House prices and the number of potential new buyers in the South West rose in December, bucking the general trend across most other parts of the UK, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey.
In the region new buyer enquiries turned positive, with 23% more chartered surveyors seeing an increase in December 2014. 22% more respondents in the South West are also seeing prices continue to rise.
Across the UK as a whole, 10% more surveyors saw the number of potential new buyers decrease in December 2014 and London saw the weakest demand with 45% more surveyors...
This March sees Rock Solid Race returning to Escot Park for the third time – bringing with it more obstacles, more races and more days to do it in (the event will be running on both days this year).
Founder and owner Ashley Jardine is thrilled with the reaction to the event. Having left a safe career as an Optician just three years ago, he took a big gamble on carving out a new career in Obstacle Racing. It looks like it has paid off.
“Just three years ago, Escot Park was our very first event and since then we have become known as being one of the best races around.”...
The managing director of Devon’s leading housebuilder says he’s delighted with the company’s most recent results and says his team is gearing up to deliver even more in 2015. Simon Perks, managing director of Persimmon Homes South West says the strong performance in 2014 was a real team effort. “Nationally there was an increase of 17% in legal completions in 2014 to 13,509. This is compared to 11,528 in 2013. Our average selling price rose 5% from £180,941 to £190,500 and our full year revenues increased 23% over 2013 to £2.6 billion. “Our focus is now on continuing to deliver new homes...
A leading local law firm has been named as one of the top 100 firms to work for in the UK, according to the influential Sunday Times list.
Stephens Scown LLP, which took part in the Sunday Times Best Companies survey for the first time, has also received its prestigious two star accreditation for outstanding levels of employee engagement, which is an exceptional achievement for a company on its first attempt.
Stephens Scown’s position in the top 100 will be revealed at an awards ceremony in London on 26 February.
The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work for is an...
The Mecca bingo club on North Street is hosting live auditions and recording sessions to launch Star Search, a brand new national talent competition being run by Mecca across the UK.
The best singers at the Exeter event stand a chance of joining other local and regional heat winners at a star-studded national final, which is being held as part of a Star Search celebration weekend at Mecca Blackpool in June.
And the overall Star Search winner will receive the ultimate star treatment as their prize, jetting off to Los Angeles on a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to Hollywood...
Construction workloads increased in the South West in the final quarter of 2014, albeit at a slightly slower rate, and private housing saw the strongest growth despite the shortage of bricklayers reaching a record high.
Over a third (36% net balance) reported that workloads in the construction sector had grown in the region in Q4 2014 with 57% more respondents saying that the private housing sector was fuelling the greatest growth, followed by the private commercial sector (48%).
Around 60% of respondents across the UK reported that material shortages, skill shortages and...
The latest trend in south west corporate activity is likely to be an increase in Family and Management Buy-Outs or FAMBOs.
FAMBOs are an efficient method of transferring company ownership between generations while allowing senior managers to be part of the buy-out team ensuring continuity of the family line and the retention of key operational skills.
According to Andrew Killick, an experienced FAMBO adviser with chartered accountants Francis Clark, this type of deal structure is very appropriate for many Westcountry businesses where owner/managed businesses predominate....
Business confidence in South West has slipped in the last six months, partly due to renewed concerns on global growth, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank.
The twice-yearly report, now in its 23rd year, gathers the views of more than 1,500 UK businesses and tracks the overall “balance” of opinion on a range of important performance and confidence measures, weighing up the percentage of firms that are positive in outlook against those that are negative.
Since the last report in July 2014, the Business in Britain report’s key confidence index...
As much as £300 million worth of gift vouchers bought this year could go unspent according to research by the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA).
Consumer Affairs Minister Jo Swinson is urging consumers to spend and enjoy any vouchers they get for Christmas before they expire.
Every year 6% of vouchers bought by consumers go unused as they lay forgotten in people’s wallets and drawers.
In 2013 some £2.5 billion worth of gift cards and vouchers were sold in UK retail stores as gifts and £2.25 billion were purchased by businesses as staff or customer...
Rail union RMT has pledged an all-out fight over rail investment in the South West after the Transport Secretary cast doubt on the scale of investment in the Plymouth region’s railways by admitting that just £40million has been promised – despite calls for a £7 billion package. RMT has branded the move a “complete and utter betrayal of the South West despite all the posturing and promises after the resilience of rail services was exposed in last year’s floods and storms.”
A spokesman added: "The line into Plymouth continues to be beset by delays and cancellations as the failing...
