Monthly Archives: March 2022

News, Retail & E-commerce

The Art of Gifting: Academic Study Reveals the Impact Gifting Has On Health And Wellbeing

Notonthehighstreet finds that over two fifths (45%) of Brits[1] will likely gift more this year. Over a quarter of these gifters (28%) say they will be gifting more to make up for lost time during the pandemic.

With two fifths of Brits (39%) saying that buying a gift makes them happy, online marketplace notonthehighstreet and UCL professor, Daniel Richardson have launched a new academic study revealing the psychology behind the nation’s love of gifting.

THE EMOTIONAL TYPOLOGIES

On average respondents[2] spend 28 days searching for the right gift ahead of key celebrations with most feeling a positive emotion to gifting as nearly a fifth (18%) say it’s what they look forward to the most. However, for some people the pressure of getting it right (17%) or feeling the need to undertake a huge research effort (12%), can make it seem an overwhelming process. Just over one in five (21%) say they don’t feel any emotion at all when buying a gift.

UCL Professor Daniel Richardson explores the emotional typologies of what makes people great at gift giving and what receivers actually expect.

  • Express yourself: Everyone, gift givers and gift receivers, has the opinion that a good gift should reflect the attitudes and preferences of the receiver. Surprisingly though, gifts that reflect the giver’s attributes have the strongest effect on the relationship between the giver and receiver (Aknin & Human, 2015).
  • Express your relationship: Receivers like gifts that reflect their relationship or history with the giver. Gifts that represent the connection between giver and receiver are highly valued, (Givi & Galak, 2017) and the appreciation of the gift lasts longer and sentimental gifts last longer (Yang Y & Galak, 2015).
  • Don’t give anything at all: Much of the psychological literature on gift giving compares objects of different value, type, or desirability. However, the most recent research suggests that sometimes the most treasured gifts are but experiences.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GIFTING

Thinking about the emotional impact that the process of gifting has on Brits, two in five (39%) say buying a gift for a loved one makes them happy. With over a third (35%) of people who are gifting more this year saying that it’s because they love seeing the recipient’s facial expression, UCL Professor Daniel Richardson identifies that giving a gift can have pervasive and profound effects to the gift giver, the receiver, and their relationship. But it’s important to also recognise that the process of choosing a gift can sometimes be fraught.

Giving a gift results in positive effects on the physical and emotional health of the gift giver. For example, there is an emotional pay-off simply to seeing other people happy and can be described as ‘emotional contagion’ (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1994). When people are around people displaying a particular emotion, gift givers tend to share that feeling as gift givers have a tendency to mimic the expressions of others.

GIFTING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

The process of gifting someone is also an effective medicine for lowering blood pressure. A paper that examined patients who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and tracked how often the patients gave gifts or gave donations to others. Remarkably, the people who give more to others had reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, comparable to the effects of antihypertensive drug (Whillans et al., 2016). Similarly, other researchers have found that those who give to others have reduced the impact of stress on their mortality, and thereby actually increased their life span (Poulin et al., 2013).

 

Prof Daniel Richardson from UCL said: “Gift giving plays a key role in forming and strengthening social relationships. Given that we are fundamentally a social species, the simple act of giving a gift can have pervasive effects on our health and wellbeing. For this reason, the pressure to get it right can be overwhelming. We are highly motivated to get exactly the right reaction from a gift receiver so with notonthehighstreet, we have identified the emotional behaviours on what makes a right gift giver through the Art of Gifting report.”

 

Claire Davenport, CEO at notonthehighstreet said: “For the past 16 years notonthehighstreet has been helping people everywhere to find products and gifts with a difference from the UK’s best small creative businesses. While we know people come to us to find gifts for every occasion, it’s fascinating to see just how differently we all approach the giving of gifts in the study from UCL – and to remember that giving the perfect gift brings the feel-good factor to everyone involved!”

 

This year, Birthdays and Christmas are key occasions when most Brits will be splurging the most as over a third (35% and 46% respectively) say they will be spending over £50 on presents for each event. Whilst working with over 5,000 small business Partners, notonthehighstreet is a helping hand to those who struggle to find the right gifts by releasing a first of its kind study delving into the neuroscience of gifting.

