Author: Rhys Gregory

A finance specialist, with more than 20 years’ experience, has joined Cardiff-based Lexington Corporate Finance as it seeks to strengthen its services to mature businesses wanting to expand, restructure or enter new markets. Sinead Johnson joins the award-winning company as a director, bringing decades of experience working with businesses across the SME and mid-markets at NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds Bank and, more recently, as a principal with Growth Lending, one of the UK’s leading alternative finance providers for innovative, fast-growing companies. She will play a crucial role in managing and developing the service line, which helps owners of companies raise funding…

Forest Holidays has announced its newest location due to open in late 2022. It will see 40 eco-sensitive cabins open for overnight stays in the Brecon Beacons National Park amidst 400 acres of woodland at the southern gateway, Garwnant. This will be the company’s 12th UK location and 2nd in Wales, the first one having opened in Snowdonia National Park in 2018. Garwnant will be Forest Holidays 6th location set within a National Park and has been carefully designed to integrate with the natural environment. Work on the location will begin this month. This opening represents a multi-million-pound investment including…

Macmillan Cancer Support is warning that the latest waiting times data for Wales reveals how patients continue to face worrying delays in life-saving cancer treatment. Released today, cancer treatment waiting times data for November shows that performance against Wales’ national target was at its lowest point since the pandemic began. Only 57.9% of patients newly diagnosed with cancer started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer, which is well below the national target of 75%. The charity warns that during November alone, over 740 people with cancer were left to face worrying delays in…

A cancer charity is hoping that a green revolution in fashion will help boost their finances after their fundraising efforts were badly hit by the pandemic. According to Tenovus Cancer Care, which has shops in Llangollen, Bala, Barmouth, Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Buckley and Mold, more and more people were ditching fast fashion and buying pre-loved clothes. As a result, the new generation of bargain hunters are snapping up designer outfits for rock bottom prices. Carole DeRosa, a retail manager at Tenovus, was speaking during a visit to Ifor Williams Trailers which have established collection points for the charity at each of…

Regional tourism trade organisation, MWT Cymru, and award-winning training provider, Cambrian Training Company, are joining forces to deliver skills training to tourism and hospitality businesses across Mid Wales. A programme of practical skills workshops, curated by Cambrian Training Company, will be delivered online to members of MWT Cymru throughout 2022 to help tackle a skills and staffing crisis across the tourism and hospitality industry. The first online event to launch the workshop series will take place on February 8, coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week (February 7 – 13). Businesses will hear from speakers at Cambrian Training Company about the benefits…

2022 will mark a significant milestone with the start on site of a project to transform a nationally significant Snowdonia landscape that will ultimately remove the overhead electricity line and pylons from across the Dwyryd Estuary. National Grid will begin the environmental and archaeological survey works this spring when our teams in orange high visibility jackets will be working in and around the area. This work which will continue through the summer will provide essential information for the detailed design of the project ready for main construction starting in 2023. In the Autumn, the team will start to establish the…

A construction firm from the South Wales with a projected turnover of £15m at the end of this financial year has just secured its largest project to date as it enters its milestone tenth year of business. Pontypridd-based Trojan Construction Management which specialises in the food retail and commercial sectors, has built over 170 projects including more than 120 drive thru units for the likes of Starbucks, Costa, KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds and Burger King, totalling nearly £60m of projects over the company’s ten years in operation. The firm, founded by construction director David Thomas and commercial director Shaun Welsh,…

A new video reveals how Swansea Council plans could make a key part of the city centre even more people-friendly. The short film shows a greener, more welcoming Castle Square Gardens emerging between a new Community Hub, with library, and the improved Wind Street. The short film shows a destination attractive to pedestrians, cyclists and businesses. In due course, the aim is to link it seamlessly with Swansea Arena and the wider new Copr Bay district. Council leader Rob Stewart said: “Our £1bn regeneration of Swansea has taken great strides in recent years – and we’re planning for that positive…

Swansea Council is to serve up another boost to the city’s cafes, pubs and restaurants as the pandemic continues. Its ruling cabinet today, Jan 20, agreed to continue to provide licences for outdoor dining areas free of charge until the end of March next year. The move – which follows the suspension of fees for Pavement Café Licences since summer 2020 – aims to help businesses as they operate within pandemic restrictions. It will continue to bring added life and vibrancy to the city’s streets and other areas. The move – saving business around £50,000 a year – will be part of…

Swansea city centre has a new information hub for local residents eager to cut their fuel bills. Commissioned by Swansea Council and run by the Environment Centre Swansea with the help of specialist partners, the Energy Awareness Hub aims to help households with free, accessible and independent support. Based in Nelson Street, close to the Quadrant Bus Station, the centre also plans to take the service on the road to communities around the city. Andrea Lewis, the council’s joint deputy leader and cabinet member for climate change and service transformation, said: “Rising energy costs, inflation and the pandemic are among…