An unpredictable year has been a source of pride for Camilleri Construction

“The advice, expertise and training Business Wales AGP has given us have been key to our growth.”

For businesses across Wales, 2020 has thrown up unexpected challenges – from the floods at the very beginning of the year, to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties posed by lockdown, social distancing and the brakes being suddenly pressed on the economy.

Cardiff Bay-based Camilleri Construction, an insurance sector-focused construction firm, has been front and centre of these crises. But, as managing director Robert Camillieri explains, it's been a time of immense pride in what the company has been able to achieve with a loyal and committed workforce.

 Tell us about Camilleri Construction.
Before anything else, a bit about what we do. We're an insurance sector-focused construction company. That means we handle claims from insurers and loss adjustors, doing the restoration work on properties under the terms of the insurance.

That has meant we've had a busy and testing 2020!

But we've been able to do what we do thanks in no small part to the effort and sacrifices our staff have made. Wind back the clock to February when people across the UK suffered some of the worst flooding for generations. Of course, many communities here in Wales, close to our south Wales headquarters, were left devastated.

As storm after storm swept the country, the flooding began, forcing families out of their homes – with many being told they wouldn't be able to move back for another nine months.

This is where we came in, and it's why I am so proud of my hard-working team. We took on 60 flood-related projects, which was a massive undertaking. It has been an immense and incredible effort. Our staff worked long, hard hours to get people out of emergency accommodation and back in their homes as soon as possible.

In the middle of us doing this crucial work, the pandemic hit. Just weeks after the floods, and as we were making progress, we realised many people would be forced to endure the trauma of lockdown in homes that were not their own, or if they were still in their own homes, they'd be living in damp and damaged conditions.

The sense of despair felt by the people suffering because of the floods only spurred us on to redouble our efforts and complete as many projects as we could as quickly as we could.

Our work was considered essential under Financial Conduct Authority guidance.  We had to continue to provide the necessary ongoing work associated with insurance claims. It was as simple as that.

People's homes had to be made safe because the extreme weather had structurally damaged them. It was a job which had to be done. In ordinary times, our line of work throws up problems. But we know these were - and are - extraordinary times. 

Our workforce had to navigate plenty of new logistical issues, not least following social distancing rules, keeping two metres apart and facing an unexpected struggle for increasingly scarce materials. These are problems we could never have imagined we'd have to tackle.

But every one of our team played their part, they turned up for work and never complained. They did their very best to overcome every obstacle, with the overriding goal of getting these houses back to their owners as soon as the lifting of restrictions allowed.

What are your proudest moments in business so far?
A business is the sum of its parts. Every one of our staff has shown resilience, commitment and loyalty. They have made me immensely proud. 

It's been a hugely challenging period, but we're ever so proud of the work we've done. We've traded at record levels and maintained our reputation for excellence in our sector.

If you were starting again, what would you do differently?
A difficult one to answer! If we've learned anything from the past few months, it's not to look back – there are so many challenges ahead that reflecting on the past seems futile right now.

How has support from Business Wales AGP helped your business?
We've received plenty of Business Wales AGP support since we joined the programme. That support has included people development and performance management, recruitment and training; systems and operational processes, support for our IT infrastructure and help on the property and the financial side of the company.

The advice, expertise and the training which Business Wales AGP has given us has been key to our growth and development.

What advice and guidance would you give other businesses starting out?

● Listen to others, advice from outside is key to your company's growth. 

● The team you build will be crucial to your business and how it performs, so recruit well.

● We live in uncertain times, and you can't plan for every eventuality, but it is good to be prepared for difficulties you might be able to see on the horizon.

For more information on Camilleri Construction visit here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme

The distillery with the ambitious goal of producing an entirely Welsh whisky

“Help from Business Wales AGP has been critical to our progression and growth.”

The craft drinks market is a rapidly growing one. All kinds of beverages are being produced by brewers and distillers with a drive to deliver quality drinks with an emphasis on provenance, innovation and flavour.

In The Welsh Wind, founded by Alex Jungmayr and Ellen Wakelam, is taking advantage of the gin trend, producing custom-branded spirits for dozens of clients.

Here, Ellen Wakelam explains the story of the company and reveals tips for other entrepreneurs.

