Author: Rhys Gregory

Business leaders have given a big thumbs up to news that Wrexham has been granted city status following a competition to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Wrexham Business Professionals have campaigned for more than a decade to help secure city status and say they are “cock-a-hoop” that the bid was successful, having previously failed last time around in 2012. According to the group, made up of successful businesses and highly skilled professionals working together to promote regional prosperity and the enterprise and expertise in the region, becoming a city is a “fantastic once-in-a-generation” opportunity. Wrexham joins seven other winners from…

Organisers of the JCP Swansea Half Marathon have announced a route change for the 2022 edition of the race that takes place next month, on Sunday, 12th June. The route will see runners start outside the city’s newest iconic landmark at the Swansea Arena. This will allow for everyone to finish at the same point creating an easier access to the race village, baggage collection and to meet up with their loved ones afterwards. The race will take runners up Mumbles Road towards the Brangwyn Hall, through the city’s streets back towards the Waterfront Museum and then out to Knab…

Fat Hippo, a group of independent burger joints found all over the UK will open its new restaurant in Cardiff today. The company, who specialise in the best burgers, loaded fries and more ‘good old fashioned, roll up your sleeves and get it all over your face’ food, will open the brand new restaurant on Church Street for dine in on Friday 20th May. The restaurant, located at 17 Church Street, has approximately 100 covers inside as well as an outdoor dining area. This is Fat Hippo’s first restaurant in Wales and the company, who have 12 more locations across…

A Welsh credit union is continuing to excel following an outstanding performance in the last 12 months. In that time Smart Money Cymru, with offices in Caerphilly, Blackwood and Tredegar, saw a huge rise in the amount of loans to members and a correspondingly large increase in income. CEO Mark White attributes the success to the period in Lockdown when the management team undertook an in-depth analysis of the organisation and launched a major modernisation plan. “The changes we made are bearing fruit and enabling us to lend more to members, some of whom can struggle to find fair finance…

The infamous Welsh choir will support the Motown legend at the iconic Cardiff Castle this June. Only Men Aloud are supporting global superstar, Diana Ross, on the Cardiff date of her Thank You Summer 2022 tour on Friday 10th June 2022. Ross first performed in the Welsh capital with The Supremes in March 1965, later performing solo in 1994. Only Men Aloud, a ten-strong male choir, shot to fame nearly 10 years ago after winning BBC One’s Last Choir Standing and signing an album deal with Universal Records. Formed in 2000, the group has performed at several high-profile events including…

Towergate Insurance Brokers has been named as one of 2B Enterprising’s new Corporate Engagement Partners, supporting them with their ‘The Bumbles of Honeywood’ programme at Baglan Primary School. ‘The Bumbles of Honeywood’ is an enterprise skills programme created by 2B Enterprising to support the next generation of young people with the skills required for both work and life. Under the new Curriculum for Wales, primary school teachers are required to teach enterprise activities and ‘The Bumbles of Honeywood’ is an accessible, creative and inspirational portfolio of resources to support their delivery, designed by teachers and enterprise experts. Businesses like Towergate…

A £4.1 million investment in Swansea’s Singleton Hospital has made it a UK leader in the diagnosis of cancer and other serious conditions. The nuclear medicine department’s two oldest scanners – one the oldest in the UK – have been replaced with cutting-edge new ones which provide extremely sharp images. The new equipment will help clinicians spot cancers earlier. Singleton is home to the South West Wales Cancer Centre and while the two new SPECT-CT scanners will be used primarily in cancer diagnoses, they will also be used in other specialties – cardiology, for example. The GE-manufactured machines are a…

The former Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Councillor Jill Bonetto, attended a Help for Heroes veterans’ model-making session, at Rhydyfelin AFC, to give the Charity a cheque for more than £30,000. She was joined by fellow councillors and officers, representatives from the Armed Forces charity, its beneficiaries, and officials from the football club. Money raised was supplemented by an additional £235 raised by the children at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Evan James, in Rhondda Road, Pontypridd. Cllr Bonetto explained: “I was lost for words when I was told how much we had raised. The reason I chose Help for Heroes is…

New Directions has taken a step closer to Net Zero status with the formation of its own eco-committee dedicated to making the ambition a reality by 2050. The committee will help the UK recruitment specialist take a more strategic approach to improve its sustainability as a company by embarking on a specialist carbon reduction plan that has been approved by its senior management. Led by Quality Assurance Manager, Frances Harflett, the committee is multidisciplinary and comprised of employees from across the New Directions group of companies. The committee will meet regularly to review outcomes, actions and initiatives designed to help…

Independent, city centre restaurant KindleCardiff has been shortlisted for the Sustainability Award in the National Restaurant Awards, the largest annual gathering of top chefs and restaurateurs in the UK. The Sustainable Restaurant Association helped to put together the shortlist, which recognises the restaurants which have, in the past 12 months, successfully implemented new initiatives to reduce their impact on the environment or increase their positive impact on the people who work for them or live in their community. Kindle is one of only four restaurants shortlisted in the category, and the only one in Wales. This recognition follows on from…