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8/11/2019 Business Argus 160914

1/8

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Historic building isat the vanguard ofcitys rejuvenation

LORDTredegars formerestates officein theheartof Newport has emergedas a beaconof businessexcellence forthe cityaftera complete refurbish-ment and rejuvenation.

Dating back to1905,the list-ed buildingat Pentonville,Gold Tops, inthe middle ofthe cityof Newports com-mercial andprofessional dis-trict, was officiallyopenedbyMayor of Newport,MatthewEvans.

Bought byprivateinvestorsfromthe South of Englandafterpreviouslybeing usedas courthouse butlatterlyempty thehistoricbuilding,nowrenamedThe Estates

Office, offersultra-modernoffice accommodation.

CllrEvans said:A fantasticjob has been done to bringthishistoriclisted buildingback tolife.Weall expressourthanks andadmiration tothenewowners forthewaythatthey have investedinthissuperb buildingandhave createda fabulousnewbusiness centre in an envi-ronment that is steeped inhistory.

Hesaid:Itis remarkabletosee howquicklytenantshavetakenspacein thebuilding.Iunderstand thatjust twoofthe six tenants wereprevi-ouslybasedin Newport sothat,in itself, is a real suc-cess story.

Haydn Thomas,of lettingagents Hutchings and

Thomas CharteredSurveyors, whoare tenantsin thebuilding, welcomedguests to theofficial opening.

He said:The Estates Officehas hadan extremelyimpor-tant part toplayanda signifi-cant placein thehistoryofNewport.

Thebuilding was themainestates officefor theTredegar Estates andas suchhelped shape anddevelop a

greatdealof this part ofSouth EastWales.We weredelightedthat thenew own-ershadthe visionforthefuture use of thisvery impor-tant buildingwhich,it isfairto say, has hada chequeredhistory in recent years.

Hutchings andThomas hasbeensuccessful in lettingsome 75per cent of the avail-

able spacein TheEstatesOffice.

Gloucester-headquarteredarchitectsRobert Limbrickhas opened its regional officeinthe buidlingand isalreadylooking to expand within thebuilding.

Mr Thomas said:Theopening of TheEstatesOfficealongwith the recent open-

ingof AdmiralInsuranceofficein Queensway andtheFriars Walk scheme, in thecentre of thecity, proves thattheeconomyof thecityis abright one.

Wehavebeen involved inthecommercial economyofNewport for verymanyyears, forsome20 yearsof

Turnto page7

Follow us on Twitter: @SWABusiness & on southwalesargus.co.uk/business

ByJoBarnes01633 777240

[email protected] @SWABusness

Newport mayor Matthew Evans opens the Estates Ofice wth Davd Jones, Hutchngs & Thomas,Justn Kngdon, managng agent, Davd Pugsley & Haydn Thomas, Hutchngs & Thomas

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

BusinessArgus

Howwill the outcomScottish independenreferendumaffec

business inWales

Page 2


2/8

In brief...

Douglas Haig and Sam George

The big question.

THISweek sees thehistoricindependencevote takingplace in Scotland.

Wehaveasked Gwent busi-nesses whatoutcome theywouldlike tosee andhowtheyfeel either result willaffect Wales.

PaulByett, man-aging partner,UHYHackerYoung, Newport

THEconse-quences of anindependentScotlandwill be disastrousfor Gwent businessesdue totheuncertainty thatit cre-ates. Wehavespent manyyears buildinga cohesive

United Kingdomwith a mix-ture of serviceindustry,manufacturingand naturalresources.The blend worksandthat is whatmakes usthethird largest economy inEurope andprobably thesixthin theworld.Locallywebenefit from this inmanyways suchas a relatively sta-blelandscape withthe com-fort blanket of theUK gov-ernment whenthis stabilityis disturbedby events suchasthe banking crisis. We arejust starting to climb out ofrecessionin Gwent so uncer-taintysuchas a Scottishindependence andworriesover interest rateincreasescould serve to stallour recov-ery.

Ross Porter,

ClearskyRecruitment,Blackwood

I THINKthattherewillbe adetrimentaleffecton theUK economy iftheScottishpeoplevote Yesat the forthcoming referen-dum.Itsa case of myheartsays Yes butmy headsaysNo,Imafraid.As much as Iadmire theScottishpeoplewho want tostandalone fortheirpatriotismand theideaof a an independent country,if they do, itwill unsettletheeconomy. The pound willweaken asmoreand morebusinesseslose confidence intheUK marketand invest-mentwill slow. Interest ratesfortherestof the UKcould

riseas thebankingorganisa-tionsmayhave topaymorefortheir moneyas thefinan-cialboat willbe rocked.Jobswill belostin Scotlandasmajor employershavealreadysaid theywill relo-catetheir businessesif theYes vote is decided.Withallthis inmind,I hope theout-comeis thatScotlandremains part of theUK and

perhapsget moreauthoritywhenit comes todecisionmaking.

