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| The Welsh service sector (not including the public sector) is much smaller than the UK as a whole. What's the Welsh service sector's make up? Where are the Welsh success stories of the future? (Pic : Webaviation.co.uk) |
Financial Services
Wales doesn't have a massive financial/professional service industry that stands shoulder to shoulder with what London, Edinburgh - or even Belfast - have. We all know that. Maybe this is a leading reason as to why Welsh GVA is sluggish. The nature of financial services means billions of pounds churn around every single day, it's a high-value global business and it's incredibly well remunerated.
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| The (non-public) service sector by percent of GVA (2009) Wales compared to the UK as a whole (Click to enlarge) |
Financial, professional, real estate and scientific services made up 16.7% of the Welsh economy in 2009 (~£7.45bn), compared to 25.1% for the UK as a whole.
Financial and insurance services made up £2.3billion of that – just 5.2% of the Welsh economy, compared to 10.3% for the UK.
Our largest high street financial service company is Principality Building Society, which is still small by UK standards - roughly the 7th/8th largest building society. Principality is a big player within Wales, with a turnover of £222million in 2011, and assets totalling £6billion. Other major Welsh building societies include Swansea Building Society (assets £183million) and Monmouthshire Building Society (assets ~ £700million), based in Newport.
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| Principality Building Society are Wales' only significant "high street" financial service company, with around £6billion in assets. (Pic : BBC Wales) |
In terms of banking, there are no Welsh high street banks. Julian Hodge Bank, based in Cardiff, is Wales' only commercial bank as far as I know. There was once a "Bank of Wales", also founded by Julian Hodge. It was taken over by Royal Bank of Scotland in 1988, managing to build £460million in assets.
In terms of banking operations in Wales, ING, RBS and Lloyds TSB have significant operations, mostly based in and around Cardiff and Newport. This doesn't include the traditional high street bank branches, which, although being closed in some parts of Wales, are still quite prominent in most town and city centres. GMAC, based in Cardiff, provides wholesale and retail car finance, with a turnover of £122million in 2011, employing more than 300 people.
In Wales, we also, quite excitingly, have a rapidly expanding network of credit unions. Credit unions offer banking services like loans and savings – some even offer current accounts and insurance. The different is that they're owned by members, usually invest in their local communities and are run on a not-for-profit basis. North Wales Credit Union, with centres across the region, are Wales' largest such business, forming from a merger of several smaller credit unions in 2011.
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| Wales' Top 10 Financial & Professional Service companies (2011) (Click to enlarge) |
One of my first blog posts back last year was about insurer Admiral Group, based in Cardiff. They are arguably the crowning business success story in Wales in the last decade. Admiral are Wales' second largest company by turnover (£1.58bn in 2011), and Wales' only FTSE-100 listed company. The company spread out across south Wales down the years to open regional centres in Newport and Swansea, both of which are due for expansion. Admiral are also currently constructing a brand new headquarters in the centre of Cardiff.
Admiral Group have several brand/subsidiaries, including : Elephant.co.uk, Diamond (specialising in women's car insurance), Gladiator (commercial vehicle insurance) and price comparison website Confused.com. They've expanded abroad to run several online car insurance/price comparison services in France, Spain, Italy as well as an IT support company in India.
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| Admiral Group are the major Welsh success story of the last decade, but there are other home-grown insurance firms making a name for themselves. (Pic : South Wales Evening Post) |
Other major insurers that have a Welsh base include Zurich, Black Horse (part of Lloyd Group) and Legal & General.
Although Admiral are the largest, Wales also has several up-and-coming "home-grown" insurers, such as Motaquote, based in Williamstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, who employ more than 100 people and had a turnover just under £50million in 2009.
Moorhouse, based in Caerphilly, have made numerous appearances on the Fast Growth 50 list in the 00s by specialising in business and professional indemnity insurance. Insurance brokers Thomas Carroll, also headquartered in Caerphilly, employ more than 100 people and recently celebrated their 40th birthday.
Professional Services
The professional service that Wales has probably become most associated with in the last decade or so has been the "customer contact centre". There are probably too many to mention here, but they include contracted operations, like those from shadowy uber-conglomerate, Serco, to established companies like Lloyds TSB and British Gas. Directory enquiries company The Number (118 118) are based in Cardiff, employ more than 350 people and had a turnover of £115.7million in 2011.
It's become a trope for these jobs to be "outsourced to India", but in recent times, we've started to see some of these jobs come back. Indian company, Firstsource, are opening a new call centre in Cardiff Bay. However, despite the First Minister's excitement at announcing it, it appears most jobs will simply be transferring from existing sites in Cardiff.
The recruitment industry in Wales has seen some significant growth and expansion in recent years, and Wales punches above its weight. Acorn Group, based in Newport, part of the French conglomerate, Synergie, train or place up to 8,500 people every year. They had a turnover approaching £100million in 2011. They have branches across the UK, but most of them are based in south Wales and south west England.
24/7 Recruitment, based in Wrexham, were large enough to make the top 10 companies in this section, with a turnover of £73.6million in 2011. Gap Personnel, also based in Wrