Three Wiltshire firms are among the finalists in the prestigious West of England Business of the Year awards. Avon Rubber and Smiths News line up against four other businesses in the large business category while Qualasept is competing against three firms in the smaller business category. The awards, staged by accountants PwC, have been...
The Von Essen chain of country house hotels has been put up for sale for around £200m and is already attracting ‘huge’ interest, according to agents Christie & Co. The firm has been appointed to sell the 27 prestige hotels either as a portfolio or as individual assets. The hotels include two in Wiltshire...
Forward Swindon, the town’s economic development company, has given its backing to the successful Swindon Mindful Employer Network, which helps local businesses create healthier and more productive workplaces. The network believes business performance and reputation can be influenced by a positive attitude towards mental health and wellbeing at work – an issue that Forward...
Rising inflation and reduced consumer spending have prompted the British Chambers of Commerce to trim its economic growth forecast for the next 18 months. The BCC now predicts the economy will expand by 1.3% this year, against its previous estimate of 1.4%, with growth of 2.2% next year, down from 2.3%. It also believes...
House prices are stuck in the doldrums and inched ahead by just 0.3% in May, the latest survey by the Nationwide building society shows. That leaves prices 1.2 per cent lower than a year ago, prompting Robert Gardner, chief economist at the Swindon-based building society, to say that residential property values and sales are...
The potential for growing the UK's creative economy is being analysed at a high-profile conference taking place near Swindon today. The event, staged by South West Screen, is exploring incubation and acceleration, discussing how to develop successful investments, and examining various sources of finance such as peer to peer lending, micro finance loans, traditional...
A valuable insight into the performance and hopes of entrepreneurial businesses has been launched by advisory firm Deloitte. Entrepreneurship UK: 2011/12 will take the pulse of entrepreneurs and their businesses at a pivotal time for the UK economy. Now in their fourth year, Deloitte's Entrepreneurship UK reports have become an essential way of gauging...
Profits at car giant Honda plunged by 38% during the first three months of this year after production was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And a senior executive at the group warned the second quarter could be even worse as its manufacturing plants outside Japan, including Swindon, continue to be hit...
Public relations agency owner Jo Smyth is the new face at the helm of business networking group NRG’s Swindon branch. Former journalist Jo, who owns and runs PR and copywriting agency Word Worker, takes over at the May 3 meeting. The branch meets on the first Tuesday of the month at The Marriott, Swindon,...
The risk of a double-dip recession eased today with official figures showing the UK economy grew by 0.5% in the first three months of this year. But while Chancellor George Osborne welcomed the return to growth, some economists were voicing concerns over the still-fragile nature of the economy with Labour claiming the recovery has...