Daniel Wilde,partner,HardingEvansSolicitors,Newport

I VERY muchhopethatScotlandsays no,as theUK

hasa strongervoice politi-callyand from a businessperspective if the UK staystogether. Whilethe sky willnotfallin if thereis a yes

vote, equallythere willbesignificant changes in thepoliticaldynamicin the UKif Scotland leaves. Whateverhappens,the devolutiongenieis notgoing togo backinits bottlenowand I canseea strongpushformoredevo-lution powers in Wales andalsoEngland. I thinkif morepowers arepushedto theScottishand Welsh parlia-mentsthentherewillbe a

strong clamourthat WelshandScottishMPs should notbeallowedto voteon mattersthatonly touch uponEngland.Only timewill tell

if moredevolutionis goodfor business.MoreGovernment tends to resultinmorelawsandred tape.

DanSmith,M4PropertyConsultants,Newport

HERE atM4property con-sultants we are

passionately Welsh.However, we believe thereare advantages to beingpartof GreatBritainand feelbothScotland andWales

Follow us on Twitter: @SWABusiness


[email protected]

Twitter @SWABusiness

Towns solicitors launch forum

Yes, no, undecided - Scottish voters take to the polls on T hursday to decide the future of the country

should remain witfeel if Scotlandwerfor independence,iawaken similar hoWelsh nationalistsindependence. Thito uncertainty withWelsh economy. Wefragile economy shstepstowardsa recuncertainty as to wWales would remaGreatBritainif Sc

to become independamage therecoveWelsh economyinterm. For thesereahoping Scotlandwi

Editorial

Jo Barnes

Special

features

editor

Tel: 01633 777240email: jo.barnes@

gwent-wales.co.uk

Advertising

Graham Harris

Senior Field

Sales Executive

Tel: 01633 777135

email: graham.harris@

gwent-wales.co.uk

Samantha

Taylor

MediaConsultant

Tel: 01633 777147

Email: Samantha.tay-

[email protected]

southwalesargus.co.uk/

business

Contact us...

Tuesday, Septembe2 Business Argus

Small firms fillwith optimismConfidence amongsmallbusinessesis continuingto improveafter a surveyshowed three-fifths offirms expectto grow inthenext12 months.

Theindex bytheFederationof SmallBusinessesregisteredplus41 in thethird quarter,witheverysector record-inga positiveoutlookforthenext threemonths.

It is the seventhconsecu-tive quarter thatsmallbusinesseshavebeen posi-tive abouttheiroutlook.TheSouth Eastremainsthemost confidentregionoverall,registeringa scoreof 52.

FSBnationalchairman,John Allan, said:Wereseeing record breakingconfidence fromour mem-berswhich suggestssmallfirmswill continuetospearheadthe UKs recov-ery.

TheFSBsaidone third

of businessessurveyedexpect theirturnover togrow inthe next quarterandalmosta fifth expecttosee profits rise.

Jobcreationhas alsobeenrobust,with hiringintentionsat an all-timehigh forthe four yearssincethe reportslaunch.

QUALITYSOLICITORS RubinLewisOBrien enjoyed greatsuccesswith thelaunch of the CwmbranLandlordForum at the ParkwayHotel.

Theforum aspires toofferadvicetolandlords in thearea, withmeetingsbeingheld every twomonths withguestspeakers present to discuss cur-renthousingissues.

Douglas Haig,vice-chairman anddirector forWales of the Residential

LandlordsAssociation andchairmanof the Cardiff LandlordForumgavethefirst talk onhow tokeepabreastoflegislationand theimportance ofbeinginformed.

MrHaigsaid:Therewas a fantasticresponse fromthe launch of theCwmbranLandlordForum, andI wasimpressedby the enthusiasmthat allattendeesdemonstrated. Thereis areallack of understandingamongst

landlords, andthe RLAandQualitySolicitors Rubin Lewis OBrienare committedto promotingforumsandother educational platformstohelpdevelop andbetter theprivaterented sector. I have beeninvolvedinthe Cardiff LandlordForum for fiveyears;so I knowhowharditis tolaunch a group. I have every confi-dence thatthe Cwmbran LandlordForum willbecomea regular fixture

forall landlords inthe area who arelooking foradvice, andwhowishto airissueswith people in similar situa-tions. Speakersin themonths to fol-lowwillgive talkson a rangeof topicssuchas howto structure investmentsfinancially in a tax efficient manner,advice on purchasing propertyat auc-tion,how the local government canbestprotectlandlords andhow bankscanmeet landlords needs.


3/8

In bref

Lucy Thomas, Rachael James and Rhys Dando

Community heroes arerewarded at ceremonyTHEMons, a newaward forMonmouthshire, werepickedup by tenbusinesses,chari-ties and individuals fromthecounty at a special ceremonyheld at St Pierre, nearChepstow.

Theawardswere the brain-child of Jo Barnes, editor of oursister publicationMonmouthshireCounty Lifemagazine, who came upwiththeideaof rewarding someof thecountys unsung heroes as partof themagazines 10thanniver-sary celebrations.

