Author: Rhys Gregory

The British Business Bank has launched its new £130 million Investment Fund for Wales this week, unlocking additional funding to help smaller businesses to prosper and thrive. The fund will drive sustainable economic growth by supporting new and growing businesses across the whole of Wales through investment strategies that best meet the needs of these firms. It includes a range of finance options with loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investments up to £5 million to help small and medium-sized businesses start up, scale up or stay ahead. The Bank’s Investment Fund for Wales will be the first…

Swansea University spin-out MedTech company CanSense has developed a simple blood test to screen patients presenting to their GP with potential symptoms of bowel cancer. The start-up has appointed a chairman to guide the company’s growth and development following a series of recent funding award wins. CanSense’s simple blood test will help improve patient outcomes through the early detection of bowel cancer and Ian Smith joins the organisation as a non-executive director and chairman. Ian has held several CEO and CFO roles in various technology sectors, in both venture capital backed and listed businesses and this extensive experience in company…

A BOOMING bathroom business is preparing to open new headquarters and create more jobs as part of a multi-million-pound expansion. Plumbworkz is putting the finishing touches to its 20,000 sqm warehouse and offices in Kinmel Bay, following refurbishment of its Rhuddlan showroom. Director Gary Hughes thanked FFP Solutions in St Asaph for helping to secure a financial package that enables the company to grow even further in the years ahead. Gary, from Abergele, launched the business in 2009, as a bathroom and kitchen fitter, before taking on his first premises in Rhuddlan. Having relocated to Saltney and then Llay he…

The final luxury holiday lodges at Bluestone National Park Resort have been handed over by main contractor SJ Roberts Construction at a ceremony marking the early completion of the resort’s £24m investment programme. A total of 80 platinum lodges have been delivered by SJ Roberts and its sister company, Lowfield Timber Frames, all of which have been built with sustainability at the heart of design. Constructed with high-quality sustainable timber frame kits, each of the lodges is heated via air source heat pumps and boast features that include stylish décor, high ceilings and their own private sunrooms. Speaking on the…

These new photos take you inside the major new office development taking shape at the former Oceana nightclub site in Swansea city centre. The photos show some of the rooms that will soon be transformed into office spaces, as well as some of the staircases, communal areas and glazing being installed in the seven-storey scheme. Other images include artist impressions that show how the inside and outside of the scheme will look, once complete. Once open and operational, several floors at the development, including the rooftop level, will benefit from views over Swansea city centre and Swansea Bay. Developed by…

A £40,000 micro loan from the Development Bank of Wales has enabled Freaklizard, an online retailer of motorcycle, scooter and performance car parts and accessories to complete the fit-out of its new office and warehousing premises at Green Park Industrial Estate, Pontyclun. Motorcycling fanatic Nick Long started selling motorcycle and scooter parts through on eBay in 2008. He opened his online store in 2017 before launching Freaklizard in 2018 with the help of an initial micro loan from the Development Bank. Freaklizard has now taken a five-year lease on the 1300 sq.ft shell unit with the latest loan from the…

Nearly 200 food and drink industry professionals have gathered in Cardiff this week to discuss food safety resilience at the 20th annual United Kingdom Association for Food Protection (UKAFP) conference. Organised by Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, the UKAFP conference brings together food and drink processing and manufacturing businesses with academics and environmental health professionals. Helen Taylor, Technical Director, ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre said: “As food safety professionals, it has never been more important for us to come together to discuss the latest science and solutions so we can continue to respond to and overcome the challenges faced…

The UK Space Agency will provide an additional £10.7 million to replace a Russian-made instrument on the Rosalind Franklin rover, so that it can launch to Mars in 2028. The rover, which was built by Airbus in Stevenage as part of a European Space Agency programme, was due to launch in 2022 but the collaboration with Russia’s space agency (Roscosmos) was cancelled following the illegal invasion of Ukraine. The new funding will allow a UK team to replace the Russian-built Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars (ISEM) so that the mission can recover its full scientific potential. Work on the new instrument,…

In an exclusive video, Cymru Players Ben Davies, Joe Morrell, and David Brooks share simple tips to help women feel safe and discuss the importance of men talking to one another about healthy relationship behaviours. To mark White Ribbon Day 2023, which aims to raise awareness of and take action to end men’s violence against women and girls, the Football Association of Wales have partnered with the recently launched Sound campaign to start a conversation around gender-based violence. This weekend also coincides with International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25), which marks the start of 16…

The Vale of Glamorgan Council has secured £19.8m of funding for its Barry Making Waves – Y Barri Creu Tonnau project. The plans, led and developed in detail by the Council and shaped by local residents and a number of local and regional partners, will provide a watersports centre at Barry Waterfront and a marina, along with a new park. It will also see the creation of new business space for the town. There will also be further investment into the town’s active travel network on the waterfront. The proposals have been developed in partnership with local community organisations and…