Author: Rhys Gregory

Over a year since many companies first told their staff to work from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, a Welsh independent advertising agency has decided to embrace the model of the future, by moving to a ‘blended working’ policy full-time; allowing its people to work from a mix of home and the office moving forward. While the pandemic posed initial challenges for S3 Advertising’s workforce of 34, the team quickly fell into the flow of remote working, delivering stand-out creative advertising campaigns, virtually. Based on this success, S3 – which has recently undergone a rebrand and revealed its new…

A trio of Welsh companies has successfully passed SALSA food safety certification audits thanks to the support of the Welsh Government and EU-backed Project HELIX. Rhondda Cynon Taf based SamosaCo is celebrating securing the crucial certification whilst Powys based Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits and Monmouthshire’s Trealy Farm Charcuterie have successfully extended their certification. The companies all received assistance from Project HELIX, a pan-Wales strategic initiative delivered by Food Innovation Wales, which provides funded technical and commercial support for Welsh food and drink companies. SALSA certification is important for many food and drink producers to supply their products to national and regional…

Jointly-funded by Transforming Towns, the Welsh Government’s town centre regeneration programme and the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Barry Regeneration Fund, Central Park and Gladstone Road Interchange are the latest outdoor spaces to benefit from green infrastructure improvements and town centre enhancements in Barry. Located behind Barry Library, Central Park is now home to a host of new outdoor family-friendly facilities, including modern table-top games, an outdoor chess board and picnic benches. A five-by-ten-metre paved stage and secure power-point have also been installed at the centre of the Park — allowing the venue to host future outdoor events and entertainment activities…

Following the success of a specially produced gin, which has helped raise funds for patient care, Nightingale House Hospice has branched out to develop a new berry flavoured edition. Last year the hospice collaborated with Shropshire Gin Distillery to produce a bespoke Nightingale House hand-crafted gin to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. The independent distillery, based in Ellesmere is known for creating their own artisan-handcrafted premium gins using traditional copper still methods. The company is the proud winner of two International Wine and Spirit Competition awards. The new Berry Gin has been carefully selected from a handful of tailored botanicals. It…

A South Wales company has developed an innovative way to recycle single use personal protective equipment (PPE) in a bid to tackle the mountain of waste being produced as a result of the pandemic. Cardiff-based Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) has become one of the first in the world to create a device to recycle disposable plastic PPE at source, which re-engineers an average 24 tonnes of polypropylene waste each year per unit. Following the outbreak, estimates suggest that hospital trusts across the UK have been using a combined 10million PPE items a day between them, the majority of which are…

Leading IT organisation, Circle, has acquired Macclesfield-based Fabric IT, as part of its strategic growth plans, taking the group to £25 million in turnover. The acquisition comes as part of the Circle Group’s strategy to expand its Microsoft portfolio, with Fabric’s Microsoft Dynamics expertise adding significant capabilities to the Group’s overall service and solution offering. As part of the deal, Fabric IT will become part of the Circle Group, which now boasts over 100 employees. Fabric IT provides a range of Microsoft-centric cloud managed services to SME’s across the UK, with competencies around CRM, ERP, Power Platform and Modern Workplace,…

More thrilling drama is set to hit our screens after BBC Cymru Wales has announced that it has commissioned a brand new crime drama. With a strong cast and gripping storyline, The Pact is set to become BBC Wales’ next highly anticipated hit. As well as Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser, Julie Hesmondhalgh (Broadchurch, Coronation Street) and Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan), there is a wealth of Welsh talent involved including BAFTA Cymru winner Gabrielle Creevy, Rakie Ayola and Jason Hughes. Produced by Little Door Productions, it is written and created by Pete McTighe (Doctor Who, A Discovery Of Witches, Wentworth), produced…

Self Assessment taxpayers have just over a week to pay any outstanding tax liabilities in full or set up an online payment plan for the 2019 to 2020 financial year to avoid incurring penalty charges, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has urged. Last month, HMRC said that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were giving Self Assessment taxpayers more time to pay their tax or set up a payment plan without facing a 5% late payment penalty charge, as long as arrangements were in place by midnight on 1 April. Those who have yet to settle their…

Business leaders in the finance, legal and advisory sectors have shared their expertise and insights to inspire Welsh businesses to recover, rebuild and revitalise following the challenges of the last year. Jon Lambird, Head of SME at Barclays UK; Jon Maycock, Commercial Director at Propel Finance Group; Paul Slevin, Director of Quantuma Corporate Advisory Firm and Simon Tee, Managing Partner at Kilsby Williams Chartered Accountants joined Chris Nott, founder and senior partner of Capital Law, for an engaging, reactive in-person debate. Organised by leading business organisation Chambers Wales, the event was broadcast live from its Corporate Partner Capital Law’s offices…

NHS Wales’ decarbonisation plan to tackle climate change has been published today [Wednesday 24 March] by the Health Minister Vaughan Gething. In 2019 Welsh Government declared a climate emergency to trigger more action to meet the climate change challenge, the first Government in the world to declare such an emergency. As part of this, they re-enforced ambitions for Wales’ public sector to be reach ‘net zero’ for carbon emissions by 2030 by setting out 100 policies and proposals and ensuring tackling climate change is central to future legislation. Today’s publication of the Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan for NHS Wales sets…