Josaid: In Monmouthshirewe aresurrounded byamazingtalent fromworld-classchefs tobest-sellingauthors butwe arealsosurrounded byunsungheroes whowork tirelesslyintheirownfields tomake

Monmouthshirethe diverseandvibrant county we love.

MCLaskedthe peopleofMonmouthshireto nominatepossiblerecipients andthen apanel of judges,including mem-bersof the MCLteam, whittledthe list downto thefinal 10.

Awards wereto theSevernArea Rescue Association; DavidSansom of Uskforhis work withUskFestival;the owners of theInnat Penallt fortheir hardwork in bringinga near-redun-dantvillagepub back tolife;Anne Rainsbury, curator ofChepstowMuseumand oneofthefoundersof ChepstowFestival; Steve Davies,of Homesof Elegancein Abergavennyforhiswork promotingthe town,Donald Stewart for his workspreadinga love of traditionalCeltic musicthrough Gwent

Music Service; Henry Ashby,who is anintegralpartof theMonmouthshirefood scenepro-viding someof thetop restau-rantsin theareawithforagedfood; The RotaryClub of


Tranee solctors jon irmto boost dedcated teams

Jo Barnes, editor of Monmouthshire County Life, centre, with the MCLteam and the inaugural winners of The Mons awards

Threetraineesolicitors havejoined Newport law firm HBJW.

The three, LucyThomas,Rachael James andRhysDando, started theirtrainingcontractat thestart ofSeptemberand have joined the

firms rapidlyexpanding litiga-tionteam.Rhys andLucy willinitially

progress civil actions againstclaims against thepolice aris-ingout of allegations of mis-conduct,while Rachael hasjoined the firms clinical negli-gence andpersonalinjurydepartment.

Headof clinicalnegligenceandcivil actions against thepolice Nathan Hennah said:

Weare excited to announcethearrivalof their intake ofnew trainees. Lucy, RachaelandRhys arewelcomeaddi-

tionsto ourdedicatedteamandwillensure we maintainourreputationas a leading firmwithour fields of expertise.

Qualifica

call suppA Newport motoship is supportipaignby theNatFranchised DeaAssociation to u

government to pmotoristsfrom ucar mechanics.

Wessex Garagehas twooutletsaRetail Park, Spyingforthe govercreate a minimuardforall UKganicians.

Keith Brock, mdirector of WessGarages, said: Atoa recentpollbNFDA andTrusDealers websitecent of peoplearware that thereaminimum qualifor a carmechan

Unlike manyEurope,the UKdregulate entry inprofession, whi

unlicensedandtrained mechanruna garage witbreakingthe lawsupporting the Ncampaignto callgovernment to pmotoristsby creminimum standUK garage techn

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 Business Argus

Monmouthfor theirfundraisingactivities especiallythe hugelypopular MonmouthRaft Race;andJennyMacGregor whohasrunthe Societyfor theWelfareof Horsesand Ponies nearMonmouthfor 37 years.

A posthumous award was alsogiven to Alison Beasley, a driv-

ingforce for promotingChepstowand one of thefound-ers of ChepstowRadio.HerdaughterRemy attendedtheeventto accepttheaward onbehalf of the family.

Eachwinnerreceived a spe-cially commissioned ceramicpot,whichwas handmadebyyoung Tintern potter KristianVaughan-Adkinsand sponsoredbyNewport-basedpublicrela-tionsfirm, DBPR, whose manag-ingdirectorDavidBarnes livesin Monmouthshire.

JoBarnes said: Itwas greattomeetall of these unsungheroesandfindout more aboutwhatthey do forthe county.Were alreadyplanningnextyearsevent.


4/8

Maureen McAllister

Calls for businessesto support the Union

Dame Tessa Jowell, formerSecretary of State for Culture,Media andSport, calledonGwent businessesto demon-strate to Scottish counterpartsthattheywant the UKto staytogether.

Withonlydaysto gobefore thecrucial Scottishreferendum DameTessatoldmembersof theM4BusinessNetworkat the CelticManor Resort thatthe countrywas facing a very dangerousmomentas theYesand Nocam-paignsappearedto beneckandneck.

Shesaid: Theeconomicconse-

quences inthe long runwouldbedevastatingso weneedto raiseachorus of voices in favourof theunion. Businessescan contributebyreflecting on the benefitsofinterdependence.

Theformer Labour minister,who grew upin Scotland,wasspeakingat theSeptember meet-ingof theM4 Business Networkattendedby morethan 170 seniorbusinesspeople fromGwent andsurrounding areas.

DameTessa,who was responsi-blefor Londons Olympicbid,praised Newport on thesuccessfulhosting of the NATO Summit.

Shesaid: Congratulations inparticular to theCeltic Manor for

the incredible jobthey have done.I knowwhatit islike tobeinvolved in somethinglike thatandtheattention todetail that isrequired.

Shesaid London 2012demon-strated the willingness of individ-ualsto contribute voluntarilyto

society if they didnotfeelGovernment was instructing themtodo so.Sherecalled thework ofthe70,000 volunteer Gamesmakerswho came from allover theUK,includingWalesand Scotland.

