Author: Rhys Gregory

The 2024 pub of the year has been named, after The George Inn, Norton St. Philip, took home the top title at this year’s National Pub & Bar Awards.   The George, nestled in a quaint village just outside of Bath, is a stunning, historical venue owned by the Liberation Group. Dating back to the 14th century, the castle-like building was recently updated by the owner, with the work respecting and highlighting the pub’s many original and unique features.   Since the refurbishment, The George now sits within Liberation’s Butcombe Boutique Inns division, offering premium food, drink and accommodation made…

A provider of specialist qualified crane operators into the construction sector has secured a £3.85m funding facility from Praetura Commercial Finance to support their growth strategy. Headquartered in South Wales and trading for over 25 years, Millennium Personnel Services (MPS) supplies blue-chip customers seven days a week, including Balfour Beatty, Select Plant Hire and Sir Robert McAlpine. The business employs 25 staff including five site assessors who perform quality control of the operators. MPS sources personnel on behalf of contractors from a nationwide network of qualified operators, placing around 180 specialists a week, who together achieve more than 5,600 lifts each week.…

Pupils at a North Wales  primary school are tuning up for their music lessons thanks to a consignment of new electric keyboards courtesy of a local business. Sandycroft School in Flintshire have just taken delivery of the instruments along with sets of headphones and teacher Jack Merrick was delighted with the generous gift from Lock Stock Self Storage. He and four of the children along with teaching assistant Hannah Young called in at Lock Stock’s Deeside storage park at the Interlinq site at Queensferry to say thank you for the donation worth £250. They were then going straight back to…

UK house prices are on track to be 1.5% higher by the end of 2024 as incomes growth steadily eases the impact of higher mortgage rates, say Zoopla in the latest House Price Index. Homebuyers are largely shrugging off the election with new sales agreed 8% higher, with demand up 6% and a fifth (19%) more homes for sale than a year ago. There are signs that market activity is beginning to seasonally slow. Sales agreed are down slightly month on month across all regions, led by the North East (-6%) and West Midlands (-5%) as the overall stock of homes…

Business confidence Wales rose six points during June to 43%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Companies in Wales reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up three points at 38%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up nine points to 48%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 43% (vs. 37% in May). Looking ahead to the next six months, Welsh businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example through training (47%), evolving their offering, for example by introducing new products or services…

Visitors to Machynlleth will soon be able to enjoy a relaxing break at the town’s first and only four star inn. All ten bedrooms at the White Lion Hotel have been refurbished and upgraded with new Silent Night beds and ensuite bathrooms of the quality of a four star inn thanks to a loan of £96,000 from the Development Bank of Wales and a grant of £24,000 from Visit Wales. The funding package was used to accelerate the work ready for Easter with the bar and restaurant areas also benefiting from a full redecoration plus new carpets and furniture. Outdoor…

Delta Capita, a leading global capital markets consulting, managed services, and technology provider, has announced the relocation of its Wrexham office to a larger facility in the area to support its strategic expansion plans. Guided by insights from a recent employee survey, the new premises at Ellice House on Wrexham Technology Park offers an array of enhanced amenities. These include modern breakout areas, additional meeting spaces, and comfortable seating areas. The new premise also benefits from excellent transport links, close proximity to the city centre, and ample on-site parking. The office space has been fully refurbished to embody Delta Capita’s…

Swansea Building Society has renewed its partnership with Swansea City Football Club for the upcoming 2024/25 season. As part of this agreement, Swansea Building Society will continue to serve as the back of shirt sponsor, showcasing its logo on the home and away kits. Building on a successful four-year sponsorship deal with the Championship team, Swansea Building Society’s ongoing commitment solidifies the close ties between both organisations. In a change to previous years, Swansea Building Society’s logo will appear slightly differently on the 2024/25 season away kit. While allowing the Society’s colours of green and white to stand proud on the home…

The Welsh wine industry is getting ready for a summer of tantalising tours and tempting tasters following a successful Welsh Wine Week, which recently celebrated its fourth year as a key industry showcase. Featuring vineyards across Wales, the celebratory week saw over 30 events attended by industry figures from across the UK, with Welsh vineyards now gearing up to welcome tourists to experience their unique produce over the busy summer season. With recent years seeing huge increases in the volume of wine being produced in Wales, along with a number of vineyards picking up international awards, the future of the…

Mount Stuart Primary School has celebrated Eid with a community art project, in collaboration with Nathan Wyburn and The Red Dragon Centre. Pupils from Mount Stuart Primary School created a drawing of what Eid means to them before the drawings were put into a breathtaking mural by Welsh artist Nathan Wyburn. The mural has been on display in the heart of The Red Dragon Centre for visitors to enjoy from Eid al-Adha to Eid al-Fitr. The pupils came to the Centre to collect the mural to take it back to its new permanent home at the school, receiving a summer…