Author: Rhys Gregory

A 21-year-old student from Aberystwyth University has launched a business from his bedroom which connects skilled freelancers with start-ups in a bid to help fellow entrepreneurs kick start their career. Karl Swanepoel, who is in his final year of an Artificial Intelligence and Robotics degree at Aberystwyth University, has gained a seal of approval for his business Topwork by securing a £13,000 investment through the University’s InvEnterPrize competition. In a Dragon’s Den’ style competition for young entrepreneurs, Karl impressed the judges with his business Topwork which allows small businesses to buy digital services from freelancers, such as graphic design and…

Home Bargains has invested approximately £1 million in its new store in Cardiff, which will be officially opened at 8.00 am on Saturday 7th August 2021.   As one of the UK’s largest family-run retailers, Home Bargains is creating 50 new jobs in the local community with its store on City Link Retail Park. In total, the store will employ 60 team members, including some staff and management who will be transferring from local stores.   It will also be donating £2,000 to local charity City Hospice, which provides palliative care to people with life-limiting and terminal illness, along with…

Bridgend-based cleaning company, A&R Cleaning sees growth of 133% in the last year, the fifth consecutive year of growth, despite a challenging time for the industry. The award-winning company was established in 2010 by Rayner Davies and her husband Ashley. Together the pair have grown A&R Cleaning to employ over 300 staff members across South Wales and the South West of England. Celebrating its ten-year anniversary in 2020, A&R Cleaning completed a record-breaking year, which saw over 133% in growth and included creating new positions for people across Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, further expanding their footprint across South Wales. Rayner…

Swansea-based Business Butler has recently announced a partnership with Zoom Video Communications. The alliance means that Business Butler members will be able to take advantage of the benefits that the world’s most popular web conferencing platform provides. Zoom boasts a total of more than 350 million daily users globally and 1.8 million of those are in the UK. The American company has approximately 500,000 business clients worldwide and an impressive 36% share of the global web conferencing market. Business Butler is an on-demand talent platform and believes that smaller owner-led businesses, due to a lack of resources, are at a…

The Edenstone Homes Group has teamed up with energy service and tech company Sero, to pave the way for the delivery of 6,000 zero carbon homes across Wales and the South West of England by 2030. The two companies have come together to form an ambitious Joint Venture, that over coming months will establish a blueprint for the delivery of zero carbon smart homes, underpinning Edenstone’s ambition to be a net zero carbon business by 2025. The South Wales based Edenstone Group has an extensive pipeline of housing projects and is looking to draw on Sero’s expertise in using renewable…

Businesses in Denbighshire are being asked to encourage staff to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of Covid-19. Denbighshire County Council is supporting the Welsh Government’s campaign urging employers to encourage staff to be vaccinated. As part of the campaign businesses are encouraged to be as flexible as possible when it is time for staff to have a vaccine as well as urging employees to be cautious about misinformation and to use trusted sources if they are searching for information or answers to questions about the vaccine. Cllr Mark Young, the Council’s Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer…

Established in 1990, from a single branch in Anglesey, the Huws Gray Group, are now one of the largest independent builders’ merchants in the UK.  The company’s rapid growth is being driven by a determined acquisition strategy and the latest merchant to join the group is Sandysike Builders Merchants Ltd based in Carlisle, Cumbria. The family run business has been serving Cumbria and South West Scotland for over 22 years supplying a large range of high-quality building materials, bathrooms and wood burning stoves.  Family members Melanie Forster, Stephanie Forster and Grant Kelton will remain to manage the business. Matthew Owen,…

A Welsh manufacturer, which is on a mission to tackle the world’s growing personal protective equipment (PPE) waste problem, is set to expand its global presence after securing its first export deals in Australia and Canada. Cardiff-based Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) specialises in the manufacture of innovative technology used to recycle single-use, disposable plastic PPE, including surgical tray wraps, drapes and medical-grade face masks. The company was one of the first in the world to develop the new technology and has seen interest in its recycling solutions soar in light of the pandemic. Earlier this year, it unveiled its patented…

Two apprenticeship hopefuls have started to reap the rewards for choosing the construction site over summer holidays after taking up paid work experience with a leading North Wales-based electrical contractor. Oliver King and Dylan Hough have been brought onboard by Rhyl-headquartered Fred Weston Electrical as the firm works on a number of sites for Wynne Construction. Oliver and Dylan, who are currently busy at the Ysgol Glanrafon scheme in Mold, are hoping to ready themselves for apprenticeships having recently completed their Level 2 diploma at Coleg Cambria Deeside. Oliver, 16, from Holywell, said: “I’m really enjoying picking up new skills.…

With tourist numbers at a high in Pembrokeshire, the county’s Visitor Welcome team has been busy helping and advising holidaymakers at various popular locations along the coast. On a daily basis, ten officers (wearing bright pink hi-vis) are patrolling tourism hotspots throughout the county to advise on any queries visitors might have, from car parking options to coastal bus timetables, dog-friendly beaches, the location of public conveniences, water safety and more. Deployed by Pembrokeshire County Council, the team also reports any issues that need assistance from other sections of the local authority or partner organisations, such as reckless behaviour on…