Business confidence has bounced back after being hit by the Brexit referendum result, according to the latest Business Barometer from regional accountancy firm Bishop Fleming. However, 56% of business owners remain doubtful about the year ahead and half have no plans to take on additional staff next year. In...
More than 400 guests were welcomed by accountancy, investment management and tax group Smith & Williamson to its annual client event at the Royal West of England Academy. The business owners, directors, professional advisors, private individuals and trustees enjoyed a drinks reception and private viewing of more than 500...
By Mike Lea, managing partner of the Bristol office of accountancy, investment management and tax group Smith & Williamson. Despite no increases in NIC rates being announced in the Autumn Statement, there are changes on the horizon that will see an increase in overall levels of NIC paid by...
Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM has appointed Joanne Webber as an employer solutions director in its Bristol office. Joanne, pictured, specialises in advising clients on domestic employment tax issues and international mobility, covering the impacts for companies and individual employees. She began her career at KPMG in Bristol...
Regional accountancy firm Bishop Fleming, which has an office in Bristol, described Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement as a clarion call to industry to be more productive and to make the UK ‘match fit’ for a bumpy Brexit ride ahead. It said the Chancellor’s first fiscal statement promised billions of government...
Bristol businesses will welcome Chancellor Philip Hammond’s focus on investment in the Autumn Statement, particularly in areas where growth pressures are highest, according to Business West. Phil Smith, pictured, managing director of the region’s largest business organisation, described the statement as “a sombre, not flashy, affair” which reflected the...
Business organisation the CBI “warmly welcomed” Chancellor Philip Hammond’s commitments to boost research and development, housing and infrastructure. But it said these must be acted on. Director-general Carolyn Fairbairn, pictured below, said: “The Chancellor has prioritised a pragmatic down payment on future productivity growth. “His emphasis on R&D, housing...
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s housing market measures in the Autumn Statement have been welcomed – but were seen as not going far enough to ease the homes crisis in cities like Bristol. Martin Blake, pictured right, director of Keynsham-based estate agency Andrews’ land & new homes division, approved of the commitment to release £1.4bn...
Chancellor Philip Hammond presented his first Autumn Statement this afternoon. Here are the main points, as announced: Office for Budget Responsibility says growth this year will be 2.1%, 1.4% next year (down from 2.2%), 1.7% in 2018 (down from 2.1%), 2.1% in 2019/20 (down from 2.1%) and 2% in 2020/21,...
Fast-growing Bristol-based dental group Oasis has been bought by private healthcare giant Bupa for £835m, triggering a multi-million pound pay-out for its management. The firm, consistently named in lists of the UK’s super-growth firms, was half owned by its management and half by private equity firm Bridgepoint. Bupa is...
Specialists in computer science and creative technologies from UWE have confirmed their support for the inaugural Bristol Fintech showcase next week. Entrepreneurs, start-ups and growth businesses still have an opportunity to secure a place at the event next Wednesday, November 23, which has been organised by Barclays, national law...
Bristol business leaders have called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to go all out to boost confidence ahead of Brexit as he prepares to deliver his first Autumn Statement next Wednesday. With the economic climate expected to get decidedly chilly next year as the UK works towards leaving the EU,...
Rapidly growing Bristol-headquartered energy supplier OVO has been named as the Smith & Williamson Scale-up Business of the Year at the 2016 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards. New for 2016, this award recognises a market-leading increase in sales, headcount, profitability, market share or geographical expansion over the past three...
