The Bristol office of BGF, the business growth fund set up to help the UK’s growing smaller and medium-sized firms, has appointed Sarah Ledwidge as an investment manager. Sarah, pictured, will be responsible for identifying investable businesses in Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Thames Valley and working with them to...
A shared love of bikes, art and coffee has brought a varied collection of businesses together to turn an empty Clifton Village shopping scheme into a vibrant pop-up community. The venture, called THAT Clifton Pop-up, brings together Bath-based coffee house group Jika Jika, Bath Ales’ craft beer brand Beerd...
From Bristol 24-7 www.bristol247.com Campaigners against the West of England’s Metrobus project were in London today to call on the Government to scrap its funding for the controversial public transport project. The Alliance to rethink Metrobus group delivered a letter, and a cardboard white elephant, to the office of...
Bristol firms are joining organisers of Cycle to Work Day and encouraging their employees to pledge to bike to work on September 4. Tens of thousands of cyclists across the country took part in last year’s Cycle to Work Day, riding a total of a quarter of a million...
Three innovative small firms from Bristol have been included among 100 from across the country selected to attend intensive business boot camps and compete for support worth thousands of pounds. Wriggle, Grow Bristol and Talking Men’s Shoes were chosen by a panel of expert judges in The Pitch 2014,...
Transport operator FirstGroup and accountants KPMG have signed multi-million pound agreements to support Bristol’s year as European Green Capital in what was today described as among the largest private-sector sponsorships in the city’s history. The deals, a mixture of financial and value-in-kind support, make up the strongest private-sector commitment...
Bristol Water has awarded its £20m-a-year network maintenance services programme contract to national building and civil engineering group Kier. The contract, which starts on October 1, is for five years with a potential five-year extension. Works include repairs and maintenance, metering, new connections, developer mains, trunk mains support and...
A garden centre business owned by the same family since opening in 1884 is future-proofing itself against spiraling energy costs and enhancing its green credentials after securing £400,000 funding from Barclays. Whitehall Garden Centre at Lacock near Chippenham, which also owns and operates Bristol’s Whitchurch Garden Centre, is installing...
One of the UK’s largest energy efficiency schemes is to be launched in Bristol, creating 50 jobs and offering advice to every home and business on how to reduce their fuel bills and save money. Under the ambitious multi-million pound project announced today, every property in the city will...
Neighbourly.com, an innovative new social network aimed at connecting community projects with companies, was launched in Bristol last night with the ambition to revolutionise corporate social responsibility. The business has been developed by local entrepreneur Nick Davies and is the first digital platform to be created for the largely...
By Colin Skellett, Chair, West of England LEP Since the Government announcement a couple of weeks ago of the local growth deals awarded to England’s 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), there have been a lot of big numbers bandied about. Unless you’re close to the deals, the figures and...
Bristol’s Society of Merchant Venturers is inviting local good causes to apply to its charity committee for grants. The call coincides with the Merchants’ quarterly announcement of its recent awards which total £35,000 in new grants. The awards are used to support organisations that work with the vulnerable and...
Sustainable film and TV set-clearance firm Drèsd has become the latest business to set up an operation at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios. The innovative company, which offers a cost-effective alternative to sending set waste to landfill, is the 11th firm to join the burgeoning creative community at the Hengrove...
