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...
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...
Staff from Wiltshire specialist inhaler firm Vectura have been barred from attending a pharmaceutical industry conference days after its controversial £1.1bn acquisition by tobacco group Philip Morris International (PMI). In an apparent rebuff by academics over the deal, Chippenham-based Vectura was stripped of its sponsorship of a major lung health conference due to take...
A West of England insolvency expert is calling on Swindon’s bosses to make use of the final month of the government’s furlough scheme to plan for the future. Philip Winterborne, who chairs insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in South West, says directors should review their businesses over the next four weeks and seek...
Optimism among South West firms in the economy is increasing as the region continues to recover from the pandemic, according to a new survey, but businesses have become less confident about their own prospects. The latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking shows confidence levels among firms in the South West dropped month-on-month by four...
Directors in the Swindon area are being invited to enter the top regional awards scheme recognising excellence and enterprise in the boardroom. The annual Institute of Directors’ Director of the Year Awards seek to champion outstanding leaders and entrepreneurs in both the public and private sectors. Award nominations are open to anyone working at director level in...
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a wave of innovation among businesses in Swindon and across the South West, with nearly half saying they pivoted their operations to survive. According to a new Lloyds Bank survey, 46% of firms in the region they were forced to become more creative and innovative in finding new areas of growth. ...
Nearly 70% of South West firms see climate change as a core business factor for them, according to a landmark survey of companies’ attitudes to the key issue – but, alarmingly, 21% have so far taken no action despite mounting concern over its impact. Just under half (46%) of the businesses that consider climate...
Bristol Airport has taken another major step towards fully recovering from the impact of the pandemic with the launch this week of a regular service to Frankfurt. German airline Lufthansa had planned to introduce the direct flights last March but shelved them as Covid-19 took hold across the world – triggering a massive fall...