Business too,were becomingincreasingly focused on whatthey

could do for theircomBusinesses realise thpurpose drives commecessand commercial sports social purpose.Wwant tobe proudof ththey workfor andthebreach outto theircomandtheir customersanbuilds an inalienable saltythat seesthem thrhard times.

Sheadded:Busines

alwaysunder-promisedeliver. Theyshouldpra bitlessthattheyareconfidentthey candeltionthey should alwayverybestpeopleand thtoget onand dotheirj

Chairman of the M4Networkand managinits mainsponsorUHYYoung, PaulByett, saidelightedto have hadDaddress ourNetwork.was an excellentcombhonest politicaland coinsights,deliveredin athatwas perfectlytailbusiness audience.

Thenext M4 Busineseventwillbe held atthManor Resort on theN

Sponsorsof the clubUHYHackerYoung ChAccountants,the Sout

Argus, Universityof SWorking Word,BarclaThomas Carroll, TheCManor, Carbon FinancPlanning, Newport CiMcAlister& Co InsolvPractitioners,South WChamberof CommercHarding Evans Solicit

Forfurtherinformatbecominga memberofBusinessNetworkplewww.m4businessnetw



[email protected] @SWABusiness

Tourism group appoints chief

Paul Byett, Dame Tessa Jowell, Lisa White

MAUREEN McAllister has beenappointedat thefirst tourismchief of The Wye Valleyand Forestof DeanTourism Association.

Maureen takeson theroleofexecutive director, a postcreatedtoleadthe associationand its350members,expandits reachandcreate opportunitiesto promotetheareaas oneof theUKs leadingleisure,holidayand fooddestina-tions.

The appointmentfollows a stringof successes for theassociation,which until nowwas essentially avoluntaryorganisation.

A recently-appointedboardofdirectorshas successfully forgednew partnership arrangementswith both theForestof DeanDistrict Council andMonmouthshireCounty Councilto secure funding.

Theteamalsowona covetedTourismBusinessof the Yearaward for 2014.

Caroline Anderson,chairmanoftheassociation, said:Tourism intheForestof Dean andMonmouthshirecontributes141.5m and158.1mrespectivelyto thelocal economies, soMaureens appointment is criticalto theregionsfuture. Maureenhas vastexperience in theindus-tryandwillwork with theboard

andour members to developtour-ismin thearea.

Maureenhas heldhigh-profiledestination managementpositionsin Gloucester, Birmingham, theEnglish Rivieraand she latterlyledthe tourism andcultureagendaforthe South West RegionalDevelopment Agency. She alsoruns a tourism consultancy,McAllister andCo, which hasworkedwith leading destinationsto developtheir marketingand

business strategies.Maureen McAllister said:The

Forest of Dean andWye Valleyis astunningpart of theworld, withgreatattractions,culture, historyandfood heritage.Its theperfectareafor everyone fromfamiliestoadventurers people whowant toexperience the joysof the country-side. Afterspending 10 years inGloucester, it is likecominghometofinda newsetof experiencestotellthe world about.

Out & AboutBreakfast network

event attracts 170

For more mages from the event vst www.facebook.com/SWABusness

More than 170 business people attended the

recent M4 Business Network event when the

guest speaker was Dame Tessa Jowell

Alson Daves, John Lloyd Jones, Joy Phllps

Kevn Ward, Robert Lloyd Grfiths, HuwJakeway

Paul Byett, Dame Tessa Jowell, ChrstanMalcom

Zep Bellava, Mary Lovell, Stephen Elas, MarkSheldon-Jones

Roger Hale, Redevers Best, Cennydd Thomas,Davd James

Ryan Evans, Kara Wllams, Sue Cors



5/8

AccountA

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In brie

Rothbury House

Owners bright outlookbrings 1.5m for rooms

CWMBRANsParkway Hoteland Spais getting tenluxurybedroomsandsuites aspart ofa 1.5minvestment by its own-ers,de SavaryHotels.

Workhas alreadystartedon thenewrooms, which willincludeeight executive roomsand twosuites, bringingthe hotelsnum-berof rooms to80.

Managingdirector of de SavaryHotels, Ian Solkin,said: Thenewroomswillhelpus develop ourmarkets into newareas andaddsomereal luxury bedroomsto theParkway.

De Savaryboughtthe hotelinNovember 2012 andsince thenhasundertaken a refurbishmentofthebuildingand grounds.

MrSolkinsaid:Weareveryexcited aboutthe way thearealocallyis developing fromthenewshopping area inNewporttotheproposedconvention centre attheCeltic Manor Resort.All ofthis hasgivenus the confidence togoaheadwiththese newrooms.

Thedevelopmentis beingunder-taken byNewportfirm DavlanConstruction andwill create 12newjobsat thehotel once they arecomplete.

Mr Solkin said:We have beenverypleasedsince thedaywebought theParkway. It hasbeen averygoodnewsstoryforus.

TheParkway, which is currently

a Best Western hotel,hasbeenrebranded as The ParkwayHotelandSpaandwillbe leaving BestWesternat thebeginningof nextyear.

