Pre-tax profits at Swindon-based retail giant WH Smith edged ahead by 3% to £66m in the six months to February 29 despite sales tumbling from £686m to £665m. Chief executive Kate Swann said in a statement to shareholders: “Our high street business continues to deliver strong cash generation, with gross margin improvement and costs...
Developers of large warehouses – so-called big sheds – are starting to buy sites in the West, positioning themselves for an upturn in demand, according to commercial property advisors GVA. However, the firm’s annual Industrial Intelligence report warns that the region is facing a shortage of good quality accommodation because of the lack of speculative development. GVA’s industrial...
A rare glimpse of economic growth this summer has been signalled by a leap in the region’s businesses’ output expectations, according to the latest business trends report by accountants and business advisors BDO. But the recovery will still be long and slow. The firm’s Output Index, which points to business conditions three months ahead,...
Higher food prices pushed up inflation in March to 3.5% from 3.4% the previous month, according to figures today from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It said the price of fruit, bread, cereals and meat had increased slightly while this time last year they were falling, triggering the slight rise in annual inflation....
Calling all PAs – and their bosses. We are looking for the PAs who go the extra mile in helping their organisations reach their potential, who make a real difference to their managers and who play key roles in delivering excellence in the workplace. Swindon Business News and its partner websites Bristol Business News...
An event highlighting the advantages for businesses of promoting physical well-being and a healthy workforce takes place at Swindon’s Jurys Inn this Thursday. The session is staged by the Swindon Mindful Employer Network and Swindon Borough Council’s Challenge Swindon and Active@Work initiatives. Among the guest speakers will be Tracey Scarr of Swindon-based fleet car...
Business owners looking to realise their firms’ potential can get useful advice at The Swindon Business Growth Show next month. Held at Swindon’s Menzies Hotel, the free one-day show on May 22 is expected to attract hundreds of like-minded business owners and decision makers who will be able to visit the business exhibition and...
Interest rates have been pegged at 0.5% by the Bank of England for another month. The Bank also said there would be no change to its quantitative easing (QE) programme which aims to get money into the economy. Rates have been at 0.5% since March 2009 as the long hoped for economic recovery fails...
Jelf, the independent consultancy which provides a broad range of insurance, financial services and employee benefits to corporates and individuals, says it "has enjoyed a positive start to the year" and is trading in line with expectations. Part of Jelf’s employee benefits business is located in Wootton Bassett and the Yate-based group has a...
Regional renewable energy group Regen SW has hit a new milestone – 200 organisations have joined within just 15 months to support its mission to enable ground-breaking renewable energy projects and low carbon jobs. This achievement comes as new figures show renewable energy share of electricity generated jumped from 7% to 9.5% across the...
