Business owners have been urged take the lead in helping the recovery of the local economy by Richard Noble, whose Thrust2 programme brought the World Land Speed Record back to Britain in 1983 and subsequently set the first-ever supersonic land speed record. He shared his personal insights and the challenges he...
Bristol Airport has joined a national campaign to cut air passenger duty. The UK has the highest flight tax in the world - 8.5 times more than the European average - and Chancellor George Osborne is planning to increase it by twice the rate of inflation in time for next year's summer...
Regional private sector growth in activity continued to slow in June, according to the Lloyds TSB South West Business Activity Index. Having been the strongest-performing UK region at the start of 2011, the South West was one of the weakest at the end of the second quarter. This was...
Demand for office space in the centre of Bristol is holding up well although the out-of-town market continues to be patchy, according to Bristol office agents Jones Lang LaSalle (formerly King Sturge). Their figures for the first half of the year show that take-up in the city centre totalled...
Ian Sharper has been appointed finance director at The Bristol Port Company, taking over from Richard Harvey who is retiring after 19 years with the company. Ian, who has been financial controller at the port since January 2008, trained as a chartered in York, before working abroad for PricewaterhouseCoopers...
Collett Transport Services has become title sponsor for the 2011 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, a package worth more than £120,000. A hot air balloon with carry the company’s brand at the next month's event which is expected to attract half a million people over the four days between August 11-14. The...
Interest rates were pegged at a record low 0.5% today as the Bank of England continued to worry about the weakness of the economic recovery. The widely-expected decision means interest rates have stood still since March 2009. Inflation may have soared to more than double the Bank's 2% target, members of...
Budget airline easyJet, the largest operator at Bristol Airport, is to increase the frequency on 15 of its routes from the airport, providing an extra 10,000 seats for passengers this summer. The extra flights have gone on sale today to provide additional capacity on popular summer holiday routes from...
South Gloucestershire Leisure, the organisation appointed by South Gloucestershire Council five years ago to operate and manage its leisure centres, has rebranded as Circadian Trust in a move aimed at further growth. The leisure centres in Bradley Stoke, Kingswood, Patchway, Downend, Yate, Longwell Green and Thornbury, attract 1.9m annual visits, have an annual turnover...
Major business could be heading in the direction of the Airbus operation in Filton which is responsible for developing "sharklet" wingtips – the key to improved performance on the new, best selling A320neo 150-seat airliner. The European planemaker is reported to be planning to offer large winglet retrofits...
Bristol is emerging from the recession as the Shopping Capital of the South West, it was claimed today. Retail units in the prestige Cabot Circus development are 97% let – and the rest of Broadmead is experiencing an upward trend in business. The comments come from Destination Bristol operations...
The £2.5bn Business Growth Fund, which will invest in small and medium-sized firms, has opened its Bristol office with former 3i regional director Paul Oldham at the helm. The Fund, financed by the UK’s clearing banks, will inject between £2m and £10m for minority stakes in companies based in...
A three-boat flotilla carrying a selection of colourful, life-sized gorilla sculptures toured Bristol’s Floating Harbour today to launch Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas – a mass public art trail across the city. Some 60 unique gorilla sculptures are being placed around Bristol’s streets and parks over the next few days...