Tell us about In The Welsh Wind.
Our story started when we met, but I don’t think either of us thought we’d go on an incredible business journey together, inspired by a wonderful trip around Wales on foot.

We met in Llangrannog. I was living there, and Alex’s parents had recently moved to the village. But we didn’t stay around for long and moved to England together before we came back to west Wales. We realised it’s where we wanted to live, and where we belong.

While we knew we wanted to be together, we weren’t so clear on what we wanted to do. So we took three months out to walk around Wales. It was a life-changing experience for us both. In the quietude and stillness of that adventure, our commitment to one another was cemented, and we knew we wanted to create a life and a business that would keep us on the Welsh coast. The question now was what?
 

A couple of years later on a trip to Scotland, we came across the craft gin distilleries of the Highlands. We came back home determined to build a unique Welsh distillery.

We’ve created a business founded on ideals we still follow. It’s seen us establish a company which can deliver technical, branding and marketing support, flavour development, distillation, and hand bottling and labelling. Clients come to us with an idea and take away a product ready for market. 

We now produce 30 custom-branded spirits – among them our multi-award-winning Tenby gin, and we also make ex-England cricketer Michael Vaughan’s Declaration Gin, which has won plenty of admirers.

People can also come into the distillery and create their own bottle of gin in one of the custom-built copper pot mini stills we have in our gin lab.

We’re also launching a ‘signature style’, bringing together everything we’ve learned to develop our own gin, which we think is going to be an outstanding product.

We’re now building on some really exciting moves for our company. We have acquired the Eccentric Gin company and moved production to West Wales from Caerphilly. The range has been rebranded and is soon to be relaunched.
 

But that’s not it! We’re not confining ourselves to gin, because we’ve now set our sights on whisky. We want to produce a whisky which is purely Welsh, and we don’t think this has been done before. Not only will we use Welsh-grown barley, but every stage of the process will take place in Wales – including malting.

Since the COVID-19 crisis, our efforts haven’t just been on producing quality drinks. It was clear that we were ideally placed to produce a World Health Organisation formulation hand sanitiser. We’ve made nearly 10,000 litres which have gone out to help those most vulnerable and key workers. We’ve supported doctors’ surgeries, hospital wards, the RLNI, coastguard, police, care homes, pharmacies – the list goes on.

All this feels a long way from where we started – in a derelict cowshed with a £25,000 loan. It didn’t take long before we’d outgrown our first home and we secured the lease of the Gogerddan Arms at Tan y Groes, north of Cardigan, in March 2019.

We now have four full-time members of staff, including the two of us, but we’re in the process of developing an apprenticeship scheme and work experience package. We want to provide opportunities for upskilling in an area where permanent skilled work can be hard to come by. 

What are your proudest moments in business so far?
We founded In the Welsh Wind Distillery in January 2018, in a derelict cowshed with a £25,000 loan to start us off.

Having renovated the cowshed, we quickly began to outgrow it, and in March 2019 were able to secure a lease with the option to purchase on the Gogerddan Arms on the A487 coast road between Aberystwyth and Haverfordwest. It’s the perfect spot.

To secure the purchase and continue with essential renovations we created a self-generated lending opportunity, inviting investment from family and friends of the distillery in return for 100% return over an indefinite period based on a percentage of profit. This offering has been incredibly well-received, and we raised substantial investment.

A loan from the Development Bank of Wales was secured so we could continue with renovations, the remainder dependent on achieving performance targets over an agreed period. Hitting those targets, we achieved the remainder of the loan at the end of March 2020.

These two financial initiatives meant we could exercise the option to purchase the Gogerddan Arms and secure the home for our business. Not only is this a source of pride, but it’s massively exciting for us!

If you were starting again, what would you do differently?
If we’d had access to specific drinks industry information on legality, HMRC and customs we could have avoided some of the small mistakes we did initially make. But we’re using that learning to form a service to new customers, providing them with the information we didn’t have.

How has support from Business Wales AGP helped your business?
We’ve had support from Business Wales AGP in a range of areas, and they have been hugely beneficial to our progression and our rapid growth. 

We’ve had detailed business planning and financial support, with access to finance experts and HR support with contracts of employment. We have also benefited from marketing and branding diagnostics.

Our relationship manager’s input has always been appreciated and has been key to accessing the support that is right for our growth. 

We have been to a number of the masterclasses held by Business Wales AGP and have always come back with new knowledge and renewed enthusiasm to improve our business. We’ve also been on several social media and advertising courses with Superfast Business Wales.

What advice and guidance would you give other businesses starting out?

● Research and ask as many people as you can about your plan to gain their feedback.

● Keep your eyes and ears well and truly open.

● It is only with humility that you will surround yourself with the right people to make a success of your venture.

For more information on In The Welsh Wind, visit here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme

The creative agency on the path to success with support from Business Wales AGP

“Being accepted onto Business Wales AGP helped my company flourish.”

Starting a new business is tough, but if your idea is good enough and you have the determination to make it happen then you can make it a success.

Ashley Young has just taken his own leap into the business world, establishing The Young Creative Agency. Based in Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan, the business offers a range of creative solutions for businesses, including branding, video, photography and design.

In our latest blog post, Ashley explains the vision behind his company, how he plans further growth – and details the vital support provided by Business Wales AGP.

Tell us about The Young Creative Agency.
The lightbulb moment for me came in 2019. I was working in photography for fashion brands when I had an idea to offer what I call an all-in-one creative solution for the industry. I could see something was missing in the services provided and thought I could step in and offer something a bit different, something with added value.

What exactly is that? Well, we offer a range of creative options for our clients – photography, videography and drone capability. But we also provide models, studio or location space and do the post-production and that kind of thing.

At first, I thought this was something I could offer purely to the fashion sector, but I quickly realised there was a call for this work across a range of industries.

We've already retained clients in the fashion and beauty industries, and we're in talks to provide our services and expertise to customers in other sectors too. So we're at an exciting point in the business' development.

Our production capabilities mean we can produce anything from commercial content right through to music videos, YouTube series and branded content.

With our company at such an early stage in its development, we have two staff at the moment – it's me and my business partner, Jordan Corrin. Jordan is a director and plays a crucial role in what we do and the direction we take.

Moving forward, we're excited about the business' future and have ambitious expansion plans. The aim is to take on more staff and expand our studio here in Sully so we can export our services to markets around the world, and not just in the UK.

We're also looking at how we can diversify our income, so we're planning to offer our studio and equipment for hire as well. We can't wait to get cracking.

What are your proudest moments in business so far?
Without a doubt, it was the decision to bring Jordan on board. We couldn't have met in a more apt way for a business like this – through Instagram, where we realised we shared a lot of creative ideas and where our skills could mesh and help the business in terms of what it can offer.

In the beginning, we worked on things project by project, but it was soon apparent that we worked well together, so I asked Jordan to join me full-time as a director and head of video production.

We're really proud of making our partnership work, and it's benefited the business so much. Having someone with me means challenges can be tackled with someone else's perspective and knowledge. And we're having fun planning the future and mapping out the company's path.

If you were starting again, what would you do differently?
I'd definitely have prioritised things like the website from the outset.

We've hit the ground running with such pace that we've spent most of our time so far on servicing contracts. Working on background things like the website is crucial, so I'd have done a bit more of that before moving ahead.

How has support from Business Wales AGP helped your business?
Having a business idea is one thing but knowing what to do with it is something else. The guidance given to me by Business Wales AGP has been invaluable. Once I was accepted onto the programme my company really has flourished.

Business Wales AGP provided me with an environment where I could develop my idea into The Young Creative Agency.

We've been given some critical and helpful support and expertise – from business planning and workshops, through to financial and marketing advice. It's given me access to experience and advice which I wouldn't have had otherwise.

What advice and guidance would you give other businesses starting out?

● Stick to what you want to do. It's good to get advice and guidance from others, but make sure those people know what they are talking about. Sometimes your family are not the best advisors!

● Find a partner. Working with a like-minded individual can do wonders for your business. Not only can they bring in skills that you might not have, but having another person to discuss and plan things with is invaluable.

● Find a program like the AGP! The support and guidance you get from experienced coaches and individuals are crucial.

For more information on The Young Creative Agency, visit here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme