Western Morning News, The

Riding the Economic Roller-Coaster Guide

O nce upon a time one could consider the health of the Devon and Cornwall economy in isolation from the rest of the UK. Not any more. The current financial crisis and accompanying global recession has given a very different perspective. What happens on one side of the world, such as the bursting of the US house price bubble, rapidly has an impact far and wide.

The Logic to Survival Is Simple and Compelling

P ricewaterhousecoopers LLP is delighted to be working in partnership with the Western Morning News in the production of the Devon and Cornwall Top 150, now in its 12th year. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been involved in the publication, which two years ago grew into the larger Annual Business Guide, since its inception.

City Prepared to Bounce Back

O ver the past decade, Exeter has established a reputation as a city with a strong base of science and knowledge, and a relatively healthy, diverse economy. Although it has not escaped the economic downturn, it is bearing up well, and business leaders believe partnerships between key employers and the city council mean it will bounce back quickly.

Healthy Mix Helps Area to Pull Through

T he devastating impact of the recession has been blamed on the UK economy depending too heavily on one sector - financial services. But in Somerset, the effects of the downturn have not been as great precisely because of the way the county has spread its options.

Games Build-Up Can Give Boost

I t is a long way from London to West Dorset. But the area will be full of Olympians in just three years' time now, as the area plays host to the 2012 Games' boating events. And work is already under way in Weymouth to make sure that the events taking place there go smoothly and are remembered the world over.

Remember the Lessons Learned for Next Time

W hat a difference a year makes. Looking back at my opening remarks to last year's Annual Business Guide things seemed to be going so well with Westcountry firms remaining stubbornly optimistic about economic prospects. If only we could have known then that the UK's economy was about to tumble like a pack of cards. Back in July last year things seemed relatively rosy. Apart from the on-going overseas competition issues facing the manufacturing sector and the banks continuing to find it toug...

Labour Spends Its Way Out of Recession

R ed ink manufacturers are probably one of the few industries able to benefit from the state of the public finances - gallons of the stuff have dripped from Alistair Darling's quill as he studies the nation's accounts. Over the next two years, the Government is borrowing pounds348 billion, more than all governments combined before New Labour came to power. Total national debt is set to double to pounds1.4 billion. Just paying the interest on all this national debt now costs pounds43 billion a...

Pasty Wars Lift Region's Profile

I t's not all cream teas and biscuits in the Westcountry, especially when you're a Devon pasty firm sparking a war over the Cornish pasty. While cross-border spats are fairly common between Devon and Cornwall, as both try to lay claim to having the best traditional fayre, no-one quite expected a Devon firm to win a national award for making the best Cornish pasty.

Optimism and Opportunity Shine Through ; It has Been a Tough Year and Conditions Could Become Even More Difficult Before We See Light at the End of a Very Dark Tunnel.

It has been a tough year and conditions could become even more difficult before we see light at the end of a very dark tunnel. The predictions of a year ago that forecast unprecedented gloom and economic collapse were only partially right and the good news is that many of us are still standing - battered, battle-scarred and probably leaner, but at least we have survived and are wiser for the experience.

Building a Strong Devolution Argument ; Cornwall Opened a New Chapter in Local Politics This Year with the Launch of Its New Super-Council.

Cornwall opened a new chapter in local politics this year with the launch of its new super-council. April saw England's most westerly county switch to a single council structure.

Future Looks Buoyant in Boats

E very cloud has a silver lining, so the saying goes, but in the case of Princess Yachts it's more gold than silver. The Plymouth treasure has ended months of concern among business leaders about its future in the city as demand for leisure boats dropped, staff were laid off and its plans for a pounds10 million sales and commissioning centre at Millbay stalled.

Visitors Seek a Warm Welcome As Well As Some Good Weather

T he feast of St Swithin is a little under a fortnight away, a day upon which, according to legend, a spot of drizzle can result in a further 40 of showers. It can take a lot to dampen the holiday spirit, but two consecutive summers that were at best damp and at worst torrential, had clouded the outlook for the tourism sector. Recession led to high initial hopes for the season; with the pound weakening against the euro, more Britons were predicted to opt for traditional bucket and spade seas...

Investment Up As Firms Look to the Future

A s THE nation is now well aware, there are huge gains to be made in fixing leaking water pipes and attending to the sewage system. Entirely by coincidence, less than a month after Totnes MP Anthony Steen resigned over his expenses claims in May, South West Water saw its operating profit rise by 3.6 per cent to pounds191.6 million. In January its parent group, Exeter-based Pennon was promoted to the FTSE 100, making it the only company based in Devon and Cornwall to be included in the list of...

Research and Development Are Likely to Drive Future Success

O utput has fallen across the UK by 10 per cent in the past nine months alone, but experts see a "mixed picture," for manufacturing in the South West. Among the high-profile casualties in the sector over the past year have been the Plymouth-based manufacturing operations of Pilkington and Solaglas, Bodmin's Fitzgerald Lighting and Select Yachts of Rock.

Squeeze May Last Another Year

T he Westcountry's engineering sector has had its high-profile casualties, as manufacturers feel the impact of recession. Among them, were Fitzgerald Lighting of Bodmin, which entered into administration in December, 300 workers at Princess Yachts laid off at the beginning of June, with Babcock Marine also anticipated to carry out 300 redundancies at the end of June. Following the redundancies, Princess announced that up to 200 jobs could be reinstated, as it starts building its biggest-ever ...

Job Losses All Round, but West Avoids Worst

I t HAS been a year dominated by job losses in a sector that has led economic growth across the UK. With the banking sector brought to its knees by so-called "toxic debts" from the collapse of the American sub prime lending market, the economic fall-out was always going to be far-reaching and painful.

Sector Feels Effects of Ill Wind

T he marine sector, like every other sector, has not been immune to the economic ill wind - but it's very much a mixed picture here in the South West. Strong in both the leisure and commercial boat- building arenas, the sector in the South West was worth pounds834.5 million at the last count and was enjoying the fastest level of revenue growth. There are 9,289 people employed in the sector in the South West - some 26 per cent of the national workforce.

Radically Changing Our Lives

B roadband, a word virtually unheard of just 15 years ago, has emerged as one of the most hotly discussed subjects of modern times. Nobody knows this better than BT Group. The largest broadband provider in the UK and one of the South West's largest employers announced a series of important major broadband investments during the past year. The company also took the opportunity of its recent annual results to announce that it would examine doubling the pace of the roll-out of super-fast broadba...

Campaigns Have Brought About Major Changes

W estcountry farmers are often viewed as people who have a lot to complain about - and certainly the whole farming community is perceived as being good at it. Or, at least, it used to be. High- profile campaigns by celebrity chefs on the benefits and efficacies of home-grown produce, backed up by media publicity like the WMN's celebrated Buy Local Campaign - now broadened into a Think Local Campaign - have seen a turnaround in the public's perception of Farmer Giles. Animal diseases have, ...

Consumers Stand to Benefit ; the Harsh Economic Climate Is Making Life Tough for All Kinds of Businesses and Professional Practices Are Not Immune.

The harsh economic climate is making life tough for all kinds of businesses and professional practices are not immune. Law firms throughout the UK which have enjoyed a long period of growth now face changing trading conditions over the next few years following the introduction of the Legal Services Act 2007.