Author: Rhys Gregory

Around 50 pension and investment specialists attended Quantum Advisory’s latest industry update seminar “Pensions for Breakfast”.

Dog Furiendly, a digital community and event service for dog owners, has been awarded a Highly Commended award at the Animal Star Awards. The Animal Star Award winners were announced at a prestigious awards ceremony on Saturday 3rd November in Guildford. [aoa id=”1″] The Animal Star Awards gives recognition to animals and humans alike for the extraordinary things they do for each other. With 14 categories awarding charities, vets, rescues, assistance animals, people in the pet industry and bloggers. Dog Furiendly is an all-new and interactive website for dog owners in Wales. The website is an authentic platform for listing…

As the festive season approaches, Cadw sites across Wales are busy decking the halls and hanging up the holly for a dazzling series of family events. From traditional carol singing to crafty workshops and magical Christmas grottos, here are eight ways to join in with the festivities at some of the country’s most spectacular heritage sites. 1. Ice skate at Wales’s largest castle A family ice skating experience is coming to Caerphilly Castle this winter, allowing visitors to skate within the walls of Wales’s largest castle — for the first time ever. For two weeks only, the fortress will be…

Brexit uncertainty is being felt in the housing market in Wales, with prices now flat and surveyors expecting prices and sales to edge lower in the three months ahead, according to the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Residential Market Survey. The latest survey is the first in 15 months in which house prices in Wales haven’t been reported to have risen. It is also the fourth survey in a row that Welsh surveyors have pointed to a fall in new buyer enquiries. In addition, newly agreed sales were reported to have been lower than the previous month. RICS…

Welsh technology company DevOpsGroup has opened an office in London to accelerate its ambitious growth plans.  The Cardiff-headquartered business, which specialises in DevOps and cloud engineering, has made Rise London the newest addition to its UK locations. Located in the heart of Shoreditch, it’s home a thriving community of FinTech companies and the Barclays Accelerator. DevOpsGroup plans to use the contemporary tech hub as a base for staff, client engagement, recruitment, and community events. James Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of DevOpsGroup, said: “We’re thrilled to be expanding to London with an office at Rise, a catalyst for innovation in the capital.…

Cardiff’s plans for a new 15,000 capacity indoor arena in the Bay will take a step forward this month if the Council’s Cabinet grants permission for detailed design works to be progressed. [aoa id=”1″] Once completed, the scheme will be brought back to Cabinet for a decision in March 2019, and a planning application for the development would be submitted by July 2019. The report to Cabinet reveals that the existing Red Dragon Centre could be demolished to make way for the new indoor arena which would face Lloyd George Avenue and the Oval Basin. Before that happens a brand…

Swansea University’s Hilary Lappin-Scott has urged female entrepreneurs and innovators of the future to grab their opportunities and pursue their ambitions. In her keynote presentation at an Innovate UK conference held at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre, Professor Lappin-Scott emphasised that entrepreneurship is vital to bringing social and economic growth to the region. She said: “Innovation underpins some of the most successful entrepreneurs in history. To be truly entrepreneurial, to achieve and sustain success, we need to continually innovate. “We need to ensure we are developing existing female talent within our institutions and recruiting additional female talent from all over the world.” She…

A new apprenticeship scheme has been launched by InSite, the UK-based technical consultancy that serves the oil, gas, metals, chemicals, renewables, technology licensing and financial industries. [aoa id=”1″] The new apprenticeship scheme is set to boost employment in the local area and to benefit InSite by providing skilled employees as it grows. Since InSite’s formation in 2014, the company has grown from six directors up to 60 employees in 2018. “The apprentice scheme will directly benefit the apprentices, Pembrokeshire College, InSite and clients of InSite,” said Jon Scarr, InSite’s General Manager. “The indirect beneficiary is the local economy, which will…

A Welsh pâté manufacturer has secured a £400,000 finance package from HSBC UK to install a new product development kitchen and expand its range of pâtés and vegan dishes. Patchwork Pâté, a family-run business based in Denbighshire, has used HSBC UK funding to purchase the equipment needed to introduce vegetarian, vegan and reduced-calorie pâtés to its collection, alongside five bespoke Welsh meat pâtés. The eight new product lines have enabled the business, which currently supplies to local pubs and restaurants, to enter the retail market for the first time. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] The business, which was established in 1982, has also…

Orbis Education and Care’s Lucy Pottinger will fly the flag for Wales at a national ceremony this month as the only Welsh nominee shortlisted for a Variety Catherine Award. [aoa id=”1″] Lucy has been nominated for the Rising Star Award at this year’s event, which celebrates inspiring women from the worlds of business and philanthropy UK wide. As Director of Education at Orbis, Lucy is also the only individual working in the education and care sector shortlisted for the category, which shines a spotlight on ‘women to watch’ for the future. Fellow nominees for the awards include Olympic ice skater…