THE IMPACT of the recent recession on the sales performance of small and medium-sized companies was more sudden and severe than that experienced in the early 1990s, according to research by the Open University Business School.

BUSINESS nationally has backed the government’s decision to move forward with its HS2 high-speed rail link project.

AN INCREASING number of local businesses are feeling optimistic about their business prospects for 2012, despite one in four feeling increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for the UK economy, according to a survey by business advisers KPMG.

THOUSANDS of jobs could be at risk in the wake of the government’s decision to cut the financial support available to homes installing solar panels, local Labour politicans have warned.

EXECUTIVES at Midsummer Place Shopping Centre are toasting 2011 as the best trading year in its 11-year history.