Author: Rhys Gregory

Educ8 Group has been named as the best small company in Wales to work for on the same night its CEO won the Leader of the Year award. The double gong came at the annual Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For Awards. [aoa id=”1″] Founded in 2004 by Chairman Colin Tucker, the business is headquartered in Ystrad Mynach and has operations across Wales and England, with the ambitious company acquiring Bridgend-based ISA Training as recently as January. Educ8 topped the Welsh contingent in the Best Small Business To Work For category, coming 6th overall across the UK; the fifth…

A WORLD-RENOWNED animal psychologist who trained the Queen’s corgis praised a North Wales pet store for opening a revolutionary play park and cinema complex for dogs. [aoa id=”1″] Roger Mugford is known far and wide for his work in behavioural therapy, which has seen him give talks internationally and win a coveted Blue Cross Welfare Award. In 1979 he founded the Animal Behaviour Centre in Surrey, a referral service which has treated more than 80,000 problem pets over the last 40 years. He has seen it all, or so he thought before visiting PetPlace in Abergele and its purpose-built cinema,…

GlobalWelsh, the diaspora network for Wales, has hosted its first founding patrons’ forum Cardiff. [aoa id=”1″] The event, which was held at Principality Building Society’s headquarters in Cardiff, saw GlobalWelsh founding patrons and supporters meet to establish how the privately funded community interest company can scale and grow to maximise engagement opportunities with Welsh diaspora to benefit Wales. The event welcomed founding patrons, GlobalWelsh supporters, returning Welsh diaspora and politicians for a morning of talks, discussion and ideas on how it can grow and scale faster.  It aims to engage the global diaspora network in Wales and contribute towards creating…

Farmers and those reliant on agriculture for their income are getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity on the UK’s exit from the European Union and are desperate for stability to continue running their businesses, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has said. [aoa id=”1″] Speaking after yesterday’s (Wednesday 27 February) 10 Downing Street reception, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We have spent the last couple of days speaking to key figures in the European Commission and Parliament to discuss Brexit and its implications and we have further discussed the worries and concerns of our farmers at the St David’s…

First Time Buyers have snapped up almost all newly released homes at a new Llandudno Junction development – in just 30 minutes.   Beech Developments have been inundated with calls and emails from local families and residents since they released the plots this morning (28.2.19) at Llys Marl. Fourteen of the 18 have been reserved with only four remaining.   Matthew Gilmartin, Managing Director of Beech Developments said: “The level of demand for good quality homes in Conwy is certainly exemplified in the speed of reservations at Llys Marl. Nearly all the buyers are First Time Buyers and we’ve been…

SCHOOLS and social care are to get millions of pounds of extra necessary investment in the coming financial year after Swansea Council passed its budget on Thursday (Feb 28). [aoa id=”1″] Councillors agreed to fully fund this year’s teacher’s pay rise and millions of pounds of necessary investment in social care despite continued cuts to local government funding. The measures would mean that in addition to a local council tax increase of 2.99% intended as part of the budget proposals, there will also be a rise of 1% for teachers pay and 2% for social care services. The move to…

In the run up to the increase in employer contributions into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, Stuart Price from Quantum Advisory is looking to the positive and thinks it could be the start of a reform in the way the TPS is run.

Never mind the Easter bunny – families are guaranteed a warm welcome when they head to the award-winning Zip World for holiday fun this Spring. [aoa id=”1″] Ffion the dragon is the new mascot who will be introduced for the first time this Easter holiday at Zip World’s Fforest site in Conwy Valley, North Wales, from April 6th-28th. As well as Ffion, there’s loads of holiday fun planned including puzzles to solve, certificates to win and themed food to enjoy – including shortbread dragons in the Fforest Caffi. And of course the children can get their hands on some yummy…

An apprentice from Swansea is calling on local people and his fellow colleagues to pursue the career they have always wanted by applying for an apprenticeship during National Apprenticeship Week 2019. [aoa id=”1″] Daniel Oulton (22) from Swansea is a Reliability and Maintenance Engineering Apprentice working at Amazon in Swansea. Daniel started his apprenticeship with Amazon in 2018 and is working towards a qualification to become a Reliability Maintenance Engineer after four years of training study with Amazon and EEF in Birmingham. Daniel is one of 19 apprentices currently working at Amazon in Swansea. This week, Amazon is announcing that…

A leading holiday park operator has unveiled plans to invest over £1 million in its Talacre Beach Resort. [aoa id=”1″] Darwin Escapes, which itself is headquartered at Talacre, plans to upgrade the resort’s clubhouse and accommodation facilities. The investment will see the introduction of a number of new caravans, refreshed interiors, a new entrance to the pool area and an extension to the clubhouse with a beach hut theme. There will also be a new children’s play area, a modernised reception, a new menu in the restaurant and a silver Airstream offering light bites. [/aoa] Last year more than 25,000…