 

[1] 45% is a combination of ‘yes’ and ‘maybe’

[2] Respondents who do not ‘buy things for people when they see them and save them for an occasion’ or ‘don’t spend any time searching for the right gift’

News, Sustainability

22 new trees planted in the Moneypenny garden as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative

People at Moneypenny were enjoying the sunshine last week whilst they planted 22 new trees in the Moneypenny garden as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) which is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee by inviting people from across the UK to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee” which will benefit future generations.

Moneypenny is supporting many green projects throughout the year and this is part of a company-wide initiative which will see Moneypenny making more eco-conscious decisions and changes, leading towards an increasingly sustainable business model, with a lower carbon footprint.

People at Moneypenny were enjoying the sunshine last week whilst they planted 22 new trees in the Moneypenny garden as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) which is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee by inviting people from across the UK to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee” which will benefit future generations.

Moneypenny is supporting many green projects throughout the year and this is part of a company-wide initiative which will see Moneypenny making more eco-conscious decisions and changes, leading towards an increasingly sustainable business model, with a lower carbon footprint.

Everyone was given the opportunity to help and between those who were keen they planted  3 x Wild Cherry, 4 x Hazel, 3 x Rowan, 3 x Hawthorn, 3 x Crab Apple, 1 x Wild Service Tree, 3 x Sweet Chestnut & 2 x Juniper Trees.

Clare Geary, PA at Moneypenny comments:

I’m super proud of the tree I planted today, it’s a sweet chestnut. Thanks to Sophie Hughes-Saunier Moneypenny’s Ecopennies Advocate for organising everything in the Moneypenny garden, it’s going to be amazing.”

 

Everyone was given the opportunity to help and between those who were keen they planted  3 x Wild Cherry, 4 x Hazel, 3 x Rowan, 3 x Hawthorn, 3 x Crab Apple, 1 x Wild Service Tree, 3 x Sweet Chestnut & 2 x Juniper Trees.

Clare Geary, PA at Moneypenny comments:

I’m super proud of the tree I planted today, it’s a sweet chestnut. Thanks to Sophie Hughes-Saunier Moneypenny’s Ecopennies Advocate for organising everything in the Moneypenny garden, it’s going to be amazing.”

 

 

 

News

WSO2 Announces General Availability of Choreo Digital Platform as a Service

Choreo GA release helps teams take digital apps from ideation to production in days; adds side-by-side VS Code and graphical code editing, CIAM, marketplace, deep GitHub integration, and more

London, UK – 30th March 2022 – More than ever, the ability to quickly innovate new digital products and services is critical to enterprise strategies for market differentiation, growth, and profitability. However, these initiatives are often stalled by the complexity of building a digital platform and a shortage of developers with the right expertise. Today, WSO2 is bringing down these barriers to innovation with the general availability (GA) of Choreo, a digital platform as a service (digital PaaS).

Choreo empowers organisations to rapidly deliver new digital experiences by creating and deploying services, integrations, and APIs in hours or days versus the weeks or months that most projects take today. The all-inclusive platform abstracts away the complexity of cloud native infrastructure so that development teams can, for the first time, quickly create, compose, collaborate on, reuse, and deliver API-driven business logic. Key benefits include:

Increased developer productivity. As the first commercial solution built on the Ballerina cloud native, open-source programming language and runtime, Choreo is the only platform that enables developers of varying skill levels to create apps using a graphical view of the code, a textual view of the code, or both simultaneously with full round-trip synchronisation. Developers can focus on building only the core logic they need in a simplified environment with artificial intelligence (AI) assisted development to achieve greater productivity and much faster time to market.

Simplified DevOps and deployment. Choreo, which runs on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, replaces custom tooling and scripting with built-in multi-stage, continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) and deep observability for automatically building, testing, and deploying applications on Kubernetes. This enables teams to focus on creating production-ready applications instead of managing the underlying infrastructure.

Security and governance by default. With Choreo, services, integrations, and APIs are secured and governed by default. The platform features an open standards-based API gateway with security and rate limiting, strong authentication and authorisation, and encryption for all messages. Choreo also provides built-in, flexible governance that helps to automate API lifecycle management.

