BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing businesses, has experienced a year of growth across its South West portfolio in 2019, having invested £165m to date to support the region’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. This includes new investments in Equilaw and Off-Piste Wines.
With Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria high on the agenda, 2019 saw Exeter-based Lightfoot, the connected car technology company, endorsed by The University of Bath for its reduction of CO2, NOx and particulate emissions by 10-20%. Described as the ‘Fitbit for cars’ and backed by...
Crowdcube is announcing a record-breaking year for overseas businesses raising funds on Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding platform. Despite Brexit uncertainty, investment into businesses based outside the UK has doubled since 2018. Leading e-bike maker, Cowboy, backed by Index Ventures, has raced to €3.5m just five days into its campaign.
In 2019, Crowdcube’s overseas raises drew in €26.6m, which marked a massive 100% hike from 2018. ID Finance, a Spanish based fintech, scoops the No. 1 place in terms of investment raised, pulling in €5.2m in November. More than 4,500 people...
Over a dozen leaders from some of Exeter and Devon’s best-known design and construction firms, along with customers and suppliers, came together in November to instigate a ‘construction revolution’.
With Extinction Rebellion protests having swept the region, and Exeter Council among others having claimed a climate emergency, attendees at the event said a paradigm shift in thinking is needed to meet environmental challenges.
The discussion, organised and chaired by Exeter-based contracting and interior fit-out group Willmott Dixon, saw local organisations join forces to...
Entries are now open for the 2020 Michelmores Property Awards, which celebrate excellence within the South West's property and construction industry.
The Michelmores Property Awards are now in their 18th year and showcase the very best commercial and residential projects from the previous 12-months.
For 2020, a new Masterplanning for the Future category has been introduced. This category will shine a light on projects that are still at conceptual planning stage, and which will aim to create, shape, change and improve communities in the South West region.
Until quite recently, electric cars were seen as something of a punchline amongst car enthusiasts. They were seen as underpowered and undesirable and were seldom considered by serious business. The tides have turned in recent years, however, as potential mileage has increased and electric cars have become more and more desirable, thanks to the success of brands like Tesla.
Introducing electric cars into your organisation if no longer simply about putting a green face on the company - there are many other benefits to plugging in too!
Children’s Hospice South West is calling on companies to help sponsor one of its children’s nurses this Christmas.
The charity, which runs children’s hospices in Bristol, St Austell and Barnstaple is asking firms to pledge £1,000 towards its ‘Sponsor a Nurse’ appeal and help make Christmas just that little bit more special for local families this year.
Suzanne Brown, a children’s nurse at Little Bridge House in Devon said: “By sponsoring one of our nurses, you’ll be helping us to provide special care to families whose children are not expected to live into adulthood....
The family law team at Stephens Scown LLP was one of the winners at the most prestigious national awards for family lawyers.
The firm’s family team was named the Family Law Team of the Year - South at the Family Law Awards 2019. The winners were announced at a black-tie awards dinner at The Ballroom on London’s South Bank on 27 November.
The way Stephens Scown looks after its employees and clients was singled out by the judges. As an employee owned firm, the firm’s approach to employee engagement was recognised, as was the focus on client service, including providing in-...
Tech South West has launched a new podcast to showcase and celebrate the best of the region’s technology sector.
The TribeTech podcast is hosted by ‘non-techie’ journalists Robert Hillier and Feyaza Khan who are on a mission to discover the latest tech trends and answer the big questions in tech including "are women and ethnic minorities avoiding the tech sector?" and "will technological advances erode our sense of community?". The podcast is produced in association with regional law firm Stephens Scown LLP and will help shed light on some of the ground-breaking technology being...
A business community right in the heart of Exeter is soaring ahead in its goal to become the most welcoming and supportive place in the city for entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
The move from working in a big office full of buzz and chatter to setting up a small company in an empty space can be as lonely as it is exciting. But one city landlord has found a dynamic middle ground which, whilst giving companies their own space, also allows them to work within a large business community complete with networking events… and even coffee mornings.
A Newton Abbot business has helped two staff members at a Hampshire primary school to be shortlisted for an award for their work in helping pupils to be more emotionally resilient.
Kerry Cawte and Claire Jeftha work at St George’s Beneficial Church of England Primary School, in Portsmouth. They have been shortlisted in the Wellbeing of Staff or Pupils category of the Teach Portsmouth Awards for their work with Newton Abbot-based Thrive®. The talented pair will find out if they have won at an awards ceremony tomorrow (Friday Oct 4)
