Month: August 2025
South East business confidence holds steady as hiring plans strengthen
Business confidence in the South East fell one point during August to 43%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly.
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Kent packaging supplier cuts 170k metres of plastic tape from operations
Aylesford, Kent-based sustainable packaging firm Priory Direct has removed more than 170,000 metres of plastic tape and strapping from its own operations by switching to sustainable alternatives.
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Planning granted for 104 new affordable homes in Lower Herne
Independent housebuilder Dandara has secured planning for 104 new affordable homes in Lower Herne, Kent, in partnership with Places for People.
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Birketts plans for further South East growth
UK Top 50 law firm Birketts has further strengthened its South East team with the appointment of Nicola Gooch, a nationally recognised planning and environmental legal expert, as partner.
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Kent networking group launches free resource for businesses
Kent-based networking group Synergy Networking Events has expanded its offering to create a training hub specifically designed for business owners and startup founders.
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Two biotech startups join Discovery Park
Discovery Park, a hub for science and technology in Sandwich, Kent, has announced the arrival of two pioneering biotech companies to its innovation campus: iLoF (Intelligent Lab on Fiber and MilaK.
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Electricity towers removed to make way for new Burgess Hill development
UK Power Networks has dismantled three electricity towers in Sussex to enable the continued delivery of a new community at Brookleigh, a flagship development being delivered to the north of Burgess Hill.
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Hartford Care acquires five Kent homes from The Graham Care Group
Foundation Partners and Deer Capital have acquired five fully operational homes across Kent from The Graham Care Group in a move that takes their total investment to over £300m in the last 12 months under the Hartford Care brand.
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Faversham Hop Festival returns with Shepherd Neame as principal sponsor
Shepherd Neame is proud to once again be the principal sponsor of the Faversham Hop Festival, which returns on Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August.
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South East ranks second for overseas trade as Trump’s tariffs see US exports drop 13.5%
As British exports to the US fall by almost a sixth (13.5%), new research from money.co.uk has revealed the top exporting regions where businesses could be hit the hardest by Trump’s tariffs.
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£18m water supply improvements almost complete in East Sussex
Two key projects being carried out in East Sussex by South East Water, which provide a much-needed upgrade to the county’s water supply network and allow more flexibility to move water around the area, are nearing completion.
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Golden Age of property investment in South and East England ‘is over’
The longstanding obsession with property as a means of building wealth in the South and East of England is increasingly outdated as today’s house buyers are unlikely to match the gains enjoyed by past generations, UK wealth and asset manager Rathbones concludes in new research.
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Redrow South East and RSPB extend partnership
Kent housebuilder Redrow South East and the RSPB, the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, have renewed their award-winning partnership for another five years, backed by a £1m investment from parent company Barratt Redrow.
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Advo acquires Surrey-based Pay-Nex Limited
HR and payroll consultancy Advo One Limited has completed a deal to buy Surrey-based payroll bureau Pay-Nex Limited for an undisclosed sum.
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Clearbell secures 10-year lease with ATAC Solutions at Maidstone’s LOC8
Clearbell Property Partners III LLP (Clearbell), a fund managed by private equity real estate fund management and advisory business Clearbell Capital LLP, has agreed a 10-year lease with ATAC Solutions for an additional 25,811 sq ft unit at the LOC8 logistics scheme in Maidstone.
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Tech investment fuels resilience as South East businesses target growth
Almost nine in 10 (89%) private business owners in the South East are confident of delivering growth in 2025, according to KPMG’s mid-year Private Enterprise Barometer check-in.
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Profit warnings issued by listed South East companies down
Listed companies in the South East of England issued 27 profit warnings in the first half of 2025, the region’s lowest total for this period since 2021, according to the latest EY-Parthenon Profit Warnings Report.
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Wages fall in London and South of England
Wages have fallen in London and the South of England, according to the latest data from Employment Hero.
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Brighton’s Victoria House hits 85% occupancy
Flude Property Consultants has announced that Victoria House, just a five-minute walk from Brighton Station, is proving popular, now 85% let with only a single floor out of a total of 7 floors remaining.
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Kent sustainable clothing brand kicks off national growth company
Sustainable clothing brand DBT’s is poised for national growth thanks to a £40,000 funding package from HSBC UK.
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Thomson Snell & Passmore strengthens Trust & Tax Management team
Kent law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore has grown its Trust & Tax Management division with the appointment of Lisa Bryson as a trust and tax manager.
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Powered by people
Brighton-based fibre supplier Altnets is scaling fast, without ever losing sight of what matters most
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Brachers advises on sale of BTL-UK Limited to Swedish industrial group
The Corporate team at Kent law firm Brachers has advised long-standing clients Ray and Amanda Mifsud on the successful sale of BTL-UK Limited to Dacke Industri Holding AB, a Swedish-based industrial group.
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SHW releases Q3 2025 South East Development Focus report
Ongoing planning delays, plus a raft of additional information needed to obtain a planning consent, together with debt finance costs, have impacted prices being paid for sites across the South East, but there is still a development market, according to SHW’s Q3 2025 Development Focus.
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SMEs paralysed by fear, warns Azets UK CEO
International accounting and advisory group Azets’ latest barometer reveals economic uncertainty, geopolitical uncertainty and lack of clarity around tax policy as the biggest barriers to investment for SMEs.
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Permanent staff appointments continue to decline rapidly in July
Recruitment activity across the South of England continued to fall in July amid reports of weak business confidence and concerns over costs, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: South of England survey, compiled by S&P Global.
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National Lottery grant helps Sussex Emmaus boost sustainability
Homelessness charity Sussex Emmaus has been awarded a grant from the National Lottery to install a new Ridan composter system in its community garden, helping advance its sustainability goals by turning everyday kitchen and garden waste into rich, homemade compost.
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Mid-market private equity interest in the South East drops
Mid-market private equity investment in the South East fell in the first half of this year, according to KPMG UK’s mid-year private equity pulse.
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Shepherd Neame sponsors Broadstairs Folk Week once again
Broadstairs Folk Week, the annual celebration of folk music on the Kent coast, returns from 8-15 August, with Britain’s oldest brewer Shepherd Neame proud to be among the sponsors for another year.
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Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4%
The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 4.25% to 4%, marking its fifth reduction since last August and bringing borrowing costs to their lowest level in over two years.
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Payroll fines hit millions of small businesses as errors persist
New research from employment platform Employment Hero has highlighted that payroll compliance is a considerable risk for small businesses, with 84% admitting to payroll errors and more than a third having faced fines costing them thousands of pounds.
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The AI Guide explores how the UK is using AI at home and work
Adobe Express has launched The AI Guide to better understand how people across the UK are using AI in their everyday lives, both at home and at work.
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Kreston Reeves names Richard Spofforth as new managing partner
South East-based accountants, business and wealth advisers firm Kreston Reeves has announced Richard Spofforth as the firm’s new managing partner.
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Vail Williams markets Panattoni Park Burgess Hill
Property consultancy Vail Williams has been instructed to market Panattoni Park Burgess Hill, a major new-build business park offering industrial and logistics opportunities in West Sussex.
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Flude announces double letting in Brighton’s North Laine
Flude Property Consultants has successfully let 76–78 and 79–80 North Road, Brighton, two of the city’s most prominent Class E retail premises, located in the heart of the vibrant North Laine.
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Prime Light Group acquires Emergency Lighting Products (ELP)
Prime Light Group, a specialist lighting component solutions provider, has confirmed the acquisition of West Sussex-based Emergency Lighting Products (ELP), which specialises in emergency lighting solutions.
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