 3.4% to £50.01. "This is good news for the sector but significant challenges remain, particularly for...
Tax benefits related to donations of art and other objects of value are to rise significantly under a plan outlined in the last Budget, say chartered accountants Saffrey Champness. Richard Cartwright, a partner in Saffery Champness’ Bristol office, explained: “Under the current Acceptance in Lieu scheme, donors are encouraged to...
Bristol-based Nighthawk, the US focused oil development and production company which moved its registered office to London earlier this month, has announced the appointment of Charles (Chuck) H. Wilson as chief operating officer. Chuck, who takes up his new role on August 1, is US oil industry veteran with...
The number of businesses going bust in the South West dropped from 241 to 196 in the second quarter of 2011 – a decline of 19%, according to analysis by business advisory firm PwC. But when compared with the second quarter of last year, the level of insolvencies was...
Professional services firm KPMG has issued a health warning to companies contemplating trade in emerging markets such as China. It says that changes to the tax regime in China earlier this year mean that getting the right structure for a business venture in place from the outset is essential. Tony...
The University of Bristol has officially taken possession of its National Composites Centre (NCC) just 20 months after the city was selected as the location for the ground-breaking development. The NCC, based at SPark – the fledgling Bristol and Bath Science Park – will draw on established links to...
Companies weighing up international expansion are invited to a seminar to assess their capabilities before taking the next step. Staged by accountants Smith & Williamson (formerly Solomon Hare) in conjunction with Quickstart Global, Vistage International and Travelex, it will include a workshop led by Neal Gandhi, serial entrepreneur, author...
Companies weighing up international expansion are invited to a workshop in Bristol to assess their capabilities before taking the next step. The invitation has been issued by Smith & Williamson (formerly Solomon Hare) in conjunction with Quickstart Global, Vistage International and Travelex. The event, which is set to take...
Stride Treglown, the 13th largest architectural practice in the UK and the South West's biggest, experienced a sharp dip in profits last year. The Bristol-based practice, founded in 1953, has reported that profits fell from £654,000 to £198,000 in the year to December 31. Turnover also dropped from £15.5m...
