Bristol firms considering doing business in China this year – or those already trading there – are being urged to take part in the region’s largest Chinese New Year reception and banquet. Organised by the Bristol & West of England China Bureau, the event brings together business leaders, key...
Phil Smith, managing director of Business West – the regional organisation that runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce and the Bristol Initiative – looks back at the highs and lows of 2017. After a tumultuous 2016, many of us were perhaps expecting 2017 to be something like the morning after...
Bristol-based automotive parts firm Sanoh UK Manufacturing has celebrated 25 years of trading at its Avonmouth site. The Japanese-owned firm, which makes brake and fuel lines for major car manufacturers, opened its factory off Fourth Way in December 1992 – initially to supply Honda’s then new car plant in...
T-shirts that change colour to alert the wearer of dangerous chemicals in the air or pharmaceutical packaging that can show when pills are counterfeit could become reality under a major ‘smart ink’ project linking UWE and a leading scientist and print industry expert. Starting in January at the university’s...
One of the largest speculative warehouses to be built in Bristol is close to being finished, with its marketing agents expecting strong interest from firms operating in the so-called ‘last-mile’ of their supply chains. Unit G2 at Horizon38, the £85m employment scheme being developed on former Rolls-Royce land at...
A series of inspirational talks by high-profile business women is to be launched next year by Bristol Business School in conjunction with one of the region’s top hotels. Called Phenomenal Women, the bi-monthly events will be staged from February to November at the five-star Gainsborough Spa Hotel in Bath...
The CBI has appointed Susan Davy, chief financial officer of environmental infrastructure group Pennon Group, as the next chair of its South West region. Susan, pictured right, will replace Andrew Livingston, CEO of Yeovil-based DIY and building equipment supplier Screwfix, who is leaving the post early. Andrew, pictured below,...
Bristol-headquartered architecture firm Stride Treglown has been appointed as lead consultant on the pioneering car-of-the-future research centre to be built on the city’s outskirts. The firm, which has nine offices across the UK and in Abu Dhabi, has already worked on the £60m centre for the University of Bath, producing...
Bristol specialist tech firm Pertinax Pharma is launching its antimicrobial products into the commercial market after a year of growth and development. The company, founded in 2015 by Reader in Biomaterials Dr Michele Barbour, has created a slow-release technology that provides controlled and sustained delivery of the antiseptic chlorhexidine. ...
Bristol’s economy could benefit from aspects of the government’s long-awaited Industrial Strategy, announced this week, three key figures in the city’s business community have said. But there was also disappointment at the lack of detail in some of initiatives and a need for more engagement with the business community...
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s support for the tech sector – a vital part of Bristol’s economy – and his commitment to devolve more funding for infrastructure and skills to the West of England in Wednesday’s Budget have been welcomed by business figures across the city. However, there was criticism that...
Philip Hammond was a “cautious Chancellor doing his best in a tight spot” in the Budget, according to Phil Smith, managing director of Business West – the region’s largest business organisation which runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce and the Bristol Initiative. He described Mr Hammond as playing a “weak...
Chancellor Philip Hammond has presented the 2017 Budget. Here are the main points: Economy is ready for challenges that lie ahead Growth forecast is now 1.5% this year, 1.4% next year and 1.3% in 2019/20 against 2% this year, 1.6% next year and 1.7% in 2019. Inflation peaking at...