“The ability to quickly deliver new digital products and services is separating the market leaders from the followers in almost every industry,” said Eric Newcomer, WSO2 chief technology officer. “The Choreo digital platform as a service democratises the necessary capabilities for building cloud native apps and services. Now developers can immediately collaborate on creating, deploying, securing, and monetising APIs, integrations and services that deliver business value and great customer experiences.”

“A modern digital PaaS should blur the lines between app dev, integration, and security, and democratise participation in delivering digital experiences without excessive technical overhead. WSO2’s Choreo offers a platform for both developers and business experts to get their arms around the complexity of building and deploying API-driven cloud native applications,” said Jason English, principal analyst, Intellyx.

What’s New in the Choreo GA Release

The beta version of Choreo was first introduced in June 2021, and it has been used by nearly 10,000 developers worldwide. The Choreo GA release, available today, features significant new capabilities that have been added since Choreo’s debut.

Integration with Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) enables developers to use the widely adopted VS Code source-code editor within a web browser while working within Choreo for a seamless, side-by-side pro-code and graphical low-code editing experience.

A new Choreo marketplace lets developers easily discover and reuse integrations, services, or other APIs; publish their own work as APIs with a few clicks; and share and collaborate with both internal and external developers. The marketplace also includes hundreds of pre-built connectors to commonly used systems to help developers get a jumpstart on various integrations.

Enhanced GitHub integration facilitates collaborative code development, revisions, commits, etc., since any code created in Choreo is now stored in a private GitHub repository exclusive for each component. Development teams also can bring and work in their own GitHub repository while getting the full Choreo benefits. Enterprises can then take the lock-in free code that is stored in GitHub and run it wherever they want.

Secured by the Asgardeo IDaaS from WSO2, Choreo expands upon its integrated identity and access management (IAM), security, and governance capabilities and now enables companies to also offer secure, intuitive and personalised digital experiences via customer IAM (CIAM).

New projects and group components functionality in Choreo let developers organise their components into projects for easier maintenance. One or more of these components can then be grouped into a project in Choreo, which is highly useful when there are multiple projects.

“Delivering cloud native applications is a challenging, time-consuming process,” said Kanchana Wickremasinghe, vice president and general manager of the WSO2 Integration Business Unit. “Our Choreo digital PaaS hides that complexity, so developers, DevOps teams, and site reliability engineers can team to efficiently build, deploy, observe, secure and manage the applications, APIs and integrations driving their digital innovation.”

News

Celebrities join leadership alumni for virtual graduation event

BUSINESS owners and managers were celebrated at a virtual graduation ceremony.

Hosted by Bangor Business School, the online event marked the success of more than 35 learners on the ION Leadership ILM Level 5 Leading Growth and ILM Level 3 New Leaders programmes.

Honorary Fellows and celebrity well-wishers including singer Beverley Knight, former Wales rugby international Rupert Moon and TV farmer Gareth Wyn Jones joined the successful cohort – who met in person – for a ceremony which also featured drone footage of participating organisations from across north and mid-Wales.

Bangor University Vice Chancellor Professor Iwan Davies, Anglesey MP Virginia Crosbie and Anglesey MS Rhun ap Iorweth were also in attendance.

Among those to achieve the qualification was Paralympic medallist Mark Williams, from Rhyl, the founder and CEO of Bylchau-based prosthetic leg cover design and manufacturing firm, LIMB-art.

He said: “From my perspective the course exceeded my expectations, and the best part was not only the critical learning – which enabled us to continually look at our practices, so we always have a clear vision and a plan B – but the contacts I developed that have helped and continue to help drive the business forward.”

Elin Aaron, owner of Gallt y Glyn hostel and restaurant in Llanberis, reinforced those comments, and added: “I run the business by myself and thought during Covid this would be a perfect way to network while developing my confidence as a leader.

“I’m a people pleaser and sometimes found it difficult to tread the line between being the boss and being a friend to my staff, so this helped with that.

“Like many hospitality companies we have faced challenges during the pandemic but are on our way back and growing again. Graduating from the programme will certainly have a positive impact as we look to recruit new workers and approach our busiest time of the year.”

The ION Leadership programme is accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and delivered by Swansea University with funding from the European Social Fund through Welsh Government.

Lorraine Hopkins, Manager for the Leading Business Growth programmes at Bangor Business School, paid tribute to the alumni for their dedication during a difficult time for all industries.

