The CBI said Chancellor Rishi Sunak was “absolutely right” to prioritise jobs in his summer statement this afternoon. Director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, pictured, said: “Flattening the daunting unemployment curve about to hit our country could not be more important. Joblessness scars lives and hits the young and most disadvantaged hardest. “Today’s jobs plan is an...
Measures to address the huge economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic announced this afternoon by Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been welcomed by Business West, the region’s largest business group. Matt Griffith, director of policy at Business West – which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative – described them as impressive but also added that...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is making his economic statement in the Commons. He said the government would do “all we can” to help prevent job losses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The main points were: Government will pay £1,000 to businesses for each furloughed employee they bring back and retain until January. Cut in...
Business confidence has bounced back stronger in the South West than any other part of the UK, according to a new survey – but many firms remain gloomy and one in 10 expects to stay closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The monthly Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking had shown a huge...
Swindon-headquartered law firm Thrings has appointed two senior associates - succession and tax expert Gavin Smith and commercial property specialist Natalie Day – to advise the firm’s fast-growing portfolio of land development and private wealth clients. Gavin, who joins Thrings’ Bath office, advises on all aspects of private client law, including succession and estate planning, tax,...
Clean energy group Good Energy has taken effective control of Zap-Map, the popular app for the UK’s 300,000 electric vehicle (EV) drivers in which it bought a minority stake last year. Chippenham-based Good Energy snapped up a 12.9% share in Zap-Map’s parent company Next Green Car in March last year for just over £1m...
An online service promising impartial financial advice for Swindon firms on funding options has been launched by Business West, the region’s largest business organisation. According to Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, its Finance Hub will be free from confusing jargon or any hard sell, enabling businesses to decide what sort...
Business groups have cautiously backed the reduction of many coronavirus lockdown restrictions announced this afternoon by the Prime Minister. But they also warned that other measures to boost the economy were still needed to avoid widespread business failures and job losses. In a major boost to the West of England’s vital tourism and hospitality...
A surprise fall in the number of corporate insolvencies could herald the ‘calm before the storm’, the South West branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 has warned. Figures published by the Insolvency Service show a 30% drop in companies going bust at the height of the coronavirus crisis in May compared to...
Wiltshire-based MDS Technologies, which supplies cloud and insfrastructure services to the government, has merged with a managed IT services firm as both benefit from increased demand linked to home working during the lockdown. MDS, which its headquarters in Chippenham and a data centre in Corsham, supplies managed cloud and infrastructure packages to a number...
