Express & Echo (Exeter, UK)

New City Cafe Offers a Flavour of Scandinavia

A NEW cafe is bringing a flavour of Scandinavia to Exeter. Smorgas & Coffee, in Blackboy Road, is the brainchild of Julian Pegley and his Swedish business partner Johan Monie.

Business of the Day

Devon Pubs Are Put On the Market As Punch Moves to Reduce Debts

THE UK's largest pub company is selling off more than 300 of its venues, including some in Devon, as it continues a drive to reduce its heavy debt burden. Commercial property agents Christie + Co have been instructed to market the pubs by Punch Taverns, which has borrowed large amounts of money in recent years to expand its estate.

Law Firm Up for Website Award

A SPECIALIST family law firm in Exeter is in the running for one of the most prestigious awards in the legal calendar. Hartnell Chanot & Partners beat hundreds of law firms from across the UK to be shortlisted for the Excellence in Client Service category in the 2009 Law Society Excellence Awards, after impressing judges with its new-look website.

'Face-to-Face' for City Airline

BUSINESS travellers can win free access to Flybe's executive lounges for a year in a competition launched by the Exeter airline. The online competition supports the airline's new 'business is better face to face' advertising campaign. Forty Flybe Premiercards are up for grabs for the best stories and anecdotes highlighting how face-to-face contact has proved best for making special business connections or clinching contracts.

Former Actor Celia Enjoys Her New Role On Corporate Stage

Our weekly Q&A with the movers and shakers of the local business community NAME, AGE & CURRENT POSITION: Celia Delaney, 35, director of Exeter creative learning and development company Delaney & Hart Limited FIRST JOB (& PAY-PACKET): I worked in the record department at Woolworths and used to know the whole of the top 40 by heart. We were still selling vinyl and tapes. WHAT I'VE DONE IN MY CAREER AND HOW I GOT WHERE I AM TODAY: It's been colourful, no doubt about that! I've only spent a short...

Explorer Ann Gives Talk

POLAR explorer Ann Daniels will deliver motivational tips for businesspeople at an event in Exeter next week. Personal branding is the theme of the taster session being staged by training consultants Marian Weston and Annie Broadbent.

New Director in the Picture

PHOTO-Me, the instant photo booth firm chaired by East Devon MP Hugo Swire, has appointed a new group finance director. Francoise Coutaz-Replan succeeds Jean-Luc Peurois, who died in July.

South West Is Already Ahead in the Race to Win Olympic Business

THE South West gave a warm welcome to Sebastian Coe, double Olympic champion, 12-time world record holder and chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), on his special visit to the region last week. His trip included tours of Bicton College and Arena and Somerset County Cricket Ground, two of the 61 world-class sporting venues in the region that have been approved as training centres to host international teams and individuals in the run-up to ...

Outlook 'Very Good' for City Contractors

THE new boss of an Exeter firm of building and maintenance contractors is upbeat about its prospects. Steve Coomber has taken over as managing director of Devon Minor Works, at Venny Bridge, Pinhoe. He succeeds John Murch, who founded the business 15 years ago and is now semi-retired. Another new face at the company is Adrian Dennis, who has joined as an administrator following the retirement of Mr Murch's wife, Nancy. The company, which employs three carpenters and three office staff, also u...

I'm Hungry for New Expansion ; Paul Banks, Right, Founder of Fresha Is the Latest Ambassador for the Echo's Exeter Bites Back Campaign. Here He Explains Why He Is Feeling More Confident Now Than He Was 12 Months Ago

I FEEL very honoured the Express & Echo has asked me to be an ambassador for Exeter Bites Back. I launched Fresha six years ago, starting with the familiar Fresha 'Jiffy' van, delivering food to hungry people at their workplace. Since those early days, Fresha has built up a portfolio of additional services, including outside catering, a number of commercial contracts supplying food to third parties, the launch of the Fresha Cafe (the only cafe of its kind based on the thriving Sowton Business...

West Is On the Starting Blocks

Experienced Restaurant Duo Go Out for an Italian

SITUATED close to the centre of Topsham, Marcello's restaurant has recently changed hands. Sold by licensed property specialists Stonesmith of Exeter, for Gabriel Ghiglia and family, the new owners are Karine Chapart and Onur Egitim. Karine and Onur are experienced in the restaurant trade, were looking for an established Italian restaurant with a good reputation, and felt Marcello's was a good size for a first business venture as owners.

Multi-Let Centre Offers an Ideal Site for Manufacturer

SITUATED in a convenient position just outside Newton Abbot town centre, these premises comprise a multi-let business centre, a three- storey office block and a substantial industrial unit with ample parking and concreted yard area. Off the A381 Newton Abbot to Totnes Road, there are two main workshops with an interconnecting area and a range of offices on the first floor of a more recent extension.