“We were thrilled to be able to celebrate business success at this time, when there have been and are still, so many economic challenges ahead,” said Lorraine.

“The programmes are contributing to a more confident economy by developing our leaders and sharing established business drivers for growth. The team couldn’t be prouder of our delegates.”

Event sponsor Celtest, a pioneering material testing and drilling company based in Bangor, also joined proceedings, namely Jason Chinery, who himself graduated from the programme three years ago.

“We are privileged to support ION Leadership and congratulate all of the learners for achieving this qualification during such unprecedented times,” he said.

“The course helped me to develop my leadership capabilities and gave me a broader insight into different management styles and how they impact organisational performance, productivity, and communication.

“I would encourage all business owners and managers to explore the Leading Business Growth suite of programmes at Bangor Business School; it certainly made a difference to how I approach my role, which in turn has had a decisive effect on my personal and professional life – I wish all of the graduates the best of luck for the future.”

For more information, email ionleadership@bangor.ac.uk or visit Become an extraordinary leader | ION leadership.

Charity & CSR, Finance and Banking, News, Recruitment

Disability Charity ELITE Creating a Digital Future Thanks to Barclays Donation.

  • Disability charity ELITE Supported Employment Agency receive Barclays’ £100k COVID-19 support donation.
  • Charity forging ahead with development of digital delivery program to run alongside traditional face to face support, to enable continuity of services.
  • Charity changes service structure to help disabled people.
  • Charity will provide Mental Health Champions and Job Coach Support to provide employment or community activities, enabling post-pandemic community inclusion.

ELITE Supported Employment Agency is one of 250 UK charities to be awarded a £100k donation from Barclays which will help them to continue supporting disabled and disadvantaged people seek employment or maintaining their jobs post pandemic.

Charities were invited to apply for donations of £100,000, and Barclays were inundated by hundreds of applications from charities across the UK who are struggling to deliver on-the-ground support to vulnerable communities impacted by the crisis.

Barclays launched their 100×100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Programme to support COVID-19 relief work in local communities. The programme, which forms part of their wider COVID-19 Community Aid Package, focuses on supporting UK charity partners who are meeting the immediate needs of people in our communities, including low income families, those facing financial hardship, isolated elderly people and key workers.

ELITE Supported Employment Agency supports disabled and disadvantage people to access, obtain and maintain employment, through a range of activities aimed at helping them gain confidence, skills and independence. During the pandemic, all their face to face activities had to be stopped, meaning vital support for disabled and/or disadvantaged people had to be delivered in a different way.

For a number of months, all of ELITE’s activities had to be delivered via online sessions. However not everyone had access to equipment, or the knowledge of how to access the software relating to video conferencing (from Facebook to Zoom).

Through the support of the Barclays fund, not only can ELITE continue to offer service virtually but we can also support individuals development in the use of this technology, so it becomes a standard form of communication for them. This will aid them in their vocational aspirations for training, volunteering and paid employment, crucial during such uncertain times where lockdowns are intermittent.

The charity recognises how crucial it’s contact and support is for people with disabilities and/or disadvantage. During the pandemic many individuals experience a deterioration in the mental and physical well-being due to shielding, isolation and job losses. The funding from Barclays will enable ELITE to continue it’s services, implementing specialist support to enable individuals recovery or maintenance of their health and well-being, via a blended approach.

Specialist staff will engage with 100+ individuals, enabling them to re-engage with their communities, raising soft skills and confidence, alongside independence levels. Our goals are to reassure people and develop their skills in being covid safe, enabling people to undertake supported work placements, volunteering, training and employment via one to one support

 

Andrea Wayman, CEO, ELITE SEA said: “At ELITE Supported Employment Agency, we empower disabled & disadvantaged people to achieve their aspirations of employment. More than 500 people need our support at present. The impact of the coronavirus has left the charity facing the need for adaptions to our services, create an even better, more inclusive impact for our participants. Our priority is to develop our digital delivery program to run alongside our traditional face to face deliveries, ensuring that disabled and/or disadvantaged people, no matter where they are in Wales, or where they are on their community journey, are able to benefit from this new program. The Barclays donation is providing us with a lifeline that will make it possible for us to continue to be there for disabled and/or disadvantaged people at a time when they need us more than ever before.”

