Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales’ award winning water and soft drinks manufacturer Radnor Hills has opened its first online shop for its customers. [aoa id=”1″] The secure online shop offers Radnor’s range of delicious soft drinks at a click of a button which can all be delivered with free UK mainland shipping. The spring water used to create the drinks is sourced from the company’s family farm in Powys, mid Wales. Radnor Hills was founded in Powys, mid Wales in 1990 and produces a million bottles of soft drinks every day. Today the company employs 170 people and is a £47 million business. [/aoa]…

Plimsoll Productions (“Plimsoll”) has partnered with leading mid-market private equity firm LDC in a deal valuing the company around £80 million.  LDC has invested for a minority equity stake in Plimsoll which will continue to be led by CEO and Founder Grant Mansfield.  [aoa id=”1″] Headquartered in Bristol, the international centre of the natural history television industry, Plimsoll is one of the largest independent television production companies in the UK.  Its BAFTA, EMMY and Academy Award-winning team specialises in wildlife, documentary, live and factual entertainment shows and it is a global leader in natural history programmes. Since the business was founded…

The latest initiative to receive support from west Wales accountancy practice, Bevan Buckland LLP, is the Stradey Sospans Girls Rugby Hub. [aoa id=”1″] Bevan Buckland LLP’s sponsorship campaigns and charitable donations have seen numerous local and regional organisations go from strength to strength. The Stradey Sospans Girls Rugby Hub has been in operation for three years and is proving successful throughout the community for engaging girls into our national sport. Every year since its establishment, the hub has helped approximately 70 girls, aged from 6 to 18 years of age, to get involved in rugby. [/aoa] The Llanelli Wanderers Rugby…

The new chief executive officer of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) near Machynlleth says he is joining the educational charity at “a pivotal time for our planet”. [aoa id=”1″] Currently CEO at the Bradgate Park Trust, a conservation charity, Peter Tyldesley has substantial experience in leadership and management, both directly and through his non-executive roles on charity and partnership boards. His previous roles include a range of appointments in Wales, including with Brecon Beacons National Park. He takes up his new role in early September and brings to CAT a strong personal commitment to sustainability and the environment, as…

Blue Sky Digital, one of the capital’s leading managed print services specialist, has expanded its business offering through a new service centre, based in Llantrisant. This £100,000 investment, will allow the company to provide its customers with a strengthened service package. [aoa id=”1″] The 6,000 square foot service centre, which is situated on Llantrisant Business Park, will mean that customers will receive parts, toner and support within 8-hours, as the company has established auto-processing system which allows for direct deliveries as well as investing in customer premise customer liaison personnel. Blue Sky Digital have found that its customers spend over…

The gambling industry is thriving in Europe, and nowhere more so than in the United Kingdom. Last year the industry declared a gross gambling yield of £14.5 billion, with £5.6 billion coming from the remote gambling sector – online casinos, bingo and betting. This is just the latest step in a rapid growth that has seen profits increasing consistently year after year. Because of the size of the market, you can imagine how eager companies are to get a slice of the action. However, regulations are tough, ensuring that any proposed casinos, even the online variety, must past rigorous scrutiny…

Cardiff are among the favourites to secure promotion to the Premier League this season after battling to a 2-1 victory over Luton at the weekend. The Bluebirds suffered a shock defeat away at Wigan in their first game of the campaign, but they steadied the nerves somewhat by vanquishing Luton. Top bookmakers like Heritage Sports reckon they have a better chance of going up than rivals Swansea this season, as Steve Cooper’s men are 10/1 outsiders in the promotion market. Yet the Swans will be encouraged by their start to the season and they could emerge as dark horses in…

The Welsh rental market is set to change on September 1, 2019, but what does that mean for landlords? In general, the Renting Homes Fees Welsh Act will make it so that fees for certain services cannot be charged to tenants by landlords and letting agents. Specifically, the law only allows fees to be charged for the following: Security Deposits Rent Holding Deposits Communication Services Utilities Default Fees Council Tax Any agent or landlord found charging fees for anything other than the above can be subject to a £1,000 fine. Those that ignore a fixed penalty notice will liable for prosecution…

A familiar Swansea brand is returning to help strengthen the city centre’s burgeoning café culture. [aoa id=”1″] Café TwoCann, which operated in SA1’s J-Shed for many years, has now launched its new café in the beautiful and historic surroundings of Swansea Council’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and light bites, plus cakes, afternoon teas, speciality coffees and smoothies. The council has been looking for a specialist partner to run the catering facility in the gallery which has a busy, high-profile Alexandra Road location due to benefit further from the ongoing city centre regeneration. [/aoa] Robert Francis-Davies,…

Kevin Machent hated school and often played truant. His mother’s solution was to give her teenage son a case of beer each time he spent a full week in the classroom, a reward that gave him a taste for alcohol that would almost destroy his life. By the time he was in his late teens, Kevin was drinking 20 cans of lager a day – more if he was upset by something. Then his brother Lee died and he shut out the pain by consuming even more booze. “I’d drink myself into oblivion,” says the 33-year-old. “I’d become a professional…