Author: Rhys Gregory

According to Savills, office take-up in Cardiff reached 70,000 sq ft in Q2 2023, 29% above the five-year Q2 average, and 150,000 sq ft in H1 2023, which is in line with the five-year H1 average. There were 53 completed transactions in H1 2023 which was 26% above the long-term H1 average, the second largest number of completed H1 deals in the last 10 years. The TMT sector was the most active sector in Cardiff during the first half of the year, accounting for 22% of overall take-up. This included the 19,000 sq ft Grade A letting to Veezu at…

Cardiff and Vale College will undertake a £100m investment in the future of skills for the Vale of Glamorgan and the wider population of Wales, working in partnership with the Vale Council and Welsh Government. The Welsh Government has approved the Outline Business Case for CAVC’s two new campuses in the Vale. The project can now progress towards development and submission of a Full Business Case for ministers to consider in the coming months. Subject to approval of CAVC’s Full Business Case, this £100m project would see two new campuses – an accessible general Further Education (FE) college in the…

Admiral Insurance, EDF Renewables, Sony UK Technology Centre and TATA Steel are amongst 55 prestigious businesses and individuals shortlisted for the 2023 Wales STEM Awards, sponsored by Cardiff Metropolitan University. All finalists have been shortlisted for their dedication towards making a difference to, and championing, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) in Wales. Following the success of last year’s awards, the Wales STEM Awards 2023 will shine a spotlight on those leading the sector in Wales, including those creating an impact on the Welsh economy, those addressing the STEM diversity gap and skills shortage, and those inspiring and raising aspirations…

One of Welsh rugby’s most respected and celebrated players, Jamie Roberts, has been made an Honorary Fellow by Cardiff Metropolitan University. With 94 caps for Wales, two British & Irish Lions tours and two Rugby World Cup tournaments to his name, the centre played in some of Wales’ most high-profile competitions across a 17-year career. Off the pitch, Jamie pursued a career in medicine and is a Cardiff Met alumni achieving first class honours in BSc in Sports & Exercise Science in 2009 before going onto a Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) from Cardiff University in 2013. A Master of Philosophy…

Leading timber supplier Premier Forest Products is celebrating after being shortlisted for two prestigious industry awards. Premier Forest has been shortlisted in the Panels Trader of the Year and Softwood Importer of the Year categories at the annual Timber Trades Journal (TTJ) Awards. The TTJ Awards have been running since 1997 and the 2023 event will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of TTJ. Winners will be announced at the Hilton London Bankside on 15th September. There are voted for and judged categories, the voted categories recognise service excellence and product quality across the timber industry. Premier Forest’s two nominations are…

The fantastic Tŷ Hafan All Stars ice hockey team will be back on the rink at the annual charity tournament in Cardiff this weekend (Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July) – with Tŷ Hafan dad Chris Thomas making his team debut.  Devoted Cardiff Devils fan Chris, from Caerphilly, will be playing Line 3 Power Forward for the Tŷ Hafan All Stars, inspired by the memory of his daughter Scarlett. And not only is it Chris’s debut with Tŷ Hafan All Stars, but he will be playing his first hockey matches ever!  Born in 2014, Scarlett was diagnosed with a chromosomal condition so rare that it did not have a name. At seven months…

Hiraeth, an independent pub and restaurant in a small village near Cowbridge, has just been added to the Michelin Guide – despite having only been open for a matter of months. The Michelin Guide is the world’s most influential food guide; inclusion is considered to be an acknowledgement of a chef’s skills, the quality of food, as well as the overall experience. For Hiraeth, their inclusion also comes hot on the heels of them being added to The Good Food Guide earlier this month and receiving two AA Rosettes in May – another highly respected hospitality accolade. Hiraeth has charmed critics with its unpretentious approach –…

Wales’s alternative telecoms company – Ogi – has landed its ultrafast broadband offering at a leading south Wales Leisure Park in rollout first. The Wales-focused full fibre broadband provider has signed a 10-year deal with Fontygary Leisure Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, bringing full fibre connectivity to around 500 holiday homes and the surrounding leisure facilities at the Rhoose site. Worth around £3billion to the Welsh economy, as holidaymakers look for more ways to work, rest and play, the need for reliable connectivity is quickly becoming a getaway essential. This new network gives visitors the best of both worlds,…

A NURSERY owner stepped in to save an after-school club from closure and launched a price freeze to support parents in the cost-of-living crisis. Tony Gibbons made the decision not to increase childcare rates at Kiddies Corner sites in Bryniau Road and Llewelyn Avenue, Llandudno, and Parc Menai in Bangor for existing children and those joining this summer, until they leave to join full-time education. It comes as Tony, who employs up to 45 staff, added the after-school club at Ysgol San Sior in Llandudno to their portfolio following the news it was to shut down. With more than 200…

A rogue trader has received a community order after pleading guilty to defrauding a vulnerable consumer in mid Ceredigion out of £4,600. Peter Billydean Price of Broadmoor Nurseries, Kilgetty, in Pembrokeshire, pleaded guilty to two fraud offences while trading as Priced 2 Improve Property and Landscaping Services, following a case brought by Ceredigion County Council’s Public Protection Service. Aberystwyth magistrates heard how in January 2022, Price dishonestly took payments totalling £4,600 to replace all the ridge tiles on the roof of the victims home after the victim placed an advert online looking for a roofer to contact him about the…