Author: Rhys Gregory

Securing a contract with the UK’s top quinoa grower has opened up a new market for a Wrexham warehouse and distribution company. It prompted McCarthy Distribution to gain official accreditation to store organic food at their new £3 million warehouse on Wrexham Industrial Estate. The deal with Oswestry-based British Quinoa follows the appointment of transport industry big hitter Julian Richards as commercial director at McCarthy. The go-ahead firm is aiming to increase turnover to £15 million, creating 30 new jobs in the process. The strategy to take the firm to the “next level” includes increasing warehouse capacity and taking on…

NetLet UK, the fast-growing Pembrokeshire hospitality network which provides holiday accommodation as well as housekeeping and laundry services for the hospitality sector, has moved into new premises in Milford Haven Docks. The larger premises bring the whole NetLet operation together under one roof and have increased its laundry capacity in line with its growth. This has also enabled NetLet to offer more than 30 new job opportunities. The new site includes a laundry, stores, offices, a boardroom and a training centre. The company, which saw 47% growth last year, specialises in fully managed self-catering holiday accommodation. As well as having…

Transport for Wales is strongly advising customers to check before they travel this Easter weekend as trains are expected to very busy and vital engineering work takes place. With warmer weather forecast for the days ahead, services are expected to be particularly busy to coastal destinations such as the North Wales coast resorts and Barry Island. Passenger numbers for weekends have increased significantly in recent months and are now at around 100% of pre-covid numbers, so further increases in passenger numbers will mean some trains across the network are likely to be full and standing. In addition to this, changes…

A business proposal to produce innovative and therapeutic hemp products has wowed the judges to win this year’s Aberystwyth University InvEnterPrize student business ideas competition. The business plan and pitch by Jamila La Malfa-Donaldson, a postgraduate student researching industrial hemp, won her a £10,000 business investment sponsored by alumni of the University. Her food and cosmetics brand, ProHempOtic, will offer a range of products derived from organic hemp with added plant-based ingredients, aimed at supporting health and wellbeing. Jamila’s business idea also secured another of the competition’s coveted prizes, a year of office space at the Aberystwyth innovation and enterprise…

RCT Council is giving advanced notice of a refurbishment scheme to Imperial Bridge in Porth – requiring a road closure at the bridge section of Pontypridd Road and temporary bus arrangements locally. The closure will begin on Monday, April 25, to carry out steelwork repairs to structural elements of the bridge, repainting of all steelwork and decorative parapets, installation of expansion joints and resurfacing. The bridge bearings will be replaced and the bridge deck waterproofed – while masonry and concrete repairs will be made to the abutments, ballast walls and wingwalls. The Council has appointed Centregreat Ltd as the contractor…

More than 6,500 children and young people in Powys participated in a series of library events as part of the Winter of Wellbeing programme, the county council has said. Throughout March, the Powys Library Service hosted a range of activities, including storytelling, workshops and sports, and arranged virtual ‘meet the author’ sessions for schools across the county. These events were held as part of the Winter of Wellbeing programme; an initiative led by the Welsh Government to support children and families to ensure that no child is left behind as part of the recovery from the pandemic. Children across Powys…

First Minister Mark Drakeford has spoken about the importance of continuing to take simple steps to protect our public health to manage the spread of coronavirus. He outlined five easy things we can all do, including staying at home if we have symptoms of coronavirus. His comments come as the Welsh Government has carried out the latest three-weekly review of the coronavirus regulations. The legal requirement to wear face coverings in health and social care settings will remain in place for the next three weeks, offering ongoing protection to those most vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus. But the legal…

As we build momentum towards the World Cup, the chase gets even more interesting. We are seeing for the first time since 1958, a possibility that Wales might be going to the World Cup. It has been an exciting turn of events so far in the qualifying stages. Some top teams that have always made appearances, were cut short on their journey, with the highlight being Italy. This goes a long way to give us an idea of how thrilling this World Cup promises to be. Little wonder bettors have been gearing up with world cup 2022 betting tips to…

Sleep should be one of the most natural things we do as humans and a good night’s sleep is one of the healthiest things we can do for our mind and body on a day to day basis. Yet, with the stresses on modern life, even a straightforward daily routine can become overwhelming and illusive. In this day and age, we are bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of stress signals and if not managed correctly, these stresses can leave us with a head full of worry, unable to sleep or causing us to wake up in the middle of…

In the UK start-up world, there’s some good news. Good news that will also eventually have a positive impact on the UK economy. The phenomenon of angel investing is growing and that means that a larger number of start-ups get the chance to survive the first few particularly difficult years. Receiving an angel investment can be the one thing saving a start-up. Even though the last couple of years has been hard for many start-ups, statistics show that angel investing is becoming a more common phenomenon in Wales. The last couple of years has, despite the pandemic, actually meant an…