Bristol is to receive £7m from the Government to support it as European Green Capital next year, including a global clean technology festival and a series of international summits on climate change. The funding, announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander on a visit to the...
A trade mission to China to help unlock opportunities for small and medium-sized West businesses has been announced by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) South West. While China is well known as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging around 10% over the past 30 years, and...
The Engine Shed, Bristol’s focal point for innovation, has officially opened its latest initiative – public art space Platform 14. Named after nearby Bristol Temple Meads railway station’s ‘missing’ platform, Platform 14 aims to highlight the diversity of opportunity within the hi- tech, low carbon and creative sectors within...
Bart Ingredients, the Bristol-based well-known manufacturer of herbs and spices, is to expand into the pastes and sauces market after acquiring the assets of Berkshire-based OTP Foods Limited in a multi-million pound deal. Bart sees these wet ingredients as a high-growth area, confirmed by market statistics which show that...
The strong commercial aerospace market has delivered a boost for UK engineering group GKN’s Bristol area plants, with sales of their aircraft parts continuing to climb. Organic sales growth for the group’s aerospace division rose by 5% to £546m in the first quarter of this year, helping it achieve...
Around 300 businesses attended events across the South West last week to learn about international business opportunities and the support available to reach new customers around the world. A series of nine UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) events were held across the region as part of Export Week....
Mulberry, the West fashion brand best known for its upmarket bags, today warned its profits will be hit hard as it introduces new lower-price products. The firm, whose iconic bags often sell for upwards of £1,000, also said it was scaling back its new store opening programme as it...
Rob Law, the Bristol-based inventor of child’s ride-on suitcase Trunki, heads up the M4 next month to be keynote speaker at this year’s Business Show Swindon The entrepreneur, innovator and ‘dragon-slayer’ – he was famously turned down by Dragons’ Den – will speak about the setbacks and learnings of...
Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco Group is to close its cigarette factory in Nottingham with the loss of all 540 jobs, it announced this week. The group, whose brands include JPS, Lambert & Butler and Gauloises, blamed falling sales of cigarettes and tougher anti-smoking regulations in Europe. A plant in Nantes,...
Shares in SciSys, the specialist software and IT group SciSys with a base in Bristol, climbed by nearly 3% this morning after it announced it had secured a €1.8m (£1.48m), six-year contract to work on Europe’s most advanced geostationary weather satellite. The firm, whose roots are in the European...
Industrial giant Siemens is to open a tidal turbine blade factory in Bristol, creating 49 jobs and boosting the city’s growing reputation as a centre for low-carbon technology and innovation. The German group made the announcement yesterday when Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey visited its Marine Current...
Bristol can be a showcase for zero-emission bus technology as part of its year as European Green Capital, Mayor George Ferguson has said. He challenged the motor industry and low-carbon sector to invest in Bristol and help it become a centre for innovation in public transport. He was speaking...
TDC Systems, the Weston-super-Mare-based specialist in advanced transport systems, has been acquired by Norwegian electronic toll collection business Q-Free. The deal, overseen by Bristol law firm Temple Bright, is expected to be worth £10m, if performance targets for 2014 and 2015 are hit. The initial consideration is £5m –...
