Author: Rhys Gregory

One of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs will be revealing the secrets of his success to business professionals in North Wales. After starting out as a 13 year old Saturday boy helping in the family’s scrap metal business, Martin Ainscough’s rise to the top in creating the biggest crane hire business in Britain has turned him into the stuff of corporate legend. With an uncanny sense of timing, he sold the company, Ainscough Crane Hire, for a whopping £255 million a year before the 2008 crash. Far from retiring, he’s now busy at the head of a group of family…

A football club for people with mental and physical health issues is training up its next generation of young coaches thanks to a grant from a community charity. The Wrexham Inclusion Football Club is bouncing back after the pandemic and, with participation growing, a new team of coaches were needed with the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) stepping in with a £2,000 grant. Numbers are booming at the regular Wednesday evening sessions at Plas Madoc, Acrefair, with up to 100 players aged from six to 61 turning up and they regularly compete in tournaments all around the country.…

A coworking and business support provider founded in Caerphilly has been named one of Wales’ most promising up-and-coming companies. Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) was recognised in this year’s Wales Fast Growth 50, an annual programme identifying and showcasing Wales’ businesses that are most rapidly creating jobs, expanding and generating turnover. The company, which recently celebrated its fifth birthday, was named the fastest-growing business-to-business services firm in Wales and shortlisted for the fastest-growing Valleys-based firm title. Founded in 2017, TownSq is an ever-growing network of coworking and business hubs in UK towns and cities which supports entrepreneurship and seeks to…

Leading manufacturer of timber products, Archwood Group, has installed over two thousand solar panels at its factory in Chirk, North Wales, as part of their commitment to becoming a Net Zero business. Archwood Group is a leading manufacturer of timber products with two trading brands: Richard Burbidge, a manufacturer and supplier of stairparts, decking accessories and decorative mouldings, and Atkinson & Kirby, which supplies premium hardwood flooring.  The installation of 2,600 solar panels at their North Wales factory aims to reduce their carbon emissions and further the business’ plans to switch to 100% renewable energy.  This follows Archwood Group’s appointment…

Early stage businesses in North Wales are set to benefit from a new collaboration between Angels Invest Wales and business mentoring provider Camau Nesaf. As the largest business angel network in Wales, Angels Invest Wales is part of the Development Bank of Wales and has over 300 registered investors in its network. Working together with Camau Nesaf in North Wales, Angels Invest Wales will be scaling up activity to offer more start-up businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to get support from business angel lead investors. In addition, they will be able to access the £8 million Wales Angel Co Fund…

Shortly after 10.30pm on Monday February 24th 2020, Owen Liscombe and Ben Davies were racing each other on the A483 in Penllergaer, Swansea. Losing control, Liscombe crashed his MINI after crossing the central reservation and colliding head-on with a Ford Mondeo. Both Liscombe and the driver of the Ford received significant injuries that required a long hospitalisation stay and multiple operations. Davies and Liscombe pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and appeared in Swansea Crown Court on Friday 21 October for sentencing. Serious Collision Investigator, Dawn Griffiths said: “It is purely down to luck that the reckless driving…

The South Wales Law Awards is delighted to announce that it is to become the Welsh Law Awards with immediate effect. Launched in 2019, the South Wales Law Awards has quickly developed into Wales’s leading law awards. As a result of its huge success, the South Wales Law Awards now becomes the Welsh Law Awards. Welsh Law Awards founder Wesley Skene said, “The South Wales Law Awards is incredibly proud of the success and trust that the Welsh legal community has placed in us. Moving forwards, the Welsh Law Awards will continue champion and represent one of the most important…

Following sell-out success last year, the Giant Welsh Cheese Advent Calendar is back for Christmas 2022. Created by The Welsh Cheese Company in Taffs Well, the enormous advent calendar, which costs £164, is packed with 24 individual portions of artisan Welsh cheese – including favourites from some of the best cheesemakers from across Wales; Caws Cenarth, Caws Teifi, Pant Mawr Cheeses, The Snowdonia Cheese Company, Brooke’s Dairy and Y Cwt Caws. Containing a whopping 4.2 kilograms of cheese, the extravagant calendar is made up of four separate triangles. Each individual triangle measures 51cm wide by 32.5cm tall and is designed to be placed in a fridge separately for storage. When the triangles are arranged together to create…

RSPCA Cymru has welcomed moves by Bridgend County Borough Council who have banned the giving of pets as prizes on their land. It means there are now nine councils across Wales who have taken the stand against the outdated practice – following the #NoFunAtTheFair Pets as Prizes campaign, which was re-launched by the RSPCA back in June. Bridgend Council’s decision follows a meeting with the RSPCA, who are urging local authorities across Wales as to the necessity of a ban. They follow Caerphilly, Cardiff, Conwy, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, The Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham, who have already taken…

Work is set to begin on the installation of public electric vehicle charging points across the county The work will be undertaken over the next few months, with enabling works at Post Office Lane car park, Denbigh and Bowling Green car park, St Asaph, starting the first week of November. The project aims to open up possibilities for people to transition to an electric vehicle where they didn’t previously have access to a charging facility. The work expected to be completed by January 2023 It is a part of the Council’s action to tackle climate change following the declaration of…