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...
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...
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,...
Bristol’s small businesses are being offered the chance to get free help to manage their finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to a new programme launched by West of England Mayor Tim Bowles. The accountancy support programme is being delivered in partnership with the Institute of...
BBC Radio’s Bristol-based in-house production division – previously called BBC Radio & Music Production – is to relaunch on Monday as BBC Audio with a new development unit focused on podcasts. The BBC said the Creative Development Unit (CDU) will ‘turbocharge’ the production division’s podcast ambitions. The popularity of...
A pioneering project involving many of Bristol’s leading creative businesses, alongside both its universities and a number of its arts groups, is aiming to make the South West an international trailblazer in screen-based media. The MyWorld initiative could generate more than 700 jobs across the region through new digital...
Bristol science and tech hub Future Space has teamed up with city-based communications agency Purplefish to launch a programme of advice and support to businesses for businesses across the South West. The free, virtual advisory sessions have been helping firms based at the hub on UWE Bristol’s Frenchay campus...
An online service promising impartial financial advice for Bristol firms on funding options has been launched by Business West, the region’s largest business organisation. According to Business West, which runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce, its Finance Hub will be free from confusing jargon or any hard sell, enabling businesses...
Business groups have cautiously backed the reduction of many coronavirus lockdown restrictions announced earlier this week by the Prime Minister. But they also warned that other measures to boost the economy were still needed to avoid widespread business failures and job losses. In a major boost to the West...
A surprise fall in the number of corporate insolvencies could herald the ‘calm before the storm’, the South West branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 has warned. Figures published by the Insolvency Service show a 30% drop in companies going bust at the height of the coronavirus...
Hachette UK, one of the UK’s largest publishers, is looking for a base in Bristol after inviting its London-based staff to name the cities in which they would like to live. Hachette UK, part of the giant Hachette French publishing group with a roster of authors that includes Stephen...
Pioneering touchless technology developed in Bristol is helping US cinemas re-open as the country emerges from its Covid-19 lockdown Bristol-headquartered tech pioneer Ultraleap has signed a deal with US electronic media giant CEN to use its haptic technology in interactive cinema lobby advertising – so allowing brands to continue...
