Author: Rhys Gregory

The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Business Council has appointed three new members to their board, reinforcing its representation of business in South East Wales. [aoa id=”1″]Oliver Lancaster (Future of Energy Manager at Newport-based Wales & West Utilities), Karen Thomas (Head of South Wales Corporate for Barclays) and Justin Moore (Director at Bouygues Construction) will join the current board members, expanding the team to twelve business representatives.[/aoa] Members of the Business Council are drawn from across the entire region and encompass a broad range of business backgrounds and sectors. Providing a strong voice for business, the council identifies regional priorities for…

The latest NatWest Wales PMI® data, private sector business activity expanded in May, as has been the case since July 2016. However, growth slowed amid a softer gain in new business. Nevertheless, employment rose to a quicker extent, while business confidence strengthened to a one-year high. [aoa id=”1″] The headline Wales Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors –  registered 51.2 in May. This was down from 53.0 in April and signalled the slowest upturn in private sector activity in five months. Nonetheless, Wales outperformed the UK overall,…

This is a devastating blow for Bridgend, the Welsh car industry and the regional economy says GMB Union [aoa id=”1″] Ford workers across the UK must stand together against the closure of the Bridgend Plant, GMB Congress has said. An emergency motion, passed at GMB’s Annual Conference in Brighton yesterday [Sunday June 9, 2019], calls on the company to reconsider the closure – which will cost 1,700 jobs. [/aoa] Ford workers at the car giant’s other UK plants must stand alongside their Bridgend colleagues, the motions says. Workers are due back at the Ford Bridgend plant today [Monday] for the…

The award-winning Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival: Everyman 2019 returns to Sophia Gardens this summer, with six weeks of theatre for the whole family from the 27th June – 3rd August.  ‘Everyman Theatre Cardiff continues its proud tradition of high quality theatre in this, its 78th year. From humble beginnings in the basement of a church to this past year where we performed to thousands in our Festival, on tour and at a variety of venues in Cardiff.   The festival kicks off this year with the classic sitcom ‘Hi-De-Hi’, followed by the Shakespearean favourite, Much Ado About Nothing. As we head into the Summer holidays, the whole…

A dreamy indie-pop band whose music has appeared on Black Mirror and Made in Chelsea, an electro teenage pop artist, a live rock, rap and reggae group, a jazz singer, a dance producer and one of the fastest banjo players in Wales. [aoa id=”1″]These are just a taste of the 12 Welsh artists chosen by industry experts who will benefit from the Horizons project, which has seen bands perform at UK and international festivals and record songs at the world-famous studios, Rockfield and Maida Vale.  The artists have been announced at an event attended by industry experts at the iconic…

A GIANT of the building trade continued its flying start to the year by opening a new branch on land which has lain empty for years. [aoa id=”1″] The 8,700 square foot Huws Gray store and showroom in Whitchurch is already proving popular with the public and trade customers. The three-acre base at Waymills was built from the ground up and features loading bays, exclusive lines and a top-quality kitchen, flooring and bathroom display area. [/aoa] Manager Gavin Martin says there was great demand for another Huws Gray outlet in the region, to complement nearby sites in Wrexham and Shrewsbury.…

The outlook is bright according to the results of the latest quarterly Business Barometer survey from Swansea Bay Business Club. Members of the business community from across the region were surveyed, with responses coming from a total of fourteen different sectors, including finance, retail, manufacturing, construction and hospitality – and the findings were notably upbeat. [aoa id=”1″]More than 45 percent of all those surveyed said their businesses performed somewhat better in the last three months than they did in the previous three months. Adding to the positive outlook, 50 percent of respondents said they were expecting to perform even stronger…

One of Wales’ best-known property auctioneers, Marc Morrish, has become the new face of Wales’ fastest growing land, commercial and residential property auctioneers – Auction House South Wales. [aoa id=”1″]Mr Morrish, aged 41 from Penarth, is a regular on the Welsh language property show, Ar Werth, where he was seen successfully auctioning a Cardiff property for £1.6 million – still the largest single property sold by a Welsh auctioneer, beating the record that he already held.[/aoa] With more than two decades experience in estate agency and property sales, including the last nine years as an auctioneer, Mr Morrish brings huge…

Japanese Ambassador to the UK, Koji Tsuruoka, joined Sony UK TEC in celebrating the Japan – UK Season of Culture this week, marking his first visit to the facility. He was joined by Mr Yusuke Ishihara, First Secretary; Mr Yugi Suzuki, Director of Tri-Wall Europe; Ted Kitagawa, Market Development Manager of Tri-Wall Europe; and Keith Dunn OBE, Honorary Consul for Japan in Wales. [aoa id=”1″]The purpose of the visit to Wales was to attend the reception being held by Welsh Government in celebration of the long-standing links and shared history between Wales and Japan. Following his time at Sony UK…

A village in the north of England with a population of 400 has been crowned Britain’s best coastal destination, while some of the nation’s most famous resorts languished at the bottom of the rankings in a new Which? survey. [aoa id=”1″] Thousands of holidaymakers rated their most recent visits to the seaside in a range of categories including quality of the beach, seafront, food, scenery, attractions and value for money. Bamburgh in Northumberland triumphed over better-known and pricier destinations – earning a full five stars for its scenery, wild unspoilt beach received a glowing overall customer score of 89 per…