Low-cost airline easyJet has teamed up with Bristol Airport to use it as a test-bed to trial ways of decarbonising its operations and reduce waste. The airline, the airport’s largest operator accounting for about half of all its flights, said the partnership would involve a series of trials using...
Nearly 70% of South West firms see climate change as a core business factor for them, according to a landmark survey of companies’ attitudes to the key issue – but, alarmingly, 21% have so far taken no action despite mounting concern over its impact. Just under half (46%) of...
Gapsquare, the high-profile Bristol firm using analytics software to help businesses close their gender pay gap, has been acquired by HR consultancy XpertHR. Gapsquare was founded by Dr Zara Nanu in 2017 after she heard the World Economic Forum’s prediction that it would take 217 years before the gender...
Tax consultancy Finch & Associates has continued with its ambitious expansion strategy by opening an office in Cardiff and launching a cryptocurrency tax arm. The new office will enable the Clevedon-based firm to provide specialist R&D tax relief advice to Cardiff’s burgeoning tech sector as well as businesses across...
Professional criminals took advantage of the unprecedented conditions caused by the pandemic to con businesses and individuals across the South West out of millions of pounds, new figures show. According to accountancy group KPMG latest Fraud Barometer, cases reaching the region’s courts in the first half of this year...
Lawyers from global law firm Osborne Clarke’s Bristol office have helped complete another high-profile technology deal – this time advising finance group BGF on its lead investment in a £58m funding round in femtech pioneer Elvie. London-based Elvie is a revolutionary – and fast-growing – global health and lifestyle brand...
Lawyers in the Bristol office of global law firm Osborne Clarke have advised a start-up aiming to revolutionise the use of real-time data in insurance on its £12m investment. London-based Flock said the Series A funding marked a major milestone in building a global, fully digital insurance company for...
LatchAid, the Bristol firm using innovative technology to revolutionise breastfeeding, is expanding further by launching its new app during World Breastfeeding Week. LatchAid, which is part of the SETsquared Bristol incubator, was set up by Dr Chen Mao Davies, an Oscar and BAFTA-winning expert in computer graphics and animation,...
The South West’s tech businesses have bounced back strongly from the pandemic, according to a new survey, with more than half saying they are now performing better than their pre-Covid levels. Some 96% of tech firm leaders, including founders and directors, said they were optimistic about the future with...
The government’s new Innovation Strategy, which aims to turbo charge the UK’s most pioneering businesses, will fall flat unless its key decisions are devolved to the regions, according to West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris. In his latest broadside against what he sees as over control by Westminster,...
To date, the government has spent more than £372bn on the nation’s response to Covid-19 and while much of the financial support on offer is due to end in a few months’ time, the spiralling costs have had a heavy hit on the public finances. That is why we...
The South West team of LDC, the leading mid-market private equity firm, is predicting significant growth and investment opportunities for small and mid-sized businesses over the coming year as the regional economy recovers from the pandemic. The Bristol-based team completed three deals in the first half of this year...
Bristol tech firms are being invited to follow in the footsteps of some of the city’s most innovative businesses by entering the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 Awards. Now in their 24th year, the awards rank and recognise the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, based on the past...