 

Nigel Higgins, Barclays Chairman, said: “Our 100×100 charity partners have been working tirelessly to support vulnerable communities across the UK through what has been a difficult year. These charities have championed a range of causes, including tackling homelessness, food poverty or loneliness, and we are immensely grateful for their work in the communities in which we live and work.

While we are starting to emerge from the most acute stage of the crisis, the effects of the pandemic will continue to be felt by many. Our decision to extend our 100×100 Programme for a second time reflects this, allowing Barclays to support 250 UK grassroots charities in their crucial work in our local communities.”

 

Welcoming the £100,000 to ELITE Supported Employment in Llantrisant, Mick Antoniw MS said:

“ELITE Supported Employment do fantastic work in our community, so I am delighted that they have been awarded this significant grant from Barclay’s Covid-19 Community Relief Programme.

“People with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are amongst those facing the greatest challenges post-covid as for example, they search for employment or simply seek to re-establish themselves their community. 

“The help and advice provided by ELITE and in particular, the one-to-one specialist support, is invaluable in helping people to regain confidence and tackle the financial, housing and employment challenges ahead.

“I congratulate ELITE on securing this funding and wish them every success for the future.”

 

As a result of ELITE’s interventions, it is envisaged that it will impact more than 90% of individuals in terms of soft skills and personal development, with 30% experiencing supported placements, 40% experience volunteering, 70% gaining skills through training, and 10% entering or re-entering paid employment. In light of this, ELITE anticipate that 75% of people will have increased their independence, with 30% reducing their dependence on statutory services, and 75% regaining or improving their community integration

To find out more about ELITE Supported Employment, please visit www.elitesea.co.uk.

 

News

Booming town businesses reap the awards after strong start to 2022

MOLD businesses are celebrating success in a series of national award ceremonies.

Organisations have enjoyed a prosperous year with a glut of nominations in a wide range of industry competitions.

And there is the opportunity to achieve even more this Spring as voting is open for this year’s Mold Community Awards, which acknowledge the outstanding contribution and commitment of groups or individuals living or working within the town and supporting residents.

Categories include Business of the Year, Volunteering, Sporting Achievement and Event of the Year, and the closing date for entries is April 6.

Among those to enjoy a recent period of prize-winning is Celtic Financial Planning, which secured clients and increased its capital management portfolio during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Director Rob Lewis was named in the Citywire: New Model Adviser Awards’ Top 35 under 35 IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) list, and the company was crowned IFA of the Year for Wales.

The Bromfield Lane firm is also in the running for the FSB Cymru Community Award and Micro Business of the Year, and has secured several other titles since last summer, including SME News’ Best IFA in North Wales.

“It is fantastic to be recognised for any award, but for us the biggest prize is client satisfaction and the ongoing trust and belief of our customers, which we pride ourselves on,” said Rob.

“To see Mold thriving as a town is fantastic, we are very proud to be a part of it and congratulate all the businesses who have achieved so much during such challenging times.”

Another to have thrived in past months is Michelle Williams, who opened Eyelicious Brow, Lash and Skin Clinic during Covid.

She picked up five trophies at the British Hair and Beauty Awards, including the UK title for Brow Specialist of the Year.

“This was the first time I’d ever entered, so to win five awards was a huge surprise, a great honour,” said Michelle.

“The clinic was launched in November 2020 and was not open for very long before I was forced to close due to the Coronavirus. It has been a turbulent time but the businesses here in Mold are so supportive, it’s a fantastic place to be.

“And we have the most amazing customers who are more like friends and family, they’re on this journey with me and I’m so thankful for that.”

Other successes include Daniel Morris Butchers, which won medals at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair and reached the finals of the Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales) ‘Put Your Best Sausage Forward’ competition; Mold Alehouse was named Vale of Clwyd CAMRA Pub of the Year 2022; Asia Sensation is among the top 10 Asian food establishments in Wales vying for the Food Awards Wales title; Pure Beauty is up for the Best Customer Experience accolade at the Welsh Hair and Beauty Awards; and The Bookshop was among just six Welsh finalists in the running for The British Book Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year.

Caroline Johnson, a partner in the High Street store, says it was the first time they had entered the competition, despite being a mainstay in the town for more than 40 years.

