According to new data from Lloyds Bank, companies in the region have reported this month an increase in confidence and their own business prospects to its highest level so far this year. Although still at a relatively low level, the direction of travel is certainly cause for a degree of optimism, especially in the light of so many negatives currently impacting the economy generally. For the full …
Great news for The Great South West which encompasses Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and the Isles of Scilly – the region is set to receive up to £7.5m of investment to boost innovation and growth to bolster its strengths in the marine and maritime sectors. For the fuller picture please read the bulletin below which was issued today by Insider New Media.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beards…
According to new research by FRP, 96% of manufacturers in the South West expect to see demand for their products increase in the next 12 months (compared with a national average of 87%). This optimism augers well for the future of the region’s economy, especially in the light of relatively high current inflation and interest rates. For the full story please read the bulletin below issued by Insid…
According to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, the South West region reported its highest reading since February 2022. For the fuller picture please read the article below which was issued by Insider News Media today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 31st August 2023
South West business confidence on the rise - Lloyds
Business…
The South West Investment Fund (SWIF) – a government-backed fund which was unveiled in July 2023 by the British Bank – will bring much needed extra capital into the region. SWIF is the first in a series of six new Nations and Regions Investment Funds and it offers a range of commercial finance options with loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment up to £5m. It is designed to increase the …
One of these is a £6.5m investment in a further phase of the Oceangate development, whilst the other is a £9.1m investment in industrial units at Langage Business Park (at Plympton, Plymouth). These investments add to the ongoing development of the Freeport in Plymouth and South Devon – a zone designated by the Government with certain tax and other allowances/benefits – which will create thousand…
Since its launch (by the British Bank and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership in 2018) the fund has to date invested £21m and attracted a further £80m of private investment. This has vastly improved access to finance for SMEs in the area, which in turn has helped unlock potential for growth in the local economy, improved skills and innovation and boosted business resilie…
Work on the redevelopment of Portland Port, which commenced last September, continued this year with the creation of a new deep-water berth which has just been officially opened. This redevelopment is a great vote of confidence in the port and sets the scene for significant further growth from which the local economy will undoubtedly benefit through jobs and the supply chain. For further details …
According to The British Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker, the South West achieved 155 equity deals during 2022 and was one of only 2 regions recording an increase for that year. This result (worth circa £540m) was down in value compared with the previous year, but 2021 (a record year for the region) included several £50m-plus deals. For the fuller picture please read the news bulletin…
According to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Commercial Banking, companies in the region reported higher confidence in their prospects during April – a 14 points increase to 43% compared with the previous month. For more details in respect of this encouraging news please read the news bulletin below issued today by Insider News Media.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds…
Business advisory firm BDO has reported that 793 transactions involving UK manufacturers were achieved during 2022 compared with 779 in the previous year and up from 595 in 2020. For specific details relating to this result please read the news bulletin below issued today by Insider News Media.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 3rd April 2023
UK MANUFACTURING DEALS…
The Great South West APPG – a government backed partnership involving Members of Parliament, local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (APPG is an acronym of All Party Parliamentary Group) – is the newly launched economic powerhouse promoting the Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset and Dorset region. It aims to promote the region’s blue and green assets and to become a major cont…
Having recently secured final approval from the government, it’s now full steam ahead for the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport initiative. It is now set to receive £25m of seed funding (and potentially considerably more in retained business rates) to upgrade infrastructure and stimulate regeneration. Moreover, with various allowances to boost the economy, it is fully expected to attract signific…
According to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Commercial Banking, companies in the region reported much greater confidence in their trading prospects than they had in the previous month. This, together with their optimism for the economy generally, is fairly encouraging given the current state of the economic environment, especially as this is the first rise seen in business confidence f…
The Heart of the South West LEP has awarded £208,000 to the region’s Growth Hub to fund its continued services from March 2023. Given the fact that many of the businesses in the South West are being negatively impacted by the current economic climate, this important award will enable the Growth Hub to further assist companies with its offering of dedicated support to help with long term planning,…
According to the British Business Bank’s second annual Nations and Regions Tracker the South West region’s equity finance market is growing at the fastest rate in the UK! This is really encouraging and reflects a combination of the positive appetite South West SMEs, in particular, have shown for equity finance and the attractiveness of the region (which is known to be something of a ‘hotbed’ of i…
The South West International Fund, being launched next year by the BBR, is forecast to yield a £1.6m commitment of new backing to help drive growth throughout the region. This should prove to increase levels of private debt lending and equity investment in the South West – which is currently well below what could be expected given the region’s share of the UK’s SMEs. For the fuller picture on thi…
EY’s latest Regional Economic Forecast shows that the South West is set to be one of only two UK regions forecast to close the economic gap to London by 2025. It is expected to be 9% larger in 3 years’ time than it was in 2019. For the full picture please read the news bulletin below issued by Insider Media today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 1st February 2022
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Business confidence in the South West continues to rise and is currently at a 3 year high – according to the latest (October 2021) Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. This comes on the back of steadily increasing business optimism throughout the year – something which has definitely permeated the business and corporate transfer market, where ever increasing buyer demand has le…
Despite continuing to experience supply chain and recruitment problems, SME manufacturers are continuing to bounce back from the pandemic as indicated in the latest Manufacturing Barometer which reports that 64% of companies surveyed expect their businesses to grow over the next 6 months whilst 52% plan to invest in capital equipment. For the complete picture please read the news bulletin below w…
If you have been contemplating selling your business you may be wondering if now could be a sensible time to bite the bullet! If so, you will undoubtedly find the following information helpful.
The prospects for selling a business (on a goodwill & fixed assets basis) or a company (via a shares transfer) have improved very significantly during the last few months. Enquiries from prospective purch…
This is a question we are constantly being asked, especially by business owners who have been contemplating selling their businesses. The short answer is : It’s a bit like the ‘curate’s egg’ – good in parts. To be more precise, there are more prospective buyers than we have ever known currently looking for quality businesses in the market sectors in which we specialise – industrial, commercial an…
Advice to business owners is always – plan your exit from the business well in advance. Groom the business to maximise its saleability. Choose the timing with care.
Unfortunately, while most people accept the sense of this, in practice it usually doesn’t happen, often because the decision to sell is made quite suddenly and once it is made there is a desire to sell as soon as possible. This mean…
Since late 2016 there has been a general reduction in the number of businesses coming onto the market. It is generally understood that business owners, who in principle would like to sell, have been demonstrating a reluctance to commit to taking the necessary decision to do so. They have been citing all sorts of reasons for this, including the current state of the economy (national and global), g…
