Author: Rhys Gregory

A fund to tackle loneliness and social isolation will help grass root organisations bring communities together across Wales. The three year Loneliness and Social Isolation Fund will support front-line, local, grass-roots organisations, which bring people of all ages together, helping them to build social connections in and across communities. £1.5 million has been split across Welsh local authorities, working in partnership with County Voluntary Councils, over the next three years and will help organisations run face-to-face activities safely and securely or continue online activities if access to venues is difficult or to reach people who are not ready to attend…

Chelsea are finding out first-hand just how tough it is at the top considering they’re still priced out as underdogs to win the Premier League title despite leading after 14 games. Bet365 offers 3/1 odds on Thomas Tuchel’s pace-setters steering their way to a seventh top-flight crown come May, a signal there’s a lack of faith in the Blues’ staying power. Second-place Manchester City reside as 4/6 favourites to finish first despite sitting a point off the peak, with Pep Guardiola well-fancied to secure a fourth Premier League gong in five seasons. Liverpool complete a front three at 7/2 another…

The Christmas lights have been switched on. The temperature is definitely starting to drop. Now it’s time to start thinking about starting, or finishing, your Christmas shopping. Luckily, you’ll find everything you need at our new pop-up shop on St Catherine’s Walk. Now open, Pop-Up Caerfyrddin will be showcasing 21 local businesses over a five-week period. You’ll find a wide range of gift options and you can even book a visit to Santa’s Grotto. Based in the Shared Spaces building, the pop-up shop will give start-ups and established businesses the chance to test their products and offers a real commission-based…

Genesis Biosciences is celebrating after triumphing at this year’s Cardiff Business Awards, winning two award categories as well as the coveted Cardiff Business of the Year. The company, which ferments Bacillus bacteria, creates natural microbial and antimicrobial products for a range of industries, secured Green Business of the Year, Technology Business of the Year alongside the Cardiff Business of the Year award. Genesis has been at the forefront of the fight against the spread of coronavirus supplying tonnes of its natural anti-microbial sanitisers across the UK and much of Europe since the beginning of pandemic. Replacing the need for traditional…

A new era of transformed train travel in Wales is being heralded with the arrival of brand-new trains that will provide more capacity and improved services for Transport for Wales passengers. TfW is investing £800 million in new trains for the Wales and borders network – with the first two brand new trains from leading train manufacturer Stadler being delivered to the TfW depot at Canton, in Cardiff, for testing. The new Class 231 FLIRT trains arrived in Wales from Switzerland and are the first of 35 to be delivered over the next 24 months from Stadler. The FLIRTs will…

On Wednesday 1 December, Careers Wales will open the doors to its new Queensferry centre for the first time. The Station Road-located centre will be open every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 4.30pm for those seeking advice on all things careers and employability, from starting apprenticeships and upskilling through training or education, to complete career changes and redundancy support. Cut this para in 2 sentences? The space includes one large meeting room and four interview rooms to ensure complete confidentiality and privacy during sessions. There will be six careers advisers and two employability coaches on site. Currently, up…

Leading law firm Blake Morgan has announced the promotion of Lisa Davies to Partner. The promotion reflects Lisa’s expertise and continued commitment to providing first-class legal solutions to clients, as well as her ongoing work to support our growth aspirations and commercial success. Working from Blake Morgan’s Cardiff office, Lisa leads the Succession & Tax team, specialising in contentious probate and complex trusts.  Lisa provides essential cross-office support to colleagues in London, Southampton and the Thames Valley and is a critical part of the Private Client leadership team. Lisa graduated from Oxford University in 1993 and completed the Legal Practice…

The majority (57%) of employers agree that the right to request flexible working should be a day-one right, research from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, shows. Agreement is highest from those in the public sector (69%) compared to those in the private sector (54%). In addition, larger organisations of 250+ employees were more likely to agree than SMEs (62% compared to 51%). The findings are part of the CIPD’s response to the Government’s flexible working consultation, which closed on Wednesday 1 December. The consultation was launched following the Conservative Party’s commitment to look at making…

The Alacrity Foundation welcomed attendees including key supporters, stakeholders, and mentors to celebrate the graduation of their 2020/21 cohort, on Tuesday 30th November in the heart of Newport. This significant event marked the end of the 2020/21 entrepreneurship programme with members of the cohort graduating from the programme and more importantly they have created five digital start-up companies. This highlights the programme’s success and the calibre of graduates recruited. The Alacrity Foundation’s mission is to combine graduate entrepreneurs with world-class mentors to create the next generation of digital companies in Wales via the Foundation’s unique 15-month programme that provides graduates…

Flint wet wipe manufacturer is heading towards a plastic-free future, having removed more than 15,000 tonnes in the last three years. Nice-Pak International, which produces wipes for global brands and retailers, has been working with customers to cut out plastic from more than 60 per cent of its products, up from less than 10 per cent in 2018. Banning plastic in wet wipes has been tabled in a Parliamentary Bill proposed by Labour MP Fleur Anderson, with Nice-Pak welcoming the politician on the journey. Robert Woodall, managing director at Nice-Pak International, said: “We have big ambitions for the future, as…