News

• Activity grows with a rise in SW orders
  The South West's economy has seen a solid rise in new orders, a growth in business activity and increased employment for the second consecutive month, according to new research data.
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• City improves its competitiveness
  Exeter is the most improved city in the country for economic competitiveness, according to a new study.
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• Building confidence in manufacturing
  Boosted by the news that the beginning of 2010 saw the manufacturing industry enjoy its largest increase in productivity in the last two years, many industry commentators are heralding a new dawn.
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• Western Daily Press South West Business Guide 2010 released
  The Business Guide, which was free in the Western Daily Press, came out yesterday on the morning that the UK officially came out of recession.
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• Business centre aiming to attract hi-tech firms
  Companies with demands for high speed internet access are poised to move into Exeter's newest business centre. The Sowton Business & Technology Centre has opened after South West Communications Group purchased the brand new 12,000 sq ft building at Capital Court and installed state-of-the-art IT infrastructure.
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• Work starts of Exeter Flybe academy
  Building work has started on a multi-million pound training academy next to Exeter Airport.
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• Work begins on business park
  Diggers have rolled into action to begin construction on the £500,000 first phase of the Xpressway Business Park
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• Further boost to South West marine energy research
  The South Wests ambition to be a global centre for marine energy research has received a further boost with a 1.2 million investment in a new wave tank testing facility.
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• Solid entrepreneurial skills helping beat recession
  THE South West's reputation as a home for enterprising businesses is confirmed with the release of new figures which highlight how such companies in the region are bucking the current recessionary trend. Leading business forum Beacon South West surveyed more than 60 managing directors of the region's top businesses and found that, rather than suffering at the hands of the continued recession, a third (34 per cent) say this year's profits are actually up on previous years'.
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• 18.4million visit Plymouth's Drake Circus in a year
  Drake Circus management team's figures for 2008-2009 show that the number of people visiting the mall rose to 18.4 million, up from just under 18 million the previous year and making Drake Circus the most-visited shopping centre in the South West.
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• Affordable housing on course for Christmas completion
  Work on a 9 million pound affordable housing development in Newton Abbot is set to be completed before the end of the year. The development, known as Whitelake Place, is for 73 flats, with 14 of them designated for shared ownership and the remaining 59 for rent. Split into three blocks, work on two blocks has already been completed and construction on the last one is about to start.
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• Economy on the up, says survey
  The latest survey by Exeter Chamber of Commerce has provided more signs of green shoots in the local economy. Nearly half of all firms polled said their sales had increased in the last three months. The number of members reporting improved profit margins also reached its highest level for over a year, while one in five had actually increased staff numbers in the last quarter.
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• Million pound innovation centre for West dairy industry opens
  A pint of milk is one of the purest products there is, but adding to it could help ensure the future of the Westcountry dairy industry. That was the underlying message at the opening of a new £1 million innovation centre at a giant creamery in the heart of Devon yesterday.
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• Government gives £4.5million to kickstart waterfront regeneration in Plymouth
  WORK on the next phase of the regeneration of Millbay is due to start later this year after the scheme today received a £4.5million shot in the arm. The Government's Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is injecting the cash in a bid to push forward the £350million waterfront redevelopment – a key plank in the regeneration of Plymouth.
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• Training centre to target A38 businesses
  South Devon College has continued with its business-focused growth plans by opening a new management centre on the Heathfield Industrial Estate near Newton Abbot. The centre will provide management training for nearby businesses such as British Ceramic Tiles, based on the same industrial estate, and Newton Abbot-based Centrax engineering as well as firms in Exeter, Torbay and Plymouth.
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