Business West, the organisation behind Bristol Chamber of Commerce, has called on politicians to stay out of any decision to increase the Minimum Wage. The plea, by Chamber of Commerce & Initiative executive director James Durie, pictured, comes after Chancellor George Osborne hinted that he may raise the Minimum...
Accountancy and investment management group Smith & Williamson’s Bristol-based corporate tax specialist Paul Bray has been promoted to partner. Paul, pictured, who has worked for the firm since 1996 and heads its small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) team in Bristol, works closely with owner-managers and family-run businesses locally and...
Bristol financial planning firm Paradigm Norton has launched a service targeting companies that want to support their staff by adopting the Government’s auto-enrolment pension scheme. Called Plan4, it follows a law forcing UK companies to move towards automatic pensions enrolment for most workers over the age of 22. Plan4,...
The corporate team at Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT has advised the incoming chief executive and management team at heating and cooling equipment business Watkins Hire on a £10.1m private equity investment which backed their acquisition of the firm. Paul O’Kelly joined Watkins as chief executive as part of...
Health and social care consultancy Finnamore, which has an office near Bristol, has been acquired by GE Healthcare, part of the global GE group. Under the deal, financial details of which have not been released, GE Healthcare’s UK consultancy arm, formerly Performance Solutions UK, becomes GE Healthcare Finnamore. Joint...
HM Revenue & Custom’s renewed focus on import and export procedures and their potential impact on businesses will come under the spotlight at the next meeting of accountancy firm Grant Thornton’s FD Club. Established exclusively for finance directors and other senior decision makers, the club’s quarterly meetings provide insight...
Two of Bristol’s top commercial property figures are predicting strong growth for the city’s economy this year as confidence returns to its recession-hit property market. Tim Davies, head of Colliers International’s Bristol office, forecasts that the city’s important financial and banking sector will return to its 2008 level within...
Some of Bristol’s best-known business figures have been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list. Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of Bristol-based investment services provider Hargreaves Lansdown, has been awarded the CBE for services to business, innovation, financial services. Don Cameron, founder of Bristol-based Cameron Balloons and figurehead for the...
Bristol-based advisers and funders from law firm Burges Salmon, accountants Deloitte and PwC and banking group HSBC are behind a major dairy industry deal that completed this week. The deal gives farmer-owned Milk Partnership Limited (MPL) accession to corporate membership of Europe’s leading dairy cooperative Arla Foods amba and...
Bristol-based wealth management and financial planning company Deverill Black & Co has been acquired by Towry, the national wealth advice group. Deverill Black, pictured, has been trading since 2001 from an office in Redland. Led by Iain Black, who has been in financial services for 30 years, it has...
The Bristol-based pensions audit team of accountants Smith & Williamson has been appointed to the new Audit Services Panel launched this week by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The team joins the new six-member panel which aims to ensure that workers with pensions in companies that go bust do...
Inflation remains a concern for West businesses despite November’s small decrease, according to the region’s largest business organisation. The annual rate of inflation dropped from 2.2% to 2.1% last month as falls in the cost of food, gas and electricity prices took effect. But Phil Smith, pictured, managing director...
Shares in Bristol specialist insurance broker Brightside Group fell earlier this week following a statement in which it admitted its earnings would be around a fifth lower this year. The group said it had been hit by further capacity restrictions in the final quarter of its financial year. As...
