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1 week ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday April 14 2025 South West starting salaries have increased for the first time in five months, according to a new report. However, recruitment firms in the region say low confidence around the economic outlook and tighter hiring budgets have weighed on staff recruitment. Softer, but still sharp reductions in demand were meanwhile signalled for both permanent and short-term workers, according to the latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs.
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1 week ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday April 14 2025 A major survey of Thames Valley businesses has found “short-term caution, but longer-term optimism” about their prospects.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Thursday April 10 2025 Insolvency-related activity increased by more than 23 per cent in Wiltshire, the Thames Valley, and the wider South East for the second consecutive month, says R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe indicated a rise in insolvency-related activities from 212 in February to 262 in March.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Thursday April 10 2025 The South West was one of two regions to lead economic growth in the UK last month – an honour shared with London. That’s one of the findings of the latest Regional Growth Tracker from Natwest. Following dips in most regions in January and February, things picked up in March with improvements seen in the South East and Yorkshire and Humber, says the report.
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3 weeks ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday March 31 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison Business confidence in the South West has taken a dip, falling 19 points in March and wiping out the 16-point gains made in January and February, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank. Companies in the region reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 24 points at 30 per cent.
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4 weeks ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Thursday March 27 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison Local businesses and business support organisations have been responding to the Government’s Spring Statement. It might have been a Spring Statement, but green shoot metaphors were thin on the ground as Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her cost-cutting not-a-Budget yesterday (Wednesday).
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1 month ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Tuesday March 25 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison Mid-market firms in South West are freezing their recruitment drives in the face of rising costs, according to a major new survey by accountancy firm Grant Thornton. The firm’s Business Outlook Tracker suggests that 65 per cent of firms say they are reducing or freezing hiring over the next six months – up from 38 per cent in December – shortly after the government’s Autumn Budget announcement.
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1 month ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday March 24 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison Western Gateway – the cross-border body representing a regional powerhouse that spans from Swindon in the east to Swansea in the west – has had its funding scrapped by the government, meaning it will not continue to operate after June this year. The partnership brings together business, academia and leaders from across South Wales and Western England to create economic growth and reach net zero.
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1 month ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday March 24 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison West Berkshire Council has decided to throw in its lot with two councils in Oxfordshire, as local authorities prepare for the government’s devolution plans. The authority would join forces with South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse councils under the proposal, creating a new unitary authority called Ridgeway Council – named after the neolithic track that passes through all three authority areas.
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1 month ago | 
businessbiscuit.com | Peter Davison |Wiltshire Economy
Swindon & Wiltshire Economy Monday March 24 2025 Author Name: Peter Davison Plans to ban cars from Park Street in Bristol have taken another step forward, with Bristol City Council‘s transport committee giving proposals the green light. Councillors approved the £15 million scheme, which will see the major retail destination only used by buses, cyclists and pedestrians. The plan was pushed by members of the ruling Green Party.
