Business
Regional Tourism Awards winners annnounced

THE NAMES of the Regional Winners for the National Tourism Awards for Wales have been revealed.
Having received more than 400 nominations for the 2018 National Tourism Awards for Wales, 44 businesses have been selected as regional winners which will now make up the finalists list for the National Tourism Awards (external link).
Tourism Minister Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “I’m delighted that we can announce our regional winners today – who are all to be congratulated for making it to the final. We have seen an exceptionally high standard of entries this year – who all showcase the best of Wales’ tourism businesses and I look forward to celebrating the industry’s achievements at the National Tourism Awards at the Celtic Manor Resort next month.”
Celtic Manor Resort Chief Executive Ian Edwards said: “We are delighted to be hosting the 2018 National Tourism Awards for Wales and look forward to a fantastic evening celebrating the best of Welsh tourism. We congratulate all the regional winners and finalists and wish them the best of luck for the national awards ceremony which takes place here at Celtic Manor. We were very pleased to win the Gold Award for Best Business Tourism at the last National Tourism Awards for Wales and we know there will be many more worthy winners rewarded this year.”
BEST HOTEL
North – Dunoon Hotel
Mid – Llangoed Hall Hotel
S. East – Hilton Cardiff
S. West – St Brides Spa Hotel
BEST B&B
North – Manorhaus Llangollen
Mid – Caemorgan Mansion
S. East – The Greyhound Inn & Hotel
S. West – Roch Castle
BEST SELF CATERING
North – Gors-lŵyd Cottage
Mid – Plas Dinam Country House
S. East – Monmouthshire Cottages LLP
S. West – Basel Cottage Holidays
BEST CARAVAN, CAMPING, GLAMPING
North – Llanfair Hall
Mid – Cosy Under Canvas
S. East – Parkdean Resorts Trecco Bay
S. West – Celtic Holiday Parks
BEST ATTRACTION
North – Zip World
Mid – King Arthur’s Labyrinth
S. East – Cardiff International White Water
S. West – Folly Farm
BEST ACTIVITY
North – Always Aim High Events
Mid – want to canoe?
S. East – Loving Welsh Food
S. West – Pembrokeshire Falconry
BEST EVENT
North – Underneath the Arches
Mid – Green Man Festival
S. East – Visit Cardiff (UCLF’17)
S. West – Long Course Weekend
BEST PLACE TO EAT
North – Manorhaus Ruthin
Mid – Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms
S. East – The Whitebrook Restaurant with Rooms
S. West – Beach House
BEST DESTINATION
North – Zip World
Mid – Brecon Beacons Tourism and Brecon Beacons National Park
S. East – Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism
S. West – Fishguard Bay Welcome (FBW)
YOUNG TOURISM PERSON OF THE YEAR
North – Tommy Davies – Coed-Y-Glyn Log Cabins
Mid – Kathryn Colling – Cambria Tours Ltd / Hafan Epic Retreats Cyf
S. East – Rhiannon Art Ltd
S. West – Sarah Jones – National Trust
TOURISM BUSINESS INNOVATION AWARD
North – St George’s Hotel
Mid – Dragon UAV
S. East – The Blaenafon Cheddar Company Ltd
S. West – The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
The announcement of national winners will be at the Awards Ceremony on 8 March 2018.
Business
The Range’s Swansea Store Shortlisted for ‘Best Christmas Display’

Christmas has arrived early for The Range stores in Wales, boasting gigantic displays of all-things festive! The Range is well known for going all out during the Christmas season to create a fun and magical experience full of trees, lights, decorations and much more for their customers to enjoy and this year is no exception. The Range in Swansea surpassed expectations with a display so great, it’s left them shortlisted for ‘Best Christmas Display’ out of all The Range’s 182 stores.
Business
Swansea Building Society unveils bespoke mortgage product for medical professionals

Following extensive consultation with mortgage brokers and customers, Swansea Building Society has unveiled a new mortgage product specifically designed to offer medical professionals enhanced terms and a better deal.
The Medical Professional Mortgage Product is designed specifically for cases where the applicant, or one of the applicants in the case of a joint mortgage, is a medical doctor, surgeon or dentist. They might be looking to purchase a property, re-mortgage from another lender, or raise capital against equity in a property.
This new product also allows customers to borrow a higher amount against their income compared with standard mortgage products, subject to meeting affordability rules. Sole customers will be able to borrow up to 5.5 times their sole income (the standard criteria is a multiple of 4.5) while joint customers will be able to borrow up to 5.0 times their joint income (the standard criteria is a multiple of 3.5).
The new product was made available to customers from October 1, 2020.
Alun Williams, chief executive of Swansea Building Society, said:
“We are constantly reviewing what we do based on feedback from customers, brokers and our wider analysis of the mortgage landscape to ensure we are competitive where relevant in the current market.
“In this case, we wanted to develop a product that would reflect the current and future earnings potential of some of our clients who work in the medical profession. We are delighted to be able to roll this product out; we have already had very good feedback from our network of brokers.”
Business
Simon Mayo to join Swansea local radio

BAUER MEDIA is proud to today detail a new local initiative that Greatest Hits Radio and The Wave will launch within Swansea and South Wales aimed at helping local workers, charities and businesses as they deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Swansea Sound will lead the ‘Getting You Back to Work’ campaign, as it relaunches as Greatest Hits Radioin September. The scheme, which will also run across sister station The Wave, aims to promote local job opportunities both on-air and online. Local employers will be encouraged to submit vacancies for inclusion, allowing them to reach a wide audience of local job-seekers free of charge. Job vacancy bulletins will be broadcast four times a day to local audiences and will be promoted on the relevant Greatest Hits Radio and The Wave websites.
As Swansea Sound gets set to join the Greatest Hits Radio Network, it is also announced today that it will welcome esteemed broadcaster Simon Mayo to its line-up. The former BBC Radio 2 host currently hosts a daytime programme on Greatest Hits Radio’s classical sister station, Scala Radio. However, with this move he’ll be returning to his popular music roots as he presents a new weekend show. ‘The Album Show with Simon Mayo’ will be a weekly three-hour programme dedicated to the greatest albums of all time, including features that explore listeners’ record collections and a weekly Classic Album Countdown. This show aims to celebrate the good times and great memories albums bring as Simon plays their Greatest Hits.
Greatest Hits Radio, which will officially launch across Swansea and South Wales on 1st September, offers listeners the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s, celebrating music from iconic artists like Blondie, Queen, George Michael, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Elton John and Whitney Houston. The station’s presenters will include a local weekday line-up as well as legendary broadcaster’s Mark Goodier, Paul Gambaccini, Simon Mayo, Janice Long and Pat Sharp on weekends.
Online applications for the ‘Getting You Back to Work’ campaign will open on the 1st September 2020. Employers looking to participate should email jobs@greatesthitsradio.co.ukfor more information on how to apply.
Graham Bryce, Group Managing Director – Hits Radio Network Brand,said, “As we look to the future, we’re very excited to add Simon Mayo to our weekend line-up. Simon’s track record speaks for itself and to have someone of his experience and status join the network adds a new dimension to the Greatest Hits presenter line-up.
“Alongside this, our stations continue to be committed to the local community and we’re proud to launch this initiative to provide a valuable boost at a time of great uncertainty and hardship. We know the pandemic has hit communities across the UK hard, and we want to use our privileged position to promote opportunities.”