Mr Solkin said:We have decid-ed to leaveBest Western because




Grand 19th century housesnapped up before auction

Ian Solkin and Kerry Jennings

ONE of thecityofNewports grandest histor-ichouses sold priortogoingto auction.

Imposing RothburyHouse, a detached19th-cen-turyproperty oncea majes-tic privatehouse andlatter-lya nursinghomeuntilitclosed five years ago,soldthrough PaulFoshAuctions for an undis-closed sum.

Theguide pricefor theJacobeanstyle property

was 225,000.Locatedinprestigious Stow ParkCircle andwith planningconsent for conversionto apart-ments, the historicbuildingisbelievedto have soldpre auctionfor morethan 300,000.

The double bayfronted, gradeIIlistedhouse,builtin about1880,withan impressive collectionofroomsarrangedoverthree floorstogetherwith twoaccesseswiththeprincipal drivewayleading to

a main parking area andadetachedcoach houses andgar-dens, created keeninterestfrombuyers.

PaulFosh,owner of PaulFoshAuctions, said:Housessuch asthis seldomcome onthe marketbutwhen they dotheyare sure tocreatea greatdealof interestas

The Rothbury on StowPark Circledidon thisoccasion.

Planning permission,which was granted inMarch lastyear, wouldallow for theconversionof theformer nursinghome to a totalof sevenresidential units madeupof two three bed-roomed apartments andalsotwo one bedroomedapartments in the mainhouseand theconversion

to residential of the twocoach houses.TheRothbury could

also bereturnedto a majesticandimpressive single homeor otherusessubjectto planning.

Formore informationon thenext Paul Foshauctionsale,to beheld atthe Park InnHotel,CircleWay East,Llanedyrn,Cardiff,onThursday, October23, starting at5pm,pleasevisit www.paulfoshauctions.com.

Beauty sis celebraSOPHIE Burke happointedmanaClarinsHandpoSalon in Stow HNewport.

Theexperienc

cian hasbeenprtheluxurysalonbrates a successyearof trading.

Originally fromanda graduatefinternationallySteiner AcademLondon,Sophiecompanyhavinglybeenemployebeautician on thCaribbeancruisandin theCelticResort Spa.

Murad Aii,owClarinsHandpoSalon is expectitoplaya pivotalcontinuingdeveof the salon.

He said:Durifirstyear, Sophiproactive andbu

salonsclient baduced new treathelpedus tobega verygoodrepuHernew responandoursupportbleSophieto kethisand we havefaithin herabil

JoiningSophigrowing teamofciansis ClarinsLauren Prosser.

Old phraseis a sign of

the changeGERALD Davies, executivechairman of Newport-basedKymin, explains the story behindthe phrase, Sell in May and goaway, back again St Leger Day.

This is a very old-fashionedexpression. It dates from thetime between the wars, whenstockbrokers used to live in thestockbroker belt in South-EastEngland.

It used to be the case that sell-ing in May was a self-fulfillingprophecy, as stockbrokers werenot at their desks.

Instead they were busy accom-panying their wives who weredoing the London season. Thisincluded such sporting eventsas Henley rowing regatta, racingat Royal Ascot, a test match atLords and perhaps the Oval, andmany other social functions.

Anyway, with all this to do, itsnot surprising that many stock-brokers were so busy sociallythat their businesses wereneglected during the summer.

And so, the adage explainshow St Leger Day, in mid-Sep-tember, was the time to return.

It still seems as though at leastone in three summers turn outlike this, but there are much big-ger global influences at worknowadays.


wefeelthe hotelhas anextremelystrongbrand inthe area andwewant tomarketthe hotelas a fam-ily-run independent hotel.

TheParkway is runon a day-to-daybasis byKerry Jennings, thegeneral manager.


6/8

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Rebrand sends healthbusiness countrywide

ONE of Wales longest-estab-lished health planorganisa-tions, Gwent HospitalsContributory Fund,hasundergone a rebrand toensure its position within themodern health planmarket-place.

Gwent Hospital Contributory

Fund, whose origins dateback175years,has changedits nameto Plutus Health.

Thechange bythe Newport-basedcompanyis bidto mod-ernisethe legacy of its servicesandproducts.It is hopedthenew brand willentrenchthemin the competitivehealth planmarket.

In1839 thefundfounders com-

mittedto helping those inneedto have access to healthcarewhich was not otherwiseavaila-

ble. Atthe time,thosewhocouldaffordit hadto pay fortheir ownmedical treatmentratherthanrelyingon charityfrom others.This dispensary, which evolvedintothe Royal Gwent Hospital,providedprescriptions andmedicinesfor thepeople ofNewport andwas funded bycontributionsfrom subscribersandworking people in thetown.

In essence,peoplewaged tojointhe locainsurance scheme.

Regularmeetingswbetween subscriberpersons,MPs andclsoon itbecame knowWorkmensFund wevolved intoGwentHContributoryFund,companys historicwiththe Royal Gwe

The rebrandto Pluishopedto appealtomorevibrantaudienstillmaintainingthcorevalues thathavindicative of the funyears.

