The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 38: Aug/Sept 2018 | Page 5

BUSINESS NEWS
New recruitment website celebrates
working & living in the south west
Regional recruitment agency Juice
Recruitment is celebrating 20 years
in business with the launch of a new
website.
It was designed to give valuable
information to support both a
candidate’s job search and a company’s
quest for talent at the touch of a button.
From the best companies to work for,
‘How to’ guides for candidates to utilise
and lifestyle choices such as where to
drink the best coffee in the South West,
Juice’s new website promotes the south
west for its innovation, dynamism and
vibrant culture.
Juice’s managing director Emma
Summer said: “The new Juice
Recruitment website has been launched
to reflect a fresh approach. The
platform is now easier to use and more
straightforward for both existing and
potential clients and candidates.
“We are delighted with the feedback
we have already received with many
organisations engaged with Juice
and an increasing number of new
candidates being attracted to us
due to the exciting vacancies we are
working on and the reputation of the
organisations we are working for.
“It’s an exciting time as our offering
to employers and job-seekers continues
to develop through our locations and
specialist divisions.
“Juice Recruitment began life in a
small office in Bath and now has five
branches across the south west with
further openings on the horizon. We
currently have branches in Bath, Bristol,
Cheltenham, Trowbridge and Swindon.
We put our success down to our core
values, honesty, integrity, passion and
huge amounts of enthusiasm to deliver
the very best.”
BUSINESS CONFIDENCE HITS TWO YEAR HIGH
Businesses in the south west are more confident than at any
point since the EU Referendum two years ago, according
to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank.
But despite confidence –
calculated as an average of
respondents’ expected sales,
orders and profits over the next six
months – rising 10 points to 29 per
cent in the past six months, and
the number of firms planning to
increase investment climbing five
points to 10 per cent, firms are not
increasing their recruitment plans.
Instead, the net balance
of businesses looking to hire
additional staff in the next six
months fell by 12 points to five per
cent, from 17 per cent at the start
of the year.
The share of firms that
reported difficulties h iring skilled
labour fell seven points to 40 per
cent while the number expecting
to increase pay also fell seven
points to 17 per cent.
The Business in Britain report,
now in its 26th year, gathers the
views of more than 1,500 UK
companies, predominantly small
to medium sized businesses, and
tracks a range of performance and
confidence measures, weighing up
the percentage of firms that are
positive in outlook against those
that are negative.
Across the UK, business
confidence was highest in London
(31 per cent), followed by the
South East (30 per cent) while the
lowest level of confidence was in
the East Midlands (14 per cent)
and the North West (19 per cent).
David Beaumont, regional
director for the South West
of England at Lloyds Bank
Commercial Banking, said:
“Businesses are always coming
up against new challenges, and
it is their resilience and capacity
to adapt that influences their
longevity and success.
“By increasing their investment
plans in line with their growing
confidence, but keeping a lid on
recruitment, south west firms are
showing that they are taking a
cautiously optimistic approach to
the challenges ahead.
“While this may be wise during
times of such uncertainty, firms
must also ensure they are not
missing out on opportunities to
prosper by being ambitious.”
Risks ahead
Uncertainty surrounding Brexit
is now the single greatest risk to
firms in the South West in the next
six months, cited by 26 per cent of
firms in the region.
This was followed by extra
regulation, which 16 per cent of
firms cited as their greatest risk,
and weaker UK demand, at 14
per cent.
Uncertainty around
Brexit negotiations
continue
More than a third (35 per cent) of
firms in the South West expect a
negative impact on their business
if no trade agreement is reached
with the EU. More than one
in eight (13 per cent) expect a
positive impact, while half (52
per cent) either do not expect any
impact or said they didn’t know.
Confidence begins to
grow in sectors that rely
on domestic demand
Nationally, business confidence
was highest in the transport &
communication and construction
sectors, with the construction
sector in particular registering
a significant rise compared with
January’s survey, rising 12 points
to 26 per cent. Confidence was
lowest in retail & wholesale, and in
hospitality & leisure, both of which
saw confidence fall since January.
DARING TO BE
DIFFERENT
www.optps.co.uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018
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