According to the EY Regional Economic Forecast, the South West (along with the South East and Northern Ireland) is set to be the joint second fastest-growing regional economy in the UK between 2025 and 2028. It is projected to achieve average annual GVA growth of 1.6% - just 0.1% lower than London and East of England (which are predicted to be the joint top fastest growing regions).
For more det…
The NatWest South West Growth Tracker showed a slight increase in business activity across the region in February (having also showed an uptick during the previous month). Only firms in the Midlands, out of 12 UK regions, were more upbeat than the South West about the year-ahead outlook.
For the fuller picture please read the article below issued by Insider News today.
Roger Mundy, Managing…
A survey conducted by Thin Cats has revealed that many UK based owner-managed businesses believe that the business environment will improve during 2025. This includes 40% of the businesses surveyed believing that their deal volumes will increase during the first half of the year, whilst 44% expect market conditions to remain stable.
For the fuller picture on this subject, please read the article…
The South West Growth Tracker Business Activity Index in December was, at 49.7, close to the 50.0 ‘no change’ mark. Interestingly, however, although firms reported that output volumes had been negatively impacted by the Autumn Budget, high borrowing costs and cautious client spending, they were still confident that output would rise during 2025.
For more detail, please read the article below whi…
According to Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s latest Business Barometer (which surveys 1,200 businesses every month), business confidence in the South West increased by 9 points to 37% during August. In addition, a net balance of 12% of businesses across the region said that they expected to increase staff levels over the next 12 months. For the full picture please read the bulletin below issued …
New and high growth businesses in the south west’s blue/green economy can now benefit from the English Freeport tax benefits extension window – the previously agreed 5-year window now extends until September 2031.
For the fully story please read the bulletin below which was issued by Insider News Media today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 2nd August 2024
P…
According to BDO LLP’s latest bi-monthly Economic Engine survey, some 43% of mid-sized businesses in the South West plan to spend upwards of £3m in search of growth over the next 5 years. For the full story please read the bulletin below which was issued by Insider News Media today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 22nd July 2024
South West businesses plan multimi…
Two new reports estimate that South Wales and Western England economies are likely to grow by 1.4% between 2024 and 2029 – attributed to the areas’ skilled workforce, world-leading industry and high-tech businesses with strong sectors in cyber, green energy, aerospace, creative and fintech.
For the full picture please read the bulletin below issued today by Insider News Media.
Roger Mundy, …
According to the NatWest’s ‘South West Growth Tracker’ June 2024 saw the strongest upturn in business activity in over two years! Coupled with efficiency gains and cost savings achieved, business owners in the region are said to be looking forward with improved optimism to foreseen better market conditions following the general election. For the full picture please read the article below issued t…
According to the latest NatWest South West PMI Business Activity Index economic growth in the region improved in May which heralded the strongest rate of expansion in the last 13 months.
This is clearly encouraging news and hopefully augers well for the future.
For the full story please read the article below which was issued by Insider News Media Ltd. today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Dire…
According to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, business confidence in the region rose by 25 points during April to 45 per cent. The monthly survey of 1,200 businesses provides early and informative signals in respect of regional (and national) economic trends and the latest results certainly reflect a rebound in confidence and a welcome degree in rising optimism. …
For details of the £19.9m funding, which comes from the Department of Levelling Up, Homes and Community’s third round of the Levelling Up Fund, please see below a news bulletin issued by Insider News today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 13th March 2024
£20m Plymouth and South Devon Freeport funding accepted
Projects that will power Plymouth's waterfront re…
New research from Lloyds Bank has discovered that 41% of South West firms are seeking to improve their productivity during 2024 as they set themselves up for growth in the light of perceived improved macroeconomic conditions ahead. For the fuller picture please read the article below which was issued by Insider News Media today.
Roger Mundy, Managing Director, Beardsley Theobalds, 3rd January 20…
Beardsley Theobalds, the specialist business transfer agents operating throughout the South West and the Midlands, ended 2023 by agreeing 4 sales (2 manufacturing businesses, a commercial cleaning services company and a plumbing & heating contractor) during the week before Christmas – a record for the agency at that time of the year!
Given the usual low level of activity generally experienced (…
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…
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 …
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…
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…
