The Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Chris Price as regional director of commercial banking for the South West, Midlands and Wales. Chris, pictured, will head the commercial banking team responsible for supporting SME customers across the region. Seven local directors of commercial banking will report to him along with their respective relationship management...
Regional law firm Thrings has appointed experienced commercial litigation specialist Caroline Watson as partner in its company commercial team. Caroline, pictured, who based in the firm’s Swindon office, has acted for national and international clients from the financial services, IT, manufacturing and insurance sectors in commercial disputes for more than 12 years. She has...
The number of staff applying for Shared Parental Leave is expected to rise substantially over the next 12 months, according to a survey of Wiltshire employers. Almost two-thirds said they expect employees to apply for time off under the law this year as it becomes better known. Just 36% said they did not expect...
West firms and business organisations need to collaborate more and embrace innovation to help nurture the region’s talent pool, according to the regional president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Speaking to more than 500 delegates at the ICAEW annual dinner in Bristol last week, Rick Sturge said firms needed...
A new operations manager is in the driving seat at Swindon transport company Akcess. Richard Fudge, pictured, is now running day-to-day operations at the not-for-profit, community interest company (CIC), which provides school transport and transport for wheelchair users and elderly people with mobility problems. As well as overseeing operations for Akcess CIC, he is...
Monday 25 April Interims: Avacta, Lok’n Store Finals: Allied Minds, GVC, Randall & Quilter AGMs: Biome Technologies, Hammerson, Minoan, Sterling Energy EGM: Ubisense Economics: CBI trends – total orders, selling prices, business optimism Tuesday 26 April Interims: AB Dynamics, Egdon Resources, Redefine International Finals: boohoo.com, Cambian, Horizon Discovery, Whitbread Trading statements: BP, British American...
One of the most vocal critics of Chippenham’s Business Improvement District (BID) has joined its board, promising to bring passion to his role as a director. Nic Puntis, pictured, who co-owns the town’s Sarah-Jayne’s Café with his wife, slammed the BID last year for what he claimed was a poorly organised Christmas Lights Switch...
Regional law firm Thrings has become the headline business sponsor of Swindon175, the year-long commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the Great Western Railway in the town. Celebrations this year include a programme of community events, art trails, festivals, education, heritage and history exhibitions – including one on renowned railway engineer...
A strong performance by its Parcel Freight division drove up half-year profits at Connect Group, the Swindon-based specialist distribution company. Group pre-tax profits came in 36% higher at £19.2m on sales up 4.2% to £948.4m in the six months to the end of February. Revenues accelerated by 12% to £82.4m at Parcel Freight, formed...
Swindon-based regional construction group Beard is predicting strong growth again this year as it builds on another record set of financial results. Pre-tax profits rose by 24% to £2.9m in the year to December 31 on turnover up 26% at £110.8m following a string of project wins. The family-owned firm’s order book ended the...
