Ambitious West businesses are being invited to bid for a share of a £200m investment pot – the latest phase of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF). Firms applying for round six of the RGF, launched this week by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, will be following in the...
The number of businesses expecting to recruit more staff has almost returned to the pre-recession levels of 2007 new figures released this week show. But while the data is welcome news for job seekers, some business analysts are warning that it could signal looming skills shortages. The latest Business...
West-based luxury brand Mulberry, best known for its £1,000-plus handbags, has promised to launch new products with slightly cheaper price tags after revealing that profits nearly halved in its last financial year. Chairman Godfrey Davis, who is leading a restructuring of the business to restore growth, said it had...
Seven directors running businesses based in and around Bristol will this evening find out if they have been successful in the prestigious South West Institute of Directors (IoD) awards. Competing for the awards, which celebrate excellence in the boardroom, are Nick Sturge, co-founder of the enterprise hub The Engine...
Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei is to open a research and development base in Bristol, it revealed this week. The centre, part of its UK Innovation Programme, will initially recruit 30 high-calibre R&D employees and have a primary focus on researching ICT chips, software, and the analog chip technology...
Bristol aerospace giants Airbus and GKN could face disruption to production schedules after airline Emirates cancelled an order for 70 of Airbus’s new A350 mid-range aircraft. The move, which followed a review of its fleet by the Gulf airline, has dealt an unexpected blow to Airbus and its A350...
Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco has confirmed it plans to float off its Spanish distribution business Logista. Madrid-based Logista distributes Imperial’s cigarettes along with other those of rivals and other consumer products across Southern Europe. Last year it recorded revenue of £8.3bn and an adjusted operating profit of £176m. In February...
Bristol is one of the UK’s most successful cities for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and is helping the South West outperform most other regions in a highly-competitive market, according to new research published today. Bristol is ranked sixth in a list of leading UK cities in global accountants...
A group of Bristol’s leading tech entrepreneurs will visit Buckingham Palace on Monday for a special reception with the royal family to recognise the sector’s powerful economic contribution. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be joined at the event by The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of...
By Paul Wilson, chief executive, West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Bristol is on a roll. It’s the best place to live in the country. The 100,000 people who engaged in the art of sliding down Park Street sparked a national debate on modernising city centre management. Bristol Food...
Engineering group GKN’s aerospace plant in Bristol has been recognised as Airbus’s best-performing supplier in the European aircraft maker’s annual supply chain awards. It follows on from GKN Aerospace’s success last year when the plant gained the accolade for most improved supplier – the result of significant industrial performance...
Precision measurement technology firm Opti-cal Survey Equipment has opened an office in Bristol as part of its national expansion. The firm, which has its headquarters in Reading and satellite offices in Crawley, Milton Keynes and Huddersfield, has moved into Apex Court Business Park at Almondsbury – the latest tech...
West-based global engineering firm Renishaw has signed a year-long deal with Bristol’s iconic music venue Colston Hall to sponsor an innovative new music programme at its incubator concert space The Lantern. Under the partnership, employees of the Wotton-under-Edge firm, which makes hi-tech measuring devices used in a range of...
