A Bristol-based coffee brand is to expand its reach and strengthen its team after securing a loan from alternative regional funder SWIG Finance. TrueStart Coffee, which is led by entrepreneurial husband-and-wife team Helena and Simon Hills, will use the £158,000 loan to take advantage of growth opportunities with new...
Eight independent Bristol food and drink businesses have been given the chance to sell to thousands of potential customers at this year’s Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. The fledgling traders have been selected to take part in a new scheme launched this year by the iconic event’s organisers, which aims...
Bristol-based ‘disruptive educator’ boomsatsuma has shown Labour’s Shadow Culture Secretary and Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire how ethical funding can improve communities, culture and learning. It also urged her to ensure a future Labour government would reform education funding to enable it to help more young people from often-marginalised communities across...
The University of Bristol’s groundbreaking, £225m Isambard-AI phase one supercomputer is now live – and has immediately been crowned as the UK’S fastest and most powerful as well as the world’s second greenest. Scientists will soon be able to use Isambard-AI, pictured in its temporary housing, for research not...
Bristol craft brewery and pub chain Butcombe is to launch a new brand with the aim of becoming the South of England’s leading operator of premium pubs with overnight accommodation. Called Butcombe Boutique Inns (BBI), the brand will provide guests with what Butcombe is calling a “unique, personalised and...
Lawyers in the Bristol office of international law firm Osborne Clarke have advised on three multi-million pound deals involving businesses in the artificial intelligence, advertising and renewable energy sectors. The firm advised Abound, the consumer arm of Fintern, one of the UK’s fastest-growing fintechs using artificial intelligence (AI) and...
Freelancers working in Bristol’s creative sector can access grants of up to £2,000 to develop their skills or create new work. The payments have been made available under a special £200,000 fund launched by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). With freelancers making up 47% of workers in...
Bristol’s burgeoning reputation as a leading centre for the film and TV industry has put it in the running for a prestigious global production industry award. The city has been shortlisted in the 2024 Global Productions Awards, which take place during Cannes Film Festival on 20 May. Now in...
Three very different Bristol firms are among the latest winners in the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise scheme. ‘Intelligent video’ firm One Big Circle has received its award in the Innovation category while Pitchmark Group, which helps mark the lines on football pitches across the globe, is now the...
Key organisations in Bristol’s business community have signed up to support the city’s iconic International Balloon Fiesta. Among the firms sponsoring the event, now in its 46th year, are aerospace giant Airbus, which has its main wing design centre at Filton, electric-car manufacturer Tesla and upmarket restaurant chain The...
Ultra-athlete Dion Leonard, who runs distances of 250-plus miles in some of the world’s toughest conditions, has told West of England business leaders they too can overcome huge challenges – if they are determined. Dion, pictured, was guest speaker at accountancy body ICAEW West of England’s annual dinner in...
Bristol firms are being urged to link up with the UK’s biggest nature festival taking place in the city next month, when they will be able to get involved in a host of activities. Among events targeted at businesses during the 21st annual Festival of Nature will be roundtables on...
Another business survey has pointed to a dramatic bounce back in confidence among South West firms as the outlook on inflation and interest rates improves. Results of the quarterly survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) show optimism levels soared by 40 percentage points to their highest level...
