Children at an inner city Bristol school are enjoying reading books at home during lockdown thanks to the support of National Friendly, the Bristol-based mutual society. It is supporting Stories at Home, a Bristol City Council initiative which has been providing vulnerable families and disadvantaged pupils with access to books in...
Bristol-based start-up OurPeople, which has built a team communication and engagement platform for deskless workers, has raised $2m (£1.61m) in funding. Leading the Series A round is Alpine Meridian, a New York-based investment firm specialising in digital media, e-commerce and healthcare, along with entrepreneur Robert Neveu, who has joined OurPeople...
Business confidence has bounced back stronger in the South West than any other part of the UK, according to a new survey – but many firms remain gloomy and one in 10 expects to stay closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The monthly Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial...
The Bristol office of financial and professional services firm Smith & Williamson has advised Bright Network, the platform that connects employers with graduates, on its £3.5m fundraising. The investment from Maven Capital Partners will support smart matching technology capabilities and enhancing sales and marketing resources at London-based Bright Network....
Bristol’s small businesses are being offered the chance to get free help to manage their finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to a new programme launched by West of England Mayor Tim Bowles. The accountancy support programme is being delivered in partnership with the Institute of...
Tax advisor Vanessa Clark has been promoted to the position of director in regional accountancy firm Milsted Langdon’s Bristol office. Vanessa, pictured, manages a diverse portfolio of personal clients, including self-employed people, directors of owner-managed businesses, trusts and high net worth individuals, dealing with all aspects of their tax...
Louise Somerset, partner and head of private client tax services at Smith & Williamson in Bristol, looks at the issues facing business-owning families post-coronavirus. Family-owned and managed businesses will have been put under enormous strain since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and unfortunately many may not be able to...
A minority stake in Bristol’s largest shopping centre, the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, is set to be put up for sale after its troubled co-owner Intu called in administrators this afternoon. Intu, which also owns some of the UK’s largest retail schemes, including Lakeside in Essex and the Trafford...
Cubex, the Bristol-based property developer behind the Finzels Reach regeneration, has completed one of the city’s largest investment deals with Tesco Pension Investment paying nearly £70m to forward fund its Grade A Halo office building. Construction of the cutting-edge 116,000 sq ft scheme, pictured, on the site of the...
Clean energy group Good Energy has taken effective control of Bristol-based Zap-Map, the popular app for the UK’s 300,000-strong electric vehicle (EV) drivers in which it bought a minority stake last year. Good Energy snapped up a 12.9% share in Zap-Map’s parent company Next Green Car in March last...
An online service promising impartial financial advice for Bristol firms on funding options has been launched by Business West, the region’s largest business organisation. According to Business West, which runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce, its Finance Hub will be free from confusing jargon or any hard sell, enabling businesses...
Business groups have cautiously backed the reduction of many coronavirus lockdown restrictions announced earlier this week by the Prime Minister. But they also warned that other measures to boost the economy were still needed to avoid widespread business failures and job losses. In a major boost to the West...
A surprise fall in the number of corporate insolvencies could herald the ‘calm before the storm’, the South West branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 has warned. Figures published by the Insolvency Service show a 30% drop in companies going bust at the height of the coronavirus...
