Author: Rhys Gregory

Cardiff office market demand picked up in the first half of the year according to new research from global property consultancy Knight Frank. According to its national review, in H1 – January to June 2024 – take-up in Cardiff’s city centre reached 188,112 sq ft, 27 per cent above the equivalent period in 2023 and four per cent above the 10-year H1 average. The largest deal to complete in H1 involved the Welsh Government, which purchased over 50,000 sq ft of space at Centre 7, Cardiff Gate Business Park to support the expansion of the compound semiconductor cluster in South…

Plans for the regeneration of Cardiff Peninsula have been submitted to Cardiff Council. Cardiff Peninsula Consortium was appointed as master developer of Cardiff Peninsula by the council in September 2023. Plans to revitalise the derelict land around the International Sports Village have now been submitted to the council for approval. The masterplan for the peninsula would see the ice arena, International Pool, yacht club, and International White Water joined by: Cafes, shops, restaurants and a market square along a new high street and bayside promenade An innovation hub and business quarter, with co-working office space A new hotel Public gardens…

Leading south Wales law firm JCP Solicitors has opened its doors to the next generation of legal professionals by welcoming its new cohort of Legal Apprentices for 2024. Opening the Legal Apprenticeship scheme for the second year running, JCP Solicitors has appointed four new starters to the trail blazing legal training programme. Ruby Shadrach, Caitlin Shell, Isabella Killeen-Lott, and Kenza Maaroufi join the business at the firm’s Swansea headquarters, taking on roles as apprentices within the Lifetime Planning, Residential Conveyancing and Business Support teams. The four new apprentices will be enrolled onto the legal apprenticeship scheme which offers a pathway…

A Denbighshire-based construction firm has secured the enabling works at the new £15.8m orthopaedic hub at Llandudno Hospital, with the company already progressing with stage one of the project. Wynne Construction has been on site since March to build two new orthopaedic theatres and extend the radiology unit, as well as carry out the refurbishment of the existing Aberconwy Ward and x-ray department. The latest contract, which was awarded by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), will see its team also deliver upgrades to the car park and hospital infrastructure in addition to constructing an energy centre to power the…

A new replica veterinary clinic is set to open at Aberystwyth University as Wales’s only School of Veterinary Science expands. The investment, worth around £150,000, in the Veterinary Education Centre will pay for new facilities such as waiting, examination and treatment areas along with key equipment used for small animal care. Most of the new work to expand the Centre’s site at the University’s Penglais campus was funded by a bequest from the estate of the late Gordon Burrows. The new investment is in addition to over £2 million that was spent to establish Aberystwyth Veterinary School, which was officially…

An award-winning mid-Wales manufacturer has secured a string of new export deals around the world in territories including New Zealand, Pakistan, and Mexico, with significant deals in India expected to complete in the coming months. Zip-Clip designs and manufactures high-specification wire suspension and bracing solutions for an ever-increasing range of applications and sectors, including electrical, mechanical, heating, ventilation, construction and seismic. The company, which was founded twenty years ago, has worked on flagship projects, including the 2012 Olympics, World Cup stadiums in Qatar, Amazon datacentres and London’s new US Embassy. The Welshpool based company exports to over forty countries around…

Welsh firms signalled a return to output growth during August, according to the NatWest Wales Growth Tracker. The headline Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered 51.5, up from 48.3 in July to record a renewed rise in output midway through the third quarter, thereby ending a two-month sequence of decline. The upturn in activity was linked by panellists to stronger demand conditions and a further increase in new orders. August data signalled a second successive monthly expansion in new orders…

Ms Robson steps into the role from 23 September, following the departure of previous CEO, Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, earlier this year. Interim Chief Executive, Sian Aldridge, will return to her previous role in The Wallich Executive Team as Director of Operations. Established in 1978, The Wallich worked with 8,306 people who experienced homelessness, risk of homelessness or financial hardship in 2023/24 across Wales. Ms Robson will oversee 132 homelessness and prevention services, across 21 of the 22 Welsh local authorities. Ms Robson will join The Wallich’s Executive Team with vast experience and passion for social justice. She has a history of…

The North East Wales Industrial Decarbonisation (NEWID) cluster has concluded its initial stakeholder engagement as part of a new decarbonisation programme to promote the development and deployment of decarbonisation projects across North East Wales. The project has been made possible by £700k in funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) under the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans (LIDP) competition which is delivered by Innovate UK. The LIDP programme provides support for industrial manufacturers in dispersed sites to develop plans to reduce their emissions and avoid carbon leakage. The project is focused on developing a Regional Industrial Decarbonisation…

Musicians in the Welsh National Opera (WNO) orchestra will be taking industrial action on Saturday 21 September, supported by the Musicians’ Union(MU). MU members will be taking Action Short of Strike by leafleting the audience on their way in to and wearing campaign t-shirts instead of their usual concert dress for the opening night performance of Rigoletto. The performance is directed by Adele Thomas, who will be taking office as Co-General Director and Co-CEO alongside Sarah Crabtree in January 2025. The musicians will be calling on management, Arts Council of Wales and Arts Council England to keep WNO as a…