Thenewnamewilthecompanycan brcustomer base natio

Chief executiveAnsaid:It isvitalthat

ny remains a leadintorin thehealth plaRebrandingto Plutuhas revitalised the bhasassistedin ourpextend ourcustomenationwide.

Plutus has retaintraditional values fryears of experiencehealth planprovidemaintain thatwe wiunderthe same ethoalways done, providtomers withaccesshealthcare, regardlefinancial climate.

With moreand mbeginningto realisethat a healthplanofseemed likean oppoto rebrandand movewith renewed vigou

Plutus Health wor

variety of SouthWanesses includingTaSeren Group,MeritoCityCouncil, TorfaeBoroughCouncilanAneurin Bevan Heaoffering health plantheiremployees.Thalsoprovides healththousandsof indivitomers.

For local business: southwalesargus.co.uk/bus



Young apprentices enjoyvauabe venture to Cypr

Glyn Dorking, business development manager and Andy Wilkins, chief executive

TENhairdressingand beautyapprentices,including one fromGwent, swappedtheir salons in

South Wales andGloucestershireto experienceworkingin Cyprus.

Theexcitingtwo-week workexperienceplacement in Paphoswas arranged bythe largestindependent hairand beautytrainingprovider in Wales,ISATraining,based at Pencoed nearBridgend.

ISATrainings headof educa-tionskills,Cheryl Pearcey, andinternal qualityassurer, Lisa

Lee,accompaniedthe learnersto support them.

This also enabled ISAto cap-

turethe apprentices learningexperiences.

The young apprentices whoenjoyed theCyprusvisit areAimee Asparassafrom TotalImage Beauty, PembrokeDock;Jodie Griffithsfrom Vous,TonPentre; Lauren Reesfrom HairsnGraces,TalbotGreen;LucyHuntfrom Shades,Laleston,Bridgend;Vincenza Butchersfrom Guysand Dolls@ Alexs,Llanelli;JennaDuncanfrom

BexHair Design, EbWill BorthwickfromCheltenham; Nikita

Cream, Gloucester;andLiam WoodwarShears/ TheCuttingCheltenham.

ISATrainings madirector BerniTylerthesalon owners forrelease theirapprendeclaredthe work extrip a bigsuccess.

The venturemarkpletion of thenextpTrainingsOyster P

Inlationis set toremainunmovedINFLATION is expected toremain below the Bank ofEnglands two per cent tar-get when official figures forAugust are published today.

Analysts expect theConsumer Price Index tostick at 1.6 per cent inAugust as a result of pres-sure from the supermarketprice war and lower petrolprices.

The CPI rate fell backmarkedly to 1.6 per cent inJuly after spiking to a five-month high of 1.9 per centin June, from 1.5 per cent inMay, which was the lowestrate since October 2009.

The Retail Prices Indexmeasure of inflation, whichincludes housing costs, isalso forecast to remainunmoved from last monthat 2.5 per cent.

But it is the CPI measure,used for the Bank ofEnglands target, which willbe watched by analystsamid speculation aboutwhen interest rates willstart to rise.

Lower inflation easespressure on the Bank forany hike as it considerswhether the economyshould return to more nor-mal borrowing rates follow-ing the financial crisis.



7/8

Countys top dogs areurged to go for glory

BUSINESSESin Caerphillyborough haveuntilOctober 3 toenterthis years CaerphillyBusiness ForumAwards.

Firms of allsizesandsectorsbasedin Caerphillyare eligibletoenterthe 2014awards,whicharerunby CaerphillyBusinessForum in associationwith ColegGwent.

Previouswinner CrossKeys-basedspecialist chemicalfirmISCA, whowon the PremierAwardlast year, saidits victoryhadsparkedinterest andadmira-tionfrom customersand others,both inthe UKand acrossthe

world.Thefirmwon theaward, alongwiththe titleBusinessof the Year Under 25 Employees,for its pio-neering work in developing andmanufacturingspecialist chemi-calsand polymersfor customersin industries as diverseas textiles,mining, aerospaceand personalcare products.

ISCAs technical directorAnthonyHudson,said: Winningtwo awards onthe nightwas agreatsurpriseanda reallygreatmoraleboost fortheteam.Weallhada springin ourstepafter-wards, knowingthe work we dowas gettingrecognised. Manyoftheclients we export to globallyaskedus about theawardsafter-wards. It definitelysparked agreat response.

Another previouswinner isCaerphilly-basedcredit manage-

mentcompanyWaters & Gate,2013 winners of theBestNew

Business category. Allan Poole,operationsdirector at Waters &Gate, said:Winningthe awardwas completely unexpected, but,as a newbusiness itgaveus thevalidationfrom our peers thatsaid wewereon theright track.Wereceived manymessages ofcongratulationsafterwards,and it

felt greatto beableto show ourcli-ents that ourwork hadbeenrecog-

nised. Judgingof the awards byapanel of senior business peoplewilltake place during Octoberandthewinners willbe announcedattheCaerphilly Business ForumAwards dinner, on November 21 atBrynMeadows HotelinMaesycwmmer.

Thisyearsawardcategories are

Businessof theYear Over25Employees, Business of the Year

Under 25 employees,Manufacturingin Action,Innovation andContributiontothe Rural Economy. In additionbusinessescan nominate individ-ualsfor theWomenin Business,Apprentice of the YearandEmployeeof theYearawards.

For details oneachof thecatego-

ries visit www.cbforum.co.uk/awards-categories-2014.




Busnesses laggng behndresearch and development

Waters and Gate winning New Business of the Year at CBF Awards 2013

NewfiguresshowthatWalesislaggingbehind EnglandandScotlandwhen it comes to claim-ingvaluableincentivesforresearch and development, accord-ingto Newport-basedindependentaccountancyBroomfield &Alexander.

Figures releasedby HMRevenuesand Customs showthatfewerthanfivepercentof manu-facturingand technologycompa-

niesin Wales claimed researchanddevelopmenttax credits in thefinancialyear ending 2013.

Thesetax credits area taxreliefdesignedto encouragegreaterspendingon R&D. Theywereintroduced morethan a decadeago.

Incentives have beenextendedunder thecurrent government inthehopethatit will lead toa surgeininnovation,putting theUK inastrong position to benefit fromhi-

tech, high-valuesectors.Thenumber of companies across

theUK usingthe credits hasalmost tripled over thepast dec-ade, buttheWelshfiguresdo notreflect thattrend,with just425claimsmadein 2013 from a possi-ble8,700 technologyand manufac-turingbusinessesin Wales- andatotal of 52,117 companiesregis-teredin Wales at CompaniesHouse. Only45 claims weremade

bylarge Welsh businessesin theentire year.

Denise Roberts,tax directoratBroomfield & Alexander, said:These figures are disappointingand concerning.

These taxreliefs werebroughtin to encourageinnovation andstimulategrowth butWelshbusi-nesses arent making themost ofthem.It couldbe that thereis alackof awareness of the schemeorhow itworks,or that companies

thinktheyare noteligible.It alsomay bethatcompanies who dowork on behalf of another compa-ny dont realise theycount too.

I dont believe thatthe figuresnecessarily meanthat Welsh com-panies are notinvestingin R&D,itsmore likely thatWelshcompa-niesare failing to identify thattheyare doingqualifyingR&D andcanmake claims thatcan signifi-cantly reduce theirtax billand

helpto fundopportunities forfur-ther innovation.

Thistax relief canbe claimedbyany companydevelopinginno-vative productsand processes,whetheritsan SME ora largebusiness.

Companiesneed to ensure theyaregettingtherighttaxadviceortheycouldbe missing reliefdesignedto support themandWaleseconomicfutureas awhole.

Cty able torde wave ofconidence

From page 1which I have been part of the

company.We see Newport in a superb

position to ride the currentwave of confidence and this isreflected in the inward invest-ment to the city we have wit-nessed recently.

This experience is reflectedin the conversations we have

been having with potentialinvestors into the city from thesouth east of England andindeed other parts of the UK.

Mr Thomas thanked ClaireBroome, of Parade Design, atenant of the building, for herwork in branding the buildingand in arranging the launch,John Morton of Dina Builders,for the refurbishment of thebuilding and managing agent,Justin Kingdon.


Financiaspeaking

UNLESS youvebeen holidthemoonforthe last monthcant failto have noticedthin townof PresidentObamMinister Cameron, ChanceMerkel etal fortheNatosu

Whatever your viewson brole of Natoin the widerwthemorelocal disruption ahosting thesummitit isdifdenythat Natorepresentsbestexamplesof a strategibringingcountries togethetowards a common goal.

Strategicalliances arealsingmoreandmorecommo

ness as a recognised way othe significant growth of awithout committing it to exinternal expansion.

Whyform a strategicalliaThere areobviousadvant

alliance canbring in termsmies of scale, scopeand spbuyingin bulk togetherto ener providing its expertiseresourcesto builda producAlliancesare alsooften forjoint marketing, sales andtionpurposesto increase mpenetration andenhancecotivenessand/orbrand awabothdomestic andglobal mhelping businessesexpandsifywhile minimisingthei

Whatform does anallianStrategicalliances canra

an informal business relatwitha simple contractbetwparties involved to a formaventure for legaland taxpuwhere a newpartnership ocompanyis created.

As always getting goodadonin theprocessis crucialus at UHYHackerYoung, wexperts atadvising onthe bof a strategicalliance andwnetworkof offices across 8trieswe canalsohelpandawhen thegoalof the allianexpand internationally.

ByNeil Cresswell,nessadvisorymanUHYHacker Young


8/8

The Nordic Garden Buildings team

Engineer tries to solvthe pyramids puzzles

PETER James, managing direc-tor of Newport-based CintecInternational will be featuredon More 4s TreasuresDecoded programme onWednesday.

In Januaryof thisyear, PeterJames proposedhis theory on howEgyptsgreat pyramidswere con-structed, a theory which chal-lenged manyof theideas acceptedandshared across theworldcur-rently.

