Businesses are increasingly falling victim to fraud – most of it committed by their own employees, new figures show. The number of cases in the South West soared by 136% last year to 33, from 14 in 2013, according to accountants KPMG’s latest Fraud Barometer. Thirteen firms in the region were hit by the...
Confidence among West of England businesses petered out at the end of 2014 and has started the new year lower than at any time over the previous 12 months, new research shows. Domestic sales, cashflow and recruitment expectations all fell during the fourth quarter, according to results of the latest business survey by Business...
Visitors to Wiltshire College Chippenham’s open evening this week will also be able to sign up to tour the new campus in-the-making. Due to open this autumn, the £21m building is the UK’s biggest skills funding project and will transform the site into a state-of-the-art facility boasting the latest equipment for vocational study in...
Law firm Withy King, which has offices in Swindon and Marlborough, has been named as one of the UK’s best employers. The firm appears in The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Mid-Sized Companies to Work For with a highly sought after two-star ‘outstanding’ accreditation for the second year running. The accolade recognises the firm’s...
Monday 12 January Trading statement: Taylor Wimpey AGM: Epistem Holdings Tuesday 13 January Trading statements: Ashmore Group, ASOS, Cairn Energy, Carr's Milling Industries, Debenhams, Greggs, Michael Page International, Rathbone Brothers, SIG, William Morrison AGMs: Carr's Milling Industries, Spirit Pub Co EGMs: Alba Mineral Resources, Greene King, Gulfsands Petroleum Economics: British Retail Consortium sales (December),...
Mini has celebrated record annual sales in the UK and announced it is to recruit more apprentices for its production plants, including Swindon. Mini sales reached 53,661last year – 3.3% higher than the previous record set in 2013 and giving the BMW-owned car brand a 2.17% market share. Meanwhile BMW is seeking 47 apprentices...
Proposito, the Malmesbury-based financial planning firm, has attained a prestigious British Standard quality mark just weeks after gaining chartered financial planner status from the Chartered Insurance Institute. Proposito underwent a rigorous process to achieve its BS8577, the only British Standard for financial advice and planning firms. It is just the 15th UK firm to...
Tuffnells Parcels Express, part of Swindon-based Connect Group, has offered jobs to some of the 2,000 drivers affected by the collapse on Christmas Eve of larger rival City Link. Tuffnells, which operates from 34 depots and has a fleet of more than 930 vehicles and 800 trailers in its distinctive green livery, was bought...
UTC Swindon, the university technical college that opened in September, has become an official sponsor of the Swindon Wildcats ice hockey team. The college’s logo will appear on advertising hoardings at the ice rink at the town’s Link Centre – the Wildcats’ home ground. UTC Swindon will also be mentioned in PA and big...
Aria Networks, the leading-edge Chippenham-based tech firm, is planning to strengthen its lead in the fast-growing Software Defined Networking (SDN) market after securing further investment. The firm, whose customers include major US and European telecoms companies, cloud and datacentre operators, and social network providers, is already ahead of its SDN rivals. Its products, developed...
