Author: Rhys Gregory

Oneplanet Adventure, a forest visitor centre in North Wales, has used a six-figure finance package from HSBC UK to purchase the site it has leased for the last 13 years. [aoa id=”1″]Co-owners Jim Gaffney and Ian Owen have used the HSBC UK funding, combined with a loan from the Development Bank of Wales, to acquire the visitor centre and car parks previously owned by the Church Commissioners of England. The acquisition will allow the business to expand as it seeks to meet growing demand.[/aoa] Located at the heart of the 650-hectare Coed Llandegla Forest, Oneplanet Adventure welcomes 150,000 visitors each…

Cardiff Institute for the Blind (CIB) is celebrating another successful year helping blind and partially sighted people take part in sport and leisure activities at Better Cardiff venues. [aoa id=”1″] Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, CIB works with Better Cardiff Leisure Centres in Llanishen, Star, Maindy, Fairwater, Pentwyn and Western to make activities such as fitness, swimming, spin, pilates, yoga, aqua sessions more accessible and welcoming for people with sight loss. The four year project sees Better Cardiff staff arrange various taster sessions, coaching and open days for visually impaired people. CIB volunteers then accompany people to an…

The number of buy to let investors in the UK has hit a record high of 2.5m in the latest tax year – that’s five per cent up on the previous 12 months – according to data released by Ludlowthompson. [aoa id=”1″] The number of landlords has increased 27 per cent in the past five years, up from 1.97m in 2011-12, and landlords now own an average of 1.8 buy to let properties each – rising for the fifth consecutive year. Property specialists, Parkmans, believes the fundamental aspects that make the UK buy to let market attractive to investors remain…

Carpentry apprentice Andrew Hardy has been named NFB Apprentice of the Year at the prestigious NFB awards held at the Belfry Hotel & Resort on Thursday 4 April. [aoa id=”1″]Andrew, a carpentry apprentice from Pontypridd, is one of Y Prentis’s older apprentices who is currently placed with Willis Construction. He has been employed as an apprentice since April 2018 and is studying towards his Level 3 NVQ and diploma in site carpentry at Coleg y Cymoedd. He also takes an evening course to complete his Level 1 Diploma in Plumbing in his spare time.[/aoa] Andrew said: “It feels really good…

The South Wales Law Awards is delighted to announce the nominees for the inaugural South Wales Law Awards. The awards will recognise the outstanding achievements of the law community, at a black tie gala dinner on Wednesday the 15th May 2019 at the Bear Hotel – Cowbridge. Sara Edwards, one of Welsh Television and Radio’s most popular presenters is set to host the South Wales Law Awards. The nominees are as follows: Solicitor of the Year Daniela Mahapatra – NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) Legal & Risk Services Dr Kerry Beynon – RDP Law Hannah Magee – Robertsons Solicitors Clare…

Siobhan Williams, an Associate at Cardiff commercial law firm Darwin Gray, has been shortlisted for Service Provider of the Year in the UK-wide Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWIF) awards 2019. [aoa id=”1″] EWIF is a not-for-profit organisation focused on supporting women in the franchising industry across its six UK regions. Darwin Gray’s Managing Partner, Stephen Thompson is EWIF’s South West & Wales Regional Chair, facilitating quarterly members’ meetings across Cardiff and Bristol. The EWIF awards 2019 will take place on 1 May in London, where finalists and members from across the UK will celebrate incredible achievements from women in the…

Science discovery centre Techniquest has appointed retail and leisure agents EJ Hales to source an operator for its new coffee shop. [aoa id=”1″] The charity, which is soon to embark on a major extension of its Cardiff Bay-based property, is seeking an operator for its new purpose-built coffee shop. The 1,152 sq ft unit, which has its own entrance via Stuart Street, as well as direct access from Techniquest, is part of the £5.7m Science Capital project. [/aoa] The space is being marketed at £27,500 per annum on a new lease to be agreed, also includes two store rooms, a…

Vision Blue, the leading provider of compliant software solutions for the Credit and Debt Recovery sectors, has acquired Cardiff-based fast growth fintech company SamePage Group, a pioneer in fully-digital Loan Origination software platforms, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of SamePage by Vision Blue comes after the success of a recent strategic partnership which saw both companies deliver a full lifecycle Loan Origination and Account Management System (LMS) for the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC). Since it was established in 2017, SamePage has quickly made a name for its dynamic, cloud-deployed loan origination platform which is transforming the consumer lending…

Fasteners and tools company Spotnails Ltd has new owners after the Development Bank of Wales supported a management buyout (MBO) of the business with a multi-million pound equity investment. [aoa id=”1″] Spotnails, based in Bedwas, Caerphilly is a long-standing independent distributor of tools and fastener products to the UK building industry with more than 60 years trading history. It has a national salesforce as well as a manufacturing base with servicing and repair facilities at the Caerphilly headquarters. Funding for the buyout was provided by Development Bank of Wales via their Wales Management Succession Fund. The £25 million fund enables…

A North Wales-based tech company has achieved a prestigious industry certification. [aoa id=”1″] St Asaph-headquartered Pinacl has become the first Cisco Premier Partner operating in the SME space to achieve the Cisco IoT Authorization certification that was launched earlier this year. The Cisco IoT Authorization accreditation is for partners who have demonstrated their capabilities in Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. [/aoa] It follows on from the company’s successful Smart City deployments in York, Aberdeen and Newport. Pinacl’s IoT technical team and pre-sales team were required to attend an IoT training course and complete exams to demonstrate Pinacl’s capability in deploying…