Author: Rhys Gregory

Start Up Loans has delivered more than 4,100 loans to business owners in Wales since 2012, providing over £40m funding, in-line with the country’s percentage of the UK’s business population. Entrepreneurs often dream of opening a business for months, or even years, before they take the leap and set the process in motion. In every business owner’s life, there comes a moment when they say “Yes” and make the decision to work toward becoming a successful business owner. The timing of that crucial decision point, and the journey to get there, is different for everyone. It can be a moment…

Business confidence in Wales fell 10 points during January to 26%, the lowest of any region or nation in the UK, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank. Companies in Wales reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 23 points to 24%.  When taken alongside their optimism in the economy generally, up three points to 27%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 26%. The Business Barometer, which questions 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide. A net balance of 12% of businesses in Wales expect to increase staff levels over the next year, down 17 points on last month and the lowest reading of…

he Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales (WCRC) is delighted to make its first board member announcement of the new year – Managing Partner, Simon Tee of Kilsby Williams Chartered Accountants. The leading independent accountancy firm, which is based in Newport, and which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, provides solutions for businesses across a variety of services such as company audits, accountancy advice and technical tax solutions designed to avoid tax leakage. It works with clients from across South Wales, the Midlands and London, ranging from sole traders to companies in international quoted groups. Simon, who heads up Kilsby Williams,…

The first person to ever donate bone marrow in Wales is calling on more 17 to 30-year-olds to help fight against blood cancer ahead of World Cancer Day (Friday 4 February). Each year three in ten blood cancer patients will not find the potentially life-saving bone marrow match they need, which is why Julie Penketh from Ystrad Mynach and the Welsh Blood Service are encouraging more people to join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Since donating her bone marrow three decades ago, Julie has continued to urge others to join by donating blood or by returning a home-delivered, needle-free…

Swansea Bay’s vaccination team has undergone an amicable parting of the ways with The Orangery at Margam. After delivering more than 150,000 Covid vaccinations, over the course of the past year, at the picturesque wedding venue in the grounds of Margam Park, the team is set to move to a new venue in Aberafan Shopping Centre. The change of venue will allow The Orangery to revert to its former use as a sought-after location for happy couples to celebrate tying the knot. Preparations for the new vaccination centre are still being finalised but until ready a temporary home has been…

A new litter picking hub has opened in Grange Pavilion in Grangetown, Cardiff which allows the general public, community groups and businesses to borrow litter picking equipment to clean up their local area. Grange Pavilion offers locals all the equipment needed to carry out a safe clean-up and keep their community looking beautiful. This includes litter pickers, hi-vis vests, rubbish bags and hoops. To celebrate the launch of the litter picking hub a clean-up event is taking place on Wednesday 2 February between 15.45pm and 17.00pm. Locals are invited to grab a piece of the action and help keep Grangetown…

The heaven scent smells of jasmine, coffee beans, freshly baked bread and even musty books will be the odour of the day at a top music festival. The fragrant aromas and the melodies will be harmonising to create a whole new experience for music lovers with a combination of sound and smell called Smound. It’s being unveiled at the Bangor Music Festival that’s being held at the city’s Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre on February 11-12. The concept has been developed by Aberystwyth-born harpist and composer, Rhodri Davies, who calls it Clywed Arogl (Hearing Smell) in Welsh. Rhodri, 50, who…

A dad and his nine year old son are doing a stamina sapping combined run and cycle ride to support a charity fund-raising challenge. McCarthy Distribution warehouse manager Steve Jones, 40, and son, Ryan, are three quarters of the way through their money spinning mission in aid of Prostate Cancer UK’s Run the Month campaign. The energetic pair have already raised £545 and have totted up 35 miles together already and are planning to go out on the road again to further bump up their total mileage count. Amateur sportsman Steve runs while Ryan gets on his mountain bike and…

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) – the UK’s largest leisure charitable social enterprise dedicated to improving health, wellbeing and opportunity in the communities it works in, is supporting the next generation of athletes to the tune of £1.2 million, via The GLL Sport Foundation (GSF). Applications for the programme are open until February 20th 2022, and athletes from Wales are encouraged to apply. Last year, 112 talented young athletes from Cardiff, including Welsh Rugby star Elinor Snowsill, benefitted from a cumulative £44,800 worth of free gym and swim memberships – thanks to leisure charitable social enterprise GLL, which manages centres across…

Detective Constable Janette Williams led a successful investigation following reports that an SD card, appearing to contain footage of someone being filmed unknowingly within a private bathroom, had been found. DC Williams recently graduated from Police Now’s National Detective Programme with North Wales Police, deciding to make a late career change to train as a detective after 25 years working in other sectors, including at an accountancy firm and as an armed forces liaison officer. DC Williams was assigned the role of Officer in Charge (OIC) when the report was made in 2020, and swiftly organised for a Police Search…