Author: Rhys Gregory

Embedded finance has shifted from being a buzzword to a concrete strategy that redefines how businesses interact with their customers. It refers to the integration of financial services within non-financial platforms, allowing companies in sectors such as retail, logistics, or software to offer payments, lending, or insurance directly in their ecosystems. The result is a seamless user experience where financial interactions happen naturally inside platforms people already trust. Among the enablers of this movement, white-label payment gateways hold a particularly important role. By providing ready-made infrastructure that can be branded and customised, they make it possible for platforms to launch…

The Cardiff Business Awards have revealed the shortlist for 2025, celebrating the very best of the capital city’s businesses and entrepreneurs. Now in their 11th year, the awards recognise excellence across 18 categories, with 74 companies and individuals making the shortlist. Winners, including the highly sought-after Cardiff Business of the Year, will be announced at a black-tie gala on Friday 14 November at Holland House, Cardiff. The judging panel is chaired by Jessica Leigh-Jones MBE, engineer, entrepreneur and founder of iungo Solutions, who will be joined by sponsors and business leaders from across Cardiff. Liz Brookes of Grapevine Event Management…

Wales has seen house prices rise by 3% over the past year, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index. The average price of a home in Wales now stands at £213,359, up from 2.6% growth in the previous quarter. The data, covering July to September 2025, shows that Wales is outperforming England, where annual house price growth slowed to 1.6%. Scotland recorded a 2.9% rise, while Northern Ireland remained the strongest performer across the UK with growth of 9.6%. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said the market has remained resilient despite wider economic pressures. “The broad stability in the…

Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid partnered with Effective Communication, the PR and public affairs specialists, to host a special event exploring what the next Senedd election could mean for businesses in Wales. The session, held at The Ivy in Cardiff, was led by Jonathan Morgan, the former Welsh Conservative Assembly Member who represented South Wales Central from 1999 to 2007 and Cardiff North from 2007 to 2011. Morgan, who also served as a special adviser to the Conservatives, shared his insight into why the 2026 election could mark the biggest shift in Welsh politics for a generation.…

A fast-growing North Wales engineering company is celebrating record sales after opening a new state-of-the-art factory. Continental Diamond Tool (CDT) has officially unveiled its 30,000 sq ft plant on the Tir Llwyd Industrial Estate in Kinmel Bay which is three times the size of its old site just half a mile away. The move is part of a £4 million expansion plan which will see a 100 per cent increase in production capacity and a doubling of the workforce to 80 staff over the next couple of years. There have already been benefits for the local economy because most of…

COLEG CAMBRIA will host this year’s Welsh Baccalaureate Volunteering Fairs. Flintshire Local Voluntary Council (FLVC) announced the return of the annual events – now bigger and better with two sessions to be held this October. The first will take place at Deeside Sixth Form Centre on Monday (October 6) from 11am–2pm, followed by a second date at Northop library on Thursday October 9 from 11am–1.30pm. The Volunteering Fair gives students the chance to meet local organisations, discover a wide range of volunteering opportunities, and learn how they can make a real difference in their communities while gaining valuable skills and…

Educ8 Group has celebrated the success of its learners at the annual Gradu8 ceremony, held on Thursday 18 September at Llanerch Vineyard. The flagship event recognised the achievements of apprentices from across Wales and highlighted the transformative impact of fully funded apprenticeships on individuals, businesses, and communities. This year’s graduates, who completed qualifications across a wide range of subject pathways, were praised for their dedication and resilience in balancing work, study, and personal commitments to reach this milestone. The day also recognised that behind every learner’s journey are the employers who support and champion them. Their commitment to their staff…

Law firm Clarke Willmott LLP is celebrating a decade of success in Cardiff. The national firm, with seven regional offices, first opened its doors in Cardiff in 2015 and has since become a leading voice in the Welsh legal sector. Having made the move last year from its original location in Cardiff Bay, to its current location at Callaghan Square in the city centre, Clarke Willmott’s Cardiff office now houses a legal hub of 28 staff including six partners, across multiple disciplines. Key practice areas include commercial property law, social housing, real estate finance, construction, banking and finance, financial services…

Researchers in Swansea have been awarded a £1.2 million grant to create a blood test for more effective treatment of conditions such as stroke. The test aims to measure blood clot breakdown, which is useful for better understanding the underlying mechanisms and thereby helping clinicians further understand how clot-busting drugs work on individual clots. It could also create opportunities to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop improved medicines, as the test may accurately predict how well their drugs worked. It’s an international collaboration between Swansea Bay’s Welsh Centre for Emergency Medicine Research based at Morriston Hospital, Swansea University and the…

Entries for the 2026 Cardiff Half Marathon will be offered via a Ballot for the first time. With unprecedented growth in recent years, and much higher demand than the number of spaces available, the Ballot will give everyone a fair chance at securing an entry for next year’s race on Sunday 4 October. The 2025 edition sold out within hours of its launch last October, driven by extraordinary global demand. Since then, interest has only continued to grow, fuelled by a surge in the popularity of running across Wales, the UK and beyond. While many runners were unable to secure…