|
Top story
|
Admiral sees room for improvement as profits soar
Admiral, the insurance group, has pledged to work hard on its Confused.com comparison site and overseas operations which clouded an otherwise outstanding performance in 2010. The Cardiff company enjoyed a 23 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £266m and a 47 per cent rise in turnover to £1.58bn thanks to growth in the UK car insurance market.
|
|
Deals
|
PHS buys shredding company
PHS, the Caerphilly workplace services group, has made its second acquisition in a week. Its PHS Datashred data destruction division bought Shred Easy, a shredding company in Manchester.
|
Bailey Group sails out of shipyard portfolio
Cardiff-based Bailey Group has sold its A&P shipyards and property portfolio to Atlantic & Peninsula Marine Services in a deal understood to be worth over £40m.
|
|
Companies
|
Celtic Recycling invests £3m in Newport facility
Celtic Recycling has invested £3m in a new site in Queensway Meadow Industrial Estate in Newport. The Bridgend-based business, which recycles heavy electrical equipment, said the investment would create at least 15 jobs.
|
Cardiff Uni and SSE in energy partnership
Cardiff University and Scottish & Southern Energy, the owner of Swalec, are joining forces in a bid to share knowledge in sustainable energy research and carbon efficiency.
|
|
Property and construction
|
Builders start £10.5m Bassaleg estate
Lovell and Fairlake, the house builders, are to build 82 homes at Bassaleg, west of Newport, in a £10.5m development.
|
Cash injection for Pembs road project
A £7.5m road improvement scheme has moved closer after Pembrokeshire Council secured a £3.3m funding package from the Welsh Assembly Government.
|
|
Government and politics
|
Mixed reaction as Hammond backs London-Cardiff electrification
UK transport secretary Philip Hammond has given the go-ahead for rail electrification between London and Cardiff, reducing journey times and increasing capacity between the capitals. Business groups welcome the investment, but some joined the Assembly Government in attacking the UK government’s decision not to electrify all the way to Swansea.
|
Valleys innovation scheme may be scrapped
A group which promotes investment in companies in the South Wales Valleys is under threat following changes in the Assembly Government’s economic renewal programme. Supporters fear the Heads of the Valleys Innovation Programme (HOVIP), which has backed 275 companies over three years, may not continue after the end of the month.
|
Davies takes changed sustainability role
Peter Davies has been appointed as Wales’ first commissioner for sustainable futures. The appointment should ensure Wales delivers on its sustainable development duty, the Assembly Government said.
|
