National law firm Foot Anstey has worked with Italian aviation group Magnaghi Aeronautica Group on its acquisition of a UK specialist in manufacturing components and supplier of surface treatments for the aerospace industry, including receiving national security clearance. Magnaghi, which is headquartered in Naples, said the takeover of Gloucestershire-based Five...
The search is on again to find the South West’s best and brightest small companies as Britain’s biggest business representation group launches its annual awards. The FSB’s (Federation of Small Businesses) Celebrating Small Business Awards showcase small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from across the region and are open to...
The South West’s largest business organisation has ‘warmly welcomed’ the government’s promise to help firms with spiralling energy bills this winter – but called for it to regulate the market to ensure stability in the future. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s energy price freeze announced yesterday means households bills will be capped...
Bristol-based tech firm Anaphite has raised £4.1m to develop the use of graphene in electric vehicles batteries – a move that could halve charging times while also cutting manufacturing costs. The firm, launched four years ago by two university graduates to look into ways of exploiting the potential of...
The Bristol office of mid-market private equity firm LDC has made an £18m minority investment in global pharmaceutical development organisation TMC Pharma Services. Hampshire-based TMC’s products specialise in innovative treatments for rare diseases and oncology. It has successfully supported more than 150 ‘orphan’ drug designations in the past 10 years...
Confidence among South West businesses rose in August despite spiralling costs, according to a new survey – making it one of only three UK regions to record a month-on-month increase in optimism. Firms in the region appear to have shrugged off the impact of soaring utility bills, wage increases and...
A long-established Bristol architectural window system business that has worked on many of the city’s landmark building schemes has gone into administration due to rising costs and delays on key projects. The Window Glass Company (Bristol), which trades as Window Glass, was founded in 1970 and operates from a...
Business leaders from across the South West are being invited to a major event in the region’s business calendar, the CBI’s annual regional dinner in Bristol. The event, which is traditionally a sell-out, is attended by more than 300 senior business figures from across the region – although it has not...
The government must set out an immediate plan to spur economic recovery, including helping firms pay their spiralling energy bills and easing restrictions on employing overseas workers. The call has come from Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, which fears more firms will be forced to close down...
Venture capital funding secured by fast-growth Bristol businesses leapt by two-thirds to £63m in the second quarter of this year, with the city’s burgeoning fintech sector leading the way. The big rise in total investment came despite a fall in the number of deals compared to the previous three...
A £1.5m fund has been launched to help small firms in Bristol and across the West of England and their supply chains adapt to the new economic and regulatory landscape. The Business Growth and Adaptions Grants are aimed at helping small to medium-sized enterprises buy new products and equipment...
The West of England’s first Good Employment Charter has been launched – with Bristol’s four times Academy Award-winning animation studio Aardman the first to pledge its support. The project was kick-started this week by Metro Mayor Dan Norris as part of a push to develop good jobs, deliver opportunities...
Companies in the South West are more gloomy about the economy and their own prospects than those in all other regions of the UK, according to a new survey. Business confidence in the region fell three percentage points to 11% during July, making it the least confident region in the UK for...