“We were absolutely delighted to be shortlisted, and to see more and more people returning to reading even before the pandemic, something we are very passionate about,” she said.

“We have had so much support from customers and are delighted to be part of the vibrant retail community here in Mold, which continues to go from strength to strength.”

For more information on Mold Community Awards, email or visit www.moldtowncouncil.org.uk. Alternatively, call 01352 758532.  

Finance and Banking, News

10 Years of 5 Star Quality: Working with Psigma Investment Management

Psigma Investment Management has received a Gold Service Rating from Defaqto for 2022, alongside 5 Star Ratings in the DFM Bespoke and DFM MPS Direct categories for the tenth year running.

 

Psigma’s Defaqto Gold Service Rating

The Gold Service Rating is based on Defaqto’s DFM Satisfaction Study 2022 (conducted in 2021). In the study, advisers were asked to list which providers they have used over the past 12 months, and their preferred providers for Bespoke and MPS Direct services. Of all the providers featured in the study, Psigma were one of only a select few top-tier providers that have seen a consistent increase in the number of advisers using them for DFM services since 2019.

Within the study, Psigma was also rated by advisers as the leading DFM across seven key service areas:

  • Service
  • Ease of Doing Business
  • Provider Brand
  • Online Facilities
  • Quality of Investment Staff
  • Quality of Administration Staff
  • Quality of Literature

 

Defaqto 5 Star Ratings for Psigma’s Bespoke and MPS Direct Services

The quality of Psigma’s services was then further ratified by the 5 Star Ratings for these same two services. These ratings outline Psigma’s Bespoke and MPS Direct offerings as being two of the highest quality offerings on the market. 2022 marks a full decade of Psigma receiving this top accolade from Defaqto.

On top of this, Defaqto’s Adviser Satisfaction Study, on which the Gold Service Ratings are based, shows a consistent and significant increase in the number of IFAs naming Psigma as their preferred provider for both its Bespoke and its MPS Direct solutions across the past three years.

Psigma has also been given the 5 Star Rating for DFM MPS on Platform for the seventh year running (2016 to 2022 inclusive).

Andrew Cantouris, Head of Psigma Investment Management, commented:

“These accolades mean a great deal to us because they ratify the sustained efforts of our team to provide financial advisers with exceptional service. By putting our clients at the heart of what we do, we are able to provide both them and their financial advisers with the support they require and expect from the investment manager in whom they have placed their trust. We look forward to continuing this client-centric approach as we move into Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management in the planned acquisition.”

 

Working with Psigma

Ian Chapman, a financial planner at Burlington Associates who has worked with Psigma for over 12 years, said:

“Even when I started to work with Psigma back in 2010, I was recommending them to my colleagues who were building their books due to the unfailingly good nature of service. All of the staff, from the Business Development team through to the administrative staff, are exceptionally good quality, and this remains a key reason why I have been working with Psigma for such a long time, and continue to recommend their services for my clients.

“These ratings reflect the exemplary service I have received from Psigma throughout my time working with them. Over a decade later, I continue to be very impressed with Psigma’s operation.”

 

Construction, News

Welsh timber group continues to expand

One of the UK’s leading timber groups has made a key new appointment as it continues to address customer need.

Premier Forest Products has appointed Gavin Williams as a sales executive at their Merlwood Timber business, based in west Wales, to support the expanding business. Gavin’s wealth of experience will help the Welsh-headquartered Group develop its range of softwood products and sheet materials.

Previously an external sales representative for Talbot Timber and with 12 years in the industry, Gavin turned to self-employment during the pandemic, working as carpenter, but returned to the timber world with this role.

In his new role with Merlwood Timber, he will focus on serving customers with their extensive range of timber, panel products and milling services across South and West Wales.

Gavin said: “Premier Forest is a well-known and respected Group in the sector. Their ambition to continually increase both their company size and product offering is something that is very exciting and presents brilliant career development. Joining the Merlwood Timber business presents a great opportunity for me to offer a fantastic choice of quality timber products, and a bespoke profiling service to customers.”

Joe Walker, Managing Director at Premier Forest Products, said: “I am delighted to welcome Gavin to the business. At a time when many firms are reducing their teams, Premier Forest is proud to be expanding, which is indicative of our strength and ambition. I’m confident Gavin will thrive here.”

