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...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, is aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and has introduced three new steps to help it – and firms across the South West – reach the ambitious target. The organisation, which runs the Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative and represents 23,000 businesses across the region,...
More than two-thirds of high-growth firms in the South West plan to continue to expand next year after adapting for a post-Covid world, new research shows. According to the first survey to chart these businesses during the coronavirus pandemic it has created significant barriers to growth for 58% of South West firms, with operational...
West of England Firms have slammed government financial support for businesses forced to close during the most recent lockdown as grossly inadequate. Some 54% of businesses that were shuttered during November – including restaurants, cafes and non-essential retailers – said the financial assistance covered less than a quarter of their overheads, a new survey...
A third of South West firms still do not know if they will be impacted by Brexit with less than four weeks to go to the end of the UK-EU transition period, according to a new survey. At the same time 46% are worried that Brexit could have a bigger impact on them than...
The award-winning Trading Through Brexit service run by Business West has been relaunched to help companies make crucial last-minute adjustments to the way they operate ahead of the end of the UK-EU transition period. Regardless of whether or not a deal is reached between UK and EU negotiators ahead of deadline on December 31,...
Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, was disappointed with the lack of capital investment promised by the government for the West of England. Policy manager Claire Ralph said: “Some minor funding has been allocated to the West of England Combined Authority for local transport improvements through the Transforming Cities Fund. “Elsewhere...
Business groups have welcomed the investment in infrastructure and jobs in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review but said many firms still needed more help from the government. The CBI praised the Chancellor for making “some bold autumn decisions” to power a spring recovery even as the stark forecasts pointed to tough times ahead. But...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is delivering his much-anticipated Spending Review, outlining how the government will tackle the huge economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The main points so far are: The government is spending £280bn on tackling Covid-19 But the Chancellor says: “The economic damage is likely to be lasting.” Forecast for UK borrowing...
The government has been warned that it cannot “keep switching businesses on and off like a light switch” through Covid-19 related national lockdowns and regional tiers without expecting severe consequences. Instead, firms need a plan that keeps them, and the economy, open throughout winter and beyond, according to Business West, the organisation that runs...
