Some of the world’s brightest minds in fintech and investment are being brought together by tech-focused investment bank ICON Corporate Finance to provide a masterclass on successfully raising funds. The expert panel will provide the inside track on how to pitch for investment, whether through a bank, venture capital group or corporate venture capital...
Firms in the South West are among the most pessimistic in the UK about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many expecting to shed jobs when the government’s furlough scheme ends, according to a new survey. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer, which takes the pulse of 1,200 firms across England every month, shows...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, has welcomed the launch today of the government’s Kickstart scheme, which offers subsidised job placements to out-of-work young people. Under the £2bn programme, 16 to 24 year olds claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, will be able to gain six-month work placements. The government...
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the number of profit warnings issued by South West listed businesses to a 20-year high, with those in the travel and leisure sector hardest hit. According to new figures from accountancy group EY, profit warnings soared by 73% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 26 – with 85%...
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...
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...