Premier Forest Group is a vertically integrated timber operation engaged in the importation, sawmilling, processing, merchanting, and wholesale distribution of timber and timber products from its eight sites in the UK.

News

Celebrate a Life Beyond Visual Communication with Vivitek at ISE 2022

With ISE 2022 fast approaching, the excitement is rising. Preparing for its presence at this year’s event in Barcelona will be Vivitek. Visitors to its stand – located at 3D820 – will be able to sample its recently announced NovoStage, a Windows™ based wireless collaboration software solution. Meanwhile, making its public debut at ISE 2022, is a new heavy-duty laser projector, the DU9900Z. Also present at the show is the new Qumi Q9 DLP LED portable projector. With its solutions, Vivitek’s range meets end users’ requirements for Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions that are safe, secure, sustainable, easy to set up and simple to use. This makes them ideally suited to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) environments.

Vivitek Novo Ecosystem

With the Novo Ecosystem, Vivitek was the first brand to introduce an ecosystem of fully compatible/complementary visual display, collaboration and digital signage solutions comprising four categories; Add-On Devices, All-in-One Solutions, Launcher and Software/Cloud applications. Novo Ecosystem offers the flexibility to scale up and integrate in existing and new environments; above all, it provides safe new ways to communicate ideas securely from any location, making it ideally suited to both the education sector and the corporate market at a time when schools, colleges, universities and offices are experiencing constant changes during the pandemic restrictions.

Vivitek NovoStage

NovoStage is the latest software addition to Vivitek’s established and award winning Novo Ecosystem. NovoStage is a Windows™ based wireless collaboration software solution designed to facilitate the wireless sharing of up to four device screens concurrently. NovoStage transforms any Windows display into a wireless collaboration hub. Ideal for information and idea sharing in meetings, lessons and training sessions, NovoStage drives new levels of productivity and collaboration by combining applications like Zoom and content from Windows Computers and iPads, making it well-suited to BYOD and BYOM environments and all business and education scenarios.

Vivitek NovoTouch and NovoDisplay

Attendees to Vivitek’s stand at ISE 2022 in Barcelona, will also be able to experience examples of Vivitek’s comprehensive range of innovative display solutions. This includes its all-in-one collaborative panels, NovoTouch and NovoDisplay. Engineered for corporate and education users, NovoTouch is the ultimate All-in-One Touch Panel that combines 4K –UHD resolution, Wireless Collaboration, Video Conferencing, Digital Whiteboard, and Digital Signage functionalities. With NovoConnect embedded, meeting participants can extend their laptop screen wireless to the flat panel to share information and collaborate. Both NovoTouch and NovoDisplay are ready for the ever-popular BYOD practice. Moreover, both models offer video conferencing capabilities including pre-installed Zoom, Teams or Skype for Business. In between meetings, the display panels can be switched to Digital Signage mode to transform the idle screen into a digital announcement board.

Vivitek DU9900Z

Sharing the spotlight at ISE 2022 with the NovoTouch, NovoDisplay and NovoStage, is a new large venue projector from Vivitek, the recently announced DU9900Z. This heavy-duty laser projector offers edge-blending and warping technology, motorised lens shift/focus/zoom, and lens position memory for easy installation. With the strong performance of 22,000 lumens high brightness and long-term stable quality, it is ideal for ProAV rental, staging and large venue with a choice of optional lenses, 360-degree and portrait projection, and 24/7 operation capability for maximum installation flexibility.

Vivitek Qumi Q9

The Qumi Q9 projector brings a unique combination of Native Full HD resolution and high-brightness in one of the most compact form factors currently available. Its LED technology ensures excellent reliability with the assurance of a long Life and enhanced image quality. Users benefit from its exceptional brightness and colour saturation performance, as well as its large projection size which spans from 37.4”~200” without image distortion. Offering the simplicity of Wi-Fi connectivity and PC-free access to multimedia content, the Qumi Q9 is perfect for business, education or personal entertainment applications.

Delta’s Display solutions

Visitors to the stand will be able to admire the image quality and precision from Delta’s wide range of DLP Rear Projection Cubes, Narrow Bezel LCD Video Walls and COB LED Video Walls. Delta’s considerable experience in video wall technologies ensures reliability and durability in many 24/7 applications, and can be depended on to bring control to even the most challenging of events or environments.

