The coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the number of profit warnings issued by South West listed businesses to a 20-year high, with those in the travel and leisure sector hardest hit. According to new figures from accountancy group EY, profit warnings soared by 73% year-on-year in the first half of...
Government figures showing another monthly fall in corporate insolvencies are hiding the true picture of the damaging effect of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses, according to the South West branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3. Insolvency Service statistics for June show 732 company insolvencies in England and...
The Future Leap, Bristol’s sustainable business hub, has reopened from lockdown with a new co-working space offering a home to businesses, freelancers and charities interested in developing the green economy. The Future Leap, operated by Bristol’s Future Economy Group, opened on Gloucester Road last year as a UK first,...
Practical ideas on how businesses can continue to support charities during the coronavirus pandemic are to be aired at a webinar hosted by Quartet, the community foundation for the West of England. The third sector is facing its toughest time for a generation with hundreds of thousands of people...
A £10m innovation project to help Bristol businesses make products that are lighter, more fuel efficient and have less waste and so reduce carbon emissions has been officially launched. The Digital Engineering Technology & Innovation (DETI) initiative will play an important role in driving innovation and digitally enabled recovery...
Bristol law firm Gregg Latchams and regional chartered accountants Milsted Langdon have teamed up to launch a ‘Bristol Bounce Back’ initiative to help firms recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The project is supported by an expert panel made up of individuals some of the city’s leading businesses including the Bank of England’s South...
A Bristol refrigeration firm that has helped keep food retailers operating safely during the coronavirus crisis has secured a £2m finance facility from HSBC. A1 Engineering, which works predominantly for large supermarkets, has used the funding to continue operating its service and repair service for them while other parts...
The CBI said Chancellor Rishi Sunak was “absolutely right” to prioritise jobs in his summer statement. Director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, pictured, said: “Flattening the daunting unemployment curve about to hit our country could not be more important. Joblessness scars lives and hits the young and most disadvantaged hardest. “The...
Measures to address the huge economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic announced this week by Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been welcomed by Business West, the region’s largest business group. Matt Griffith, director of policy at Business West – which runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce – described them as impressive...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak kicked-off his economic statement in the Commons by saying the government would do all it could to help prevent job losses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Key points of the statement were: Government will pay £1,000 to businesses for each furloughed employee they bring...
Business confidence has bounced back stronger in the South West than any other part of the UK, according to a new survey – but many firms remain gloomy and one in 10 expects to stay closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The monthly Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial...
Aerospace giant Airbus has confirmed nearly 300 jobs will be axed at its Filton plant as part of a major group-wide redundancy programme. The European planemaker announced plans earlier this week to reduce its UK workforce by 1,700 by the end of next year as it grapples with a...
A coronavirus business bounce-back campaign to encourage UK food and drink producers to break into overseas markets is being spearheaded by the South West’s largest business organisation. Hampers full of British artisan food and drink are being sent all over the world as part of the Business West-led campaign,...
