Author: Rhys Gregory

Hodge has welcomed a national account manager for the south of England, and two new business development managers to work with its intermediary partners in the Midlands and north Wales and the north and south of England. The company has appointed Jason Newsway as national account manager for the south of England. Donna Spence, who takes on the role of business development manager for the north of England and James Enos as business development manager for the midlands and north Wales. James Enos has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, specialising in mortgages. James has previously worked for…

Simon Whiting has been appointed the new Centre Manager at Mermaid Quay, the 150,000 sq ft leisure destination on the waterfront in the heart of Cardiff Bay. Simon has a background in property, facilities and shopping centre management.  He started off as a security guard, literally working on the “shop floor” and, through a dedicated and entrepreneurial approach, has risen up the ladder.  He joins Mermaid Quay from the Maylord Shopping Centre in Hereford, where he was centre manager. Simon replaces Justin Patel, who was the Centre Manager at Mermaid Quay for five  successful years.  Justin has now taken up a new role at BAE Systems. Simon is looking forward to getting his teeth into his new role at Mermaid Quay.  Commenting on his appointment, Simon said: “This a fantastic opportunity to work in one of the most important…

A North Wales law firm has raised £117,925 to support the vital work of Tenovus Cancer Care. Gamlins Law helped to raise the money after backing the charity’s Free Wills Month. Clients were able to take advantage of free wills and were given the opportunity to leave a donation to Tenovus Cancer Care in their will if they wanted to. The £117,925 was made up of cash legacies and shares of estates that were left. The support for the cancer charity is one of the key initiatives of the law firm’s ‘Give with Gamlins’ initiative, launched two years ago. Since…

Bosses from a North Wales-based independent travel agency partied with Peter Andre after scooping a top award for the third year running at a prestigious industry conference. Don Bircham and Lindsey Barber of Hays Travel North West, which has its head office in Wrexham and runs stores across North Wales including Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Mold, Flint and Connah’s Quay met the Mysterious Girl singer at the Jet2 VIP conference for independent travel agents held this year in Calpe, on Spain’s south eastern coast. The three-day conference recognises the hard work and commitment of the best independent travel agents throughout the…

A ward at Singleton Hospital which was badly damaged in a fire last March is re-opening, following an extensive refurbishment. Patients began moving back into Ward 12, an oncology ward, over the weekend. They had temporarily been housed in Ward 20 while the repairs were carried out. Ward 12 has undergone not only full repair, refitting and redecorating, but had new ceilings put in. Part of that work involved removing old asbestos which was installed when the hospital was built in 1958, and replacing it with modern fire-proofing materials. This ceiling work was extended into the adjoining Ward 11, which…

A hugely popular inflatable adventure park has closed its doors one-year-on since opening. The Inflatable Arena Cardiff was located on the outskirts of the city on the Jubilee Trading Estate and opened in 2018. Complete with inflatable vertical drop slides, rope swings, mountain climbs and tunnels, the arena allowed visitors to take part in ‘Gladiator-style’ games and a challenging ‘Ninja Warrior-style’ assault course. There was also an onsite café offering a range of refreshments. Customers have been reporting online that when turning up the venue, they have found the venue closed – despite Google still listing the business as open.…

With Christmas and New Year celebrations over, the focus seems to be on how you’re recycling your trees, decorations, plants and festive foliage.  Of course, you should be recycling all year round. However, Welsh Distillery, Cygnet, have come up with an ingenious way for customers to re-use their gin bottles. There is a little incentive too! If you bring back your empty 70cl or 50cl Cygnet bottles, the distillers will not only re-fill them but they’ll pop the new cork / bottle stopper back on them as well as the original seal so they’re ‘like new’ and you’ll get 20% off the bottle…

A long-established Swansea bridal wear business has relocated to The Kingsway, to celebrate 20 years of trading, and to take advantage of the opportunities due to unfold thanks to the ongoing regeneration there. Chic and Elegant Bridal Wear, which has helped to create thousands of fairy-tale endings for brides over the past two decades, from its shop in Mansell Street, enjoyed its own ‘big day’, with a grand opening this weekend.  Owner, Linda Hurford has set up shop in a larger site on The Kingsway, where she can grow the business further. She said: “I’m very pleased to be relocating…

The co-founder of innovative online accountancy business Mazuma is warning that many accountants could find themselves killed off by the growing threat from FinTech companies. Lucy Cohen, co-founded award-winning Bridgend-based Mazuma with childhood friend Sophie Hughes in 2006, says getting onto partnership with FinTech businesses could backfire on accountants. In an article entitled ‘Beware the FinTech wolf in collaborator’s clothing’, Lucy says: “Open banking, APIs and the ongoing saga that is Making Tax Digital (MTD) have created a space in the market for increased levels of automation in the compliance ecosystem. In a previous article I talked about the historic implication by…

One of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers, Towergate Insurance Brokers, has teamed up with the West Wales Rugby Union for the 2019/2020 season. The partnership coincides with the new season and sees Towergate Insurance Brokers sponsor all three cup competitions. As well as the Towergate Insurance Challenge Cup, Plate Cup and Bowl Cup, company signage will be displayed across the 64 member clubs, as well as on the West Wales Rugby Union website. Towergate Insurance Brokers, which has over 60 offices nationwide, has a strong Welsh presence and a long-standing relationship with sporting teams across the country, having also…