Monthly Archives: June 2011

Hotels find room for improvement

June 15, 2011
By

Bristol's hotels had a quiet April despite what should have been a winning combination of three Bank Holidays, warm weather and tourist interest in the royal wedding.   Figures released by accountants PKF show occupancy was up just 0.3% to 67.4% compared with April, 2010 but rooms yield fell...

Read more »

South West housing market activity stumbles

June 14, 2011
By
South West housing market activity stumbles

The hoped-for spring bounce in the South West’s housing market failed to occur during May, as fears over the economy and lack of mortgage finance continued to depress activity levels, according to the latest RICS UK Housing Market. The average number of completed sales per surveyor fell in the...

Read more »

Thatchers boost production with new plant

June 14, 2011
By
Thatchers Bottling Hall 2011

Cider makers Thatchers have taken another step towards growing volume sales by a remarkable 25% this year following the installation of one of the most advanced bottling and packaging facilities in the UK.    The North Somerset company has invested £2.5m in cutting-edge Krones machinery to fill, cap and label...

Read more »

Harding Brothers – shopping all at sea

June 14, 2011
By
boat

Ken Rees profiles an Avonmouth firm with a worldwide reputation – even though it is little known in Bristol and the South West Harding Brothers is a world leader in the specialised business of operating retail shops on luxury cruise ships. Its designer shops can be found all over...

Read more »

Economic recovery slow and fragile in South West say reports

June 13, 2011
By

Growth in the South West economy weakened last month to its lowest for nine months as businesses struggled against a near collapse in new orders, new research shows today. The gloomy data, from the Lloyds TSB South West Business Activity Index, follows similarly downbeat findings from the ICAEW/Grant Thornton...

Read more »

Ultimate investor raises stake

June 13, 2011
By

Ultimate Finance, the Bristol-based factoring specialist which helps small to medium size enterprises (SMEs)  manage their cash flow, today dismissed any thought of a takeover developing following the Stock Exchange announcement this morning that Helium Special Situations Fund has increased its stake in the company to 19.4%.  Chief executive...

Read more »

No smoke, less Imperial profits fire

June 13, 2011
By

Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco today issued a profits warning as a result of fierce competition in Spain. Late last month, Imperial's Altadis business in Spain slashed prices of its Ducados Rubio, Fortuna and Nobel brands to match cuts by key competitor Philip Morris International following the drop in consumption since Spain banned smoking...

Read more »

Thai Airways orders add up for Airbus

June 13, 2011
By

Thai Airways, which has ambitions to become one of the world's top five airlines, has unveiled plans ahead of the Paris Air Show to acquire a combination of 37 Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth £2.4bn ($3.9bn). It plans to buy 15 aircraft and lease 22. The planned purchases include six...

Read more »

Suitors line up for Bristol Water

June 13, 2011
By
tap-water

Japanese trading conglomerate Mitsui and Wessex Water are both in the frame today as possible suitors for Bristol Water. The company, which has 1.1m consumers on its books, was put up for sale earlier this month – with bids due in three weeks. It was snapped up five years...

Read more »

No electrification for Weston rail line

June 10, 2011
By

The rail link between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare will not be part of the £1bn electrification of the London/Bristol/Cardiff route, the Department for Transport has ruled. The West of England Partnership wrote to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond following his announcement of the mainline project in March to see if Weston...

Read more »

Directors win top awards

June 10, 2011
By

Two Bristol directors won accolades last night at the IoD South West Director of the Year Awards. Neil Douglas, managing director of control systems specialist Viper Subsea, collected the director of the year award while St Peter's Hospice chief executive Sandie Foxall-Smith was named public sector director of the year.  IoD...

Read more »

People

June 10, 2011
By
People

  TLT signs up more young legal beagles Top 100 law firm TLT – which has offices in Bristol and London – has offered roles to almost 90% of its trainee solicitors qualifying this month. Being retained by the firm after completing their two-year training contracts are Duncan Coats,...

Read more »

Rovers plan £60m stadium at UWE

June 9, 2011
By
0,,10328~9728211,00

Bristol Rovers have announced £60m plans to build a 20,000 all-seater arena at the University of the West of England's Frenchay campus. Subject to planning permission, Rovers could start work early next year and be playing in the new stadium during the 2013/14 season. The proposed stadium will be...

Read more »

ADVERTISE HERE

Reach tens of thousands of senior business people across Bristol for just £120 a month. Email info@bristol-business.net for more information.