An outline planning application for Swindon town centre's massive Union Square development has been submitted to the borough council. The multi-million pound, mixed-use scheme on 17 acres either side of Fleming Way will include 450 homes, 600,000 sq ft of high-quality offices, a new Primary Care Trust headquarters, a 100-bed hotel, 145,000 sq ft...
Two new shops have opened at the Swindon Designer Outlet. Footwear store Kurt Geiger and design-led nursery brand Mamas & Papas join more than 90 designer and high street brands in the McArthurGlen-owned centre at Churchward, part of Europe’s leading designer retail group. The Kurt Geiger store is the third in the McArthurGlen UK...
Demand for commercial property in the South West rose strongly during the first three months of this year, according to the latest RICS UK Commercial Market Survey. Some 20 per cent more surveyors in the region reported increases rather than falls in demand, up dramatically from the previous three months. Demand for industrial space...
Margins and profits improved at Avon Rubber despite revenues falling due to defence spending delays in the US. The high-tech rubber products provider, whose products span military gas masks to diary equipment, said sales declined by 15 per cent to £48 million in the six months to March 31 against the same period last...
Interest rates were kept on hold again by the Bank of England today, delivering relief for homeowners and businesses. The Bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) pegged the base rate at 0.5% for the 26th month running despite inflation staying stubbornly at twice its targetted level. Economists had expected the MPC to raise rates...
A combination of intense pressure on profits, increased bank debt and the imminent arrival of so-called 'Tesco law' could put some legal firms out of business, according to a new report. The stark warning comes from accountants and business advisers Grant Thornton, who claim that the outlook for many law firms has been transformed...
House prices slipped by 0.2% last month with the average price of a home now 1.3% lower than it was this time last year, according to the latest research from Nationwide. However, the Swindon-based building society said the three-month on three-month measure, which it called a better way of the gauging the underlying trend,...
UK manufacturing suffered an unexpected sharp slowdown in new orders last month, triggering fears that the one bright spot in the economy could be faltering. The latest Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI survey shows growth at its weakest in seven months in April with manufacturers blaming dwindling domestic demand. The Japanese tsunami and earthquake also disrupted...
Swindon Mayor Rex Barnett has opened a walk-in natural pedicure store in the Brunel Shopping Centre. Dr Spafish is the second of its kind to open in Swindon in recent months, offering a unique service whereby Garra Rufa fish work through the build up of hard skin on the heels and soles of the...
