Investment group BGF’s South West team overcame challenges sparked by the coronavirus pandemic to invest a record amount last year. Some £67m was injected into businesses in 2020 – up on the £37m achieved in 2019 and overtaking the previous record of £50m in 2018. The new investments take BGF’s total funding in the...
Small and medium-sized manufacturers in Swindon are being encouraged to have their say on trading beyond Brexit as part of an influential industry survey. The quarterly Manufacturing Barometer is the UK’s largest survey of its kind and is looking to find out how companies are coping with the early months of life after leaving the...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged to extend business rates relief beyond its March 31 cut-off point to avoid further pressure on firms struggling from lockdown restrictions. The call has come from Business West, the region’s largest business group and the organisation behind the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and...
Swindon firms struggling with post-Brexit trade complications are being urged to get expert advice and support by Business West, the region’s largest business organisation. With the UK now outside of the European Union as of December 31, businesses must adhere to new rules and regulations when trading with the EU. As reports emerge of how...
Regional alternative finance lender SWIG Finance has strengthened its board again with a non-executive director appointment as it prepares for its new chair to take up her role. The arrival of Chris Butters, pictured, who has considerable non-executive director and senior executive experience, comes ahead of Christine Allison taking over from current chair Malachy McReynolds. ...
Directors at Chippenham-based specialist pharmaceutical firm Vectura expect its 2020 financial results to be better than they expected following approval of its latest asthma treatment in the US. The firm will also benefit from millions of dollars in royalties and damages paid by pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) following a US court case over infringement while...
Business West, the region’s largest business group, has broken with its traditional method of recruiting for its board to take on three new non-executive directors. The £10m turnover group, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, said the move was designed to access a wider talent pool that represented the full range of the...
Swindon’s small businesses can access help and advice to grow internationally through a new, free, post-Brexit programme. The Export Academy involves overseas trade experts from the Department for International Trade (DIT) hosting a series of online workshops and events offering advice and support directly to business owners. The programme has been designed for businesses...
Malachy McReynolds, the chair of regional alternative finance lender SWIG Finance, is to step down in March after five years in the role. He will be replaced by Christine Allison, a former lead economist for the World Bank, who has been a non-executive director of SWIG Finance for the past three-and-a-half years. During that...
The latest lockdown will be another “body blow” to Swindon firms, coming after the uncertainty caused by Brexit and lost trade in the run-up to Christmas, the region’s biggest business group warned today. Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, said firms that had survived so far with Covid-related support from the...