Commenting on how its solutions have evolved to meet the changing needs and working practices of its users, Holger Graeff, General Manager, Vivitek EMEA, stated: “At Vivitek, we’re highly optimistic about the more sustainable and flexible ways of working and learning that the widely-embraced hybrid model encourages. That’s why we’re thrilled to be able to meet our partners and customers again at ISE’s new home in Barcelona. How and where we work and study has entered a new chapter, with hybrid working mixing the home, the office, meeting rooms and classrooms as places of work or study. Vivitek is already positioned to be a major contributor to how we collaborate now and in the future. That’s why we’re very excited about the evolution of our popular Novo Ecosystem.”

We welcome you to the Vivitek – Delta stand, located at 3D820

About Vivitek
Vivitek, a brand of Delta, offers an extensive line of visual display and presentation products. Vivitek’s line of digital projection and display products incorporates the latest innovations and technologies to meet the market demands for education, business, home theater and large venue. For more information about Vivitek, please visit www.vivitekcorp.com or www.vivitek.eu

About Delta
Delta, founded in 1971, is a global provider of switching power supplies and thermal management products with a thriving portfolio of smart energy-saving systems and solutions in the fields of industrial automation, building automation, telecom power, data center infrastructure, EV charging, renewable energy, energy storage and display, to nurture the development of smart manufacturing and sustainable cities. As a world-class corporate citizen guided by its mission statement, “To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow,” Delta leverages its core competence in high-efficiency power electronics and its CSR-embedded business model to address key environmental issues, such as climate change. Delta serves customers through its sales offices, R&D centers and manufacturing facilities spread over close to 200 locations across 5 continents.

Throughout its history, Delta has received various global awards and recognition for its business achievements, innovative technologies and dedication to CSR. Since 2011, Delta has been listed on the DJSI World Index of Dow Jones Sustainability™ Indices for 8 consecutive years. In 2017, Delta was selected by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) for its Climate Change Leadership Level for the 2nd consecutive year.

Accounts and Accountancy, Appointments, News

Senior Appointment and Promotion at Azets South Wales

Ritchie Tout joins as Tax Partner from Mazars and Paul Haley is promoted to Partner and Head of Internal Audit for the West

Azets, the UK’s largest regional accountancy firm and business advisor to SMEs, has appointed Ritchie Tout as Tax Partner in the South Wales area and promoted Paul Haley to Partner and Head of Internal Audit for the West.

Newly appointed Tax Partner, Ritchie Tout, trained in a Big Four firm with a portfolio including personal, corporate and professional partnership clients. After qualifying as a Chartered Tax Adviser, he spent 15 years at PwC as part of the management taxes team. Most recently he was a Director at Mazars, where he spent six years specialising in merger and acquisition tax work and employee incentive plans.

Ritchie has experience across private and listed companies, venture capital and private equity backed businesses, as well as subsidiaries of non-UK companies, and joins Azets to offer broad tax support to local businesses and to provide specialist advice around all types of share-related transactions.

Previously Director of Audit & Assurance for Wales and the South West, Paul Haley joined Azets in April 2021, and leads the internal audit services. Since joining the firm, Paul has led the internal audit team to grow the service line, as well as increasing the regional presence of the business. He now holds the position of Partner and Head of Internal Audit for the West and will continue his role of growing the client base, and making up part of the senior leadership team.

Richard Goddard, Partner at Azets South Wales commented: “It’s with great pleasure to announce the promotion of Paul, and the appointment of Ritchie to our growing team in South Wales. Paul’s ambition to grow the already strong internal audit credentials has shown, and this promotion marks his dedication to the business, in a variety of capacities.

Ritchie brings a wealth of experience in a variety of sectors and his professional knowledge is a huge asset to our team. He’ll be leading on a number of accounts in the tax division, and also sit within the senior leadership team.”

Ritchie is the current chair of the South Wales branch of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and Vice Chair of the CIOT’s Welsh Taxes technical sub-committee. He also edits Croner-i’s on-line tax valuation material.

Azets is a top 10 accountancy firm and focuses on delivering a highly personalised service, though a local office network and proprietary digital workplace technology. Career opportunities are available at Azets, visit www.azets.co.uk to find out more