Business Daily

The health of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK remains at its lowest level in three years, according to the SME Health Check Index, a quarterly economic index compiled by leading economics consultancy - Centre for Economics and Business Research Limited (Cebr) in association with CYBG PLC, owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks. These are unprecedented times for many SMEs and the latest index shows that things are getting even tougher, with the results presenting little improvement since the last quarterly index review. Overall the latest index is down to its lowest...

TSB Okehampton is pleased to announce Scallywags Pre-School is set to benefit from fundraising and volunteering support as the Bank’s new Local Charity Partner for the next 12 months and has presented them with a cheque for £100 to kick-start the partnership. TSB has given more than £1.7 million to local causes across Britain since its local charity partnerships launched in 2015. This year a record 27,000 nominations were received from local charities across the country to join the programme which sees TSB Partners from 550 branches and eight office sites volunteer and raise money on...

Business activity in the South West lost growth momentum in November, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Regional Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI®).

The South West PMI recorded 52.8 in November, down from 54.0 in October. A reading above 50 signals growth in business activity. The rate of expansion was the second-weakest out of the 12 monitored UK regions, with only Scotland posting a slower rise in private sector output.

Despite client demand also rising at a slower rate, businesses in the region continued to create new jobs.

Cost pressures remained a concern for...

Susan Davy has been appointed as the South West Chair of the UK’s largest business group, taking over from Andrew Livingston, CEO of Yeovil-based trade supplier, Screwfix, in January 2018.

Susan is Chief Financial Officer at Exeter-based Pennon Group Plc, one of the largest environmental infrastructure groups in the UK.

Pennon Group is a FTSE 250 company and, as one of the largest employers and private investors in the South West, employs around 5,000 people. Its core businesses are South West Water and Viridor, one of the UK’s biggest recycling and renewable energy...