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...
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...
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...
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,...
The Bank of England has kept interest rates at their record low following a flurry of recent data showing the fragile nature of the UK's economic recovery, Rates have been pegged at 0.5% for 27 consecutive months despite spiraling inflation. The move will be welcomed by homeowners and small...
Bristol Water's Spanish owners, Agbar, have called in US bank Citigroup to advise on a possible sale of the company, according to the Financial Times. The Spanish company, which is majority-owned by France's Suez Environment, could expect to get around £370m from a sale compared to the £362m – including...
Shares in Bristol-based marketing software company smartFOCUS have been traded for the last time following its £25.3m acquisition by Emailvision Holdings. The deal, agreed on April 11, saw smartFOCUS shareholders receive 25p a share, representing a premium of 61.3% to the latest closing price. Separately, smartFOCUS reported an...
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership has named a largely derelict area covering 173 acres behind Temple Meads station as the area's first official Enterprise Zone to act as a magnet for inward investment and create thousands of new jobs. It is estimated more than 250 businesses can be...
Some 82% of wealthy individuals aged 45 or under deliberately avoid information about how the market or their portfolio is performing – that's one of the quirkier findings to emerge from Risk and Rules: The Role of Control in Financial Decision Making, a survey commissioned by Barclays Wealth of 400...
The UK’s best tax team in a law firm is based at Burges Salmon in Bristol – according to Taxation magazine’s national Taxation Awards 2011. Teamwork, innovation and service excellence were all major factors in the team's success. Led by partners Nigel Popplewell and John Barnett, it was singled out for...
Jelf is on the look-out for bolt-on acquisitions. The Yate-based financial services consultancy specialising in insurance, employee benefits, healthcare and financial planning, reported a 49% rise in operating profits in what it described as a challenging climate during the six months to March 31. Revenue was flat at £35m...
Three Bristol firms are among the finalists in the prestigious West of England Business of the Year awards. Insurance brokers Brightside Group and Bristol Airport line up against four other businesses in the large business category while Magmatic, maker of the Trunki children's ride-on suitcase, is competing against three...
The Von Essen chain of country house hotels has been put up for sale for around £200m and is already attracting ‘huge’ interest, according to agents Christie & Co. The firm has been appointed to sell the 27 prestige hotels either as a portfolio or as individual assets. The...
