Swindon-based IT recruiter Outsource UK has acquired rival Omnium IT Recruitment, creating a £35m turnover group with 45 staff and 400 contractors working for clients throughout the UK and Europe. Omnium, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was set up in 1999 by Melanie Bose and Rosanne Meek, and has enjoyed significant growth over the past...
Activity levels among South West firms rose last month, although the rate of expansion due to new business slowed, new figures show today. The latest Lloyds TSB South West Business Activity/PMI Index survey, which tracks factors such as output, new orders, employment and prices, shows October’s rate of growth was solid, and stronger than...
Wincanton, the Chippenham-based logistics group, has plunged to a £75.5m half-year loss following the sale of its European operations. It has also revealed plans to sell off its loss-making foodservice division. Revenue fell 5.6% to £1.04bn in the six months to September 30 against the same period last year. The group, which at this...
A business with a very different take on corporate photography has been launched. Worx iD, based at Great Bedwyn, near Marlborough, has been created by career photographer Nigel Hudson and his business partner David Jerram, and offers a comprehensive corporate photography service which provides a competitive alternative to stock photography. Its unique offering is...
Law firm Stone King, which has an office in Melksham, has set up a dedicated traffic team to defend local motorists and deal with an increase in drivers challenging prosecution. The team is made up of five experienced solicitors headed by Emma Haley, an expert in traffic law. Working alongside her is Andrew Banks,...
Brandon Hill Communications has been named Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy of the Year at the West of England PRide Awards. The Bristol-based agency, launched by former Strategy PR boss Ian Muir five years ago, beat a strong field to collect gold in the hotly-contested category. The award crowned a successful evening for Brandon Hill...
The government has been urged to do more to help the UK’s ‘forgotten army’ of medium-sized businesses. The plea has come from the CBI, which today said new measures should be brought in to improve access to finance, especially in the bond markets. Businesses turning over between £10m and £100m represent less than 1%...
Inflation has risen to 5.2%, its highest level for three years, mainly due to soaring gas and electricity bills, new figures released this morning show. The increase will pile more pressure onto hard-pressed households as average wage increases are trailing rising prices. Today’s figures highlight the risk to the Bank of England, which recently...
More than 610,000 passengers passed through Bristol Airport last month, making it the busiest September on record. The 1.5% year-on-year increase meant the monthly total surpassed the previous high of 601,432 in 2008. And despite the tough economic conditions, 2011’s passenger numbers are expected to be close to last year’s total of 5.7m, with...
Trading at Synergy Health, the Swindon-based group specialising in outsourced sterilisation services, has been in line with expectations over the past six month, its shareholders have been told. The group said underlying growth had been in line with recent trend rates during the period to October 2 while margins remained consistent with the same...