Peterstheorywill be featuredontheMore 4 programmeTreasureDecoded:GreatPyramids whichlooks to resolvethe manyunan-

sweredquestions surroundinghowEgypts greatpyramids wereconstructed.

TheTreasures Decodedseries,commissioned byChannel4,exploresthe mysteriessurround-ingthe worlds mostfamous his-torical sites.

Having workedin the construc-tion industryfor more than 50years, Peter usedhis buildingexpertiseand vastexperienceworkingon Egyptsiconic monu-ments to give a freshperspectiveon the constructionof the pyra-mids.

Contraryto the common opinionthatthe pyramidswere construct-ed byworkers usinghuge ramps,it is Petersbelief thatthe pyra-midswere actuallybuilt fromtheinside out,using a combination ofscaffoldingand internal ramps.

Peter alsobelieves thatthe pyra-mids aremadewithlargercoreblocks on theoutside,with themajorityof the pyramidmade upof smaller, infillmaterialon theinside. Thiscontradictsthe histor-icalbelief that theentire pyramidconsists of the enormous blocks

whichcanbe seen onthe outsideof the pyramid.

Cintec International hasworkedin Egypt restoringits historicalbuildings for18 yearsandhasundertaken restoration work onmosques,templesand bothEgyptsRed andStep Pyramids.

Manyof Petersideasduring CintecsworkoStep Pyramid.

Cintecwascalled intthecollapsing ceilingchamber. The compantheuse of its unique Wairbags,developedin tnys Cwmbranfactory

rarily support thedanhangingstones,and Cented anchors wereinpermanently secure thceiling.

This isalso notthefiPeter hasemployed himind toanswersomeodlesof the pyramids. Iproposedhis theoryasEgyptiansstoppedbuipyramidsand insteadburytheirpharaohsinof the Kings.

His explanation thatto stopbuilding pyramhave beena result of tmovement causing daouter surface of the pynowacceptedby the arcalcommunity acrossincluding experts at thUniversity.

Speakingabout thep

Peters James said:I wedwhenI wasapproacChannel 4 totakepartgramme.

From myfirstvisit tmids many yearsago,fascinatedwith them,able tosharemy viewconstructionon nationsionis a realhonour.

Treasures decoded:GPyramids will beaireonSeptember17 at9pm




Garden marketng campagnscores place n awards inals

Cintecs unique Waterwall airbags supporting the collapsing ceiling of the buriel chamber inside the St

NEWPORT-based Nordic GardenBuildings has topped off animpressive yearof investment bybecomingthe soleNewportentrytolanda placein thefinalsof TheChartered Institute of MarketingCanmol: Wales MarketingAwards.

The garden pavilionspecialistshas opened up millionsof poundsworthof salesandjobs inthe areasincelaunching themarketingcampaignfor its FreestandingGarden Buildingsproductin 2013.

Twenty-sevenjudgesspent five

weeks workingthroughmore than100 entries before compilingthelistof finalists, which seesthecompanys campaigngo up againstsomeof Walesmost iconic brands,includingthe Wales MillenniumCentre, Cardiff CityFootball Cluband Cadw, the WelshGovernmentshistoric environmentservice.

Justin Williams, director ofNordic Garden Buildings, couldhave facedthe perfect stormwhenhewas taskedwithlaunchinga

newproductto a newmarket, viaanewsales channel.

The product,FreestandingGarden Buildings, created bypar-entcompany Modplan Ltd, is inhighdemandin Denmark, andJustin was tasked withachievingsimilar results in theUK.

Thefinal Canmol winners,alongwiththe individual OutstandingContributionand NewMarketer

awards,will be announcedat anawards dinner, tobe held atStDavids Hoteland Spain Cardiffon October10, 2014.

Richard Houdmont,CIMsDirectorfor Wales,said: Canmol:WalesMarketing Awards celebratethe most innovative, eye-catchingandultimately mostsuccessfulmarketingcampaigns implement-edin Walesoverthelastyear.

Wales has an undeniably strongpoolof marketing talent andCanmol enables us to reward these

teams andindividualswho aremaking waves in theindustry.For thefirst time inCanmols six-

yearhistory, its 27-strongjudgingpanel, madeup of academicsandexperts fromacross themarketingindustry, weresplit across the sec-tor-basedcategories.

Thisenabledeach panelof judg-esthe chanceto considerthe mer-its of everycampaignentirely inthecontextof thatsectors marketclimate.

Out & AboutThe EstatesOffice,Newport, officialopening

For more pictures from this event visit www.facebook.com/SWABusiness

THE team behind the newly-refurbished TheEstates Office, at Pentonville in Newport city

centre, held an event to celebrate the listed-buildings official opening. For full story seepage 1.

ChrisTaylor,SuziPurnell,AdamRyan

David Barnes, Fiona Weaver, John Morton

David Pugsley,RaymondNessbert

Justin Kingdon, Gerrard Williams

Louise Evans, Rob Evans and Mayor of New-port, Matthew Evans

Neil McDonagh, Simon Morgan


business argus 160914

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