Michael Blaken, head of accounts at Swindon-based Optimum Professional Services, which provides legal and accounting services to businesses, individuals and families, said there seemed very little in the Budget that hadn’t already been announced or that was noteworthy. The measures were generally aimed at helping people on low incomes, or businesses in specific sectors, Michael,...
Business groups have welcomed a number of measures in yesterday’s Budget but said Chancellor Rishi Sunak could have done more to encourage investment. The CBI, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors, described it overall as business friendly, with its director-general Tony Danker saying the Chancellor had shown a...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his Autumn Budget and Spending Review. The main points are: Chancellor began speaking at 12:34pm Employment is up and wages are rising, he said. Budget prepares for a new economy post-Covid, he said. “An economy fit for a new age of optimism.” Higher inflation was a global problem, said the...
The potential of hydrogen to transform the West of England’s economy, from its transport to the way its homes are heated, is to be explored by a new consortium of businesses and universities. The group, which includes many of the region’s largest firms such as Airbus and EDF, was launched at an event at...
Renewable power supplier Good Energy has said it remains positive over long-term opportunities in the highly volatile UK energy market due to its experience and its hedging policy. The Chippenham-headquartered firm is 90% hedged for the next 12 months, which its chief executive officer Nigel Pocklington insisted would help limit its exposure to soaring...
Business West, the region’s largest business group, has been certified as a B Corporation, joining an elite, forward-looking global community that balances profit with people and the planet. The B Corp movement encourages organisations to take an ethical approach to business to make a positive difference in the world. To gain its certification, businesses...
The South West’s key sectors could suffer irreparable damage unless the government starts to tackle the shortage of workers by easing EU visa restrictions, the region’s business leaders today warned. But even providing temporary visas for jobs such as drivers and food workers would only be a short-term measure and ministers must also come...
Passengers boarding flights at Bristol Airport are travelling between the terminal and their plane by electric bus in the latest trial scheme to reduce its emissions. The airport announced its ambition last month to become Net Zero by 2030. If it is successful, Bristol would be the first UK airport to do so. Bristol said...
A scheme originally set up by regional group Business West to help food firms from across the South West sell abroad is competing for a prestigious international award. The online platform’s aim was initially to close the exporting gap with other UK regions. Now rebranded as The Great British Food Programme, it has evolved...
The chief executive of Wiltshire green utility business Good Energy, one of the UK’s oldest 100% renewable power suppliers, today called for major reforms to the crisis-hit energy market as consumers face soaring bills and food shortages and rival firms teeter on the edge of insolvency. Nigel Pocklington, pictured, of Chippenham-headquartered Good Energy said the “risky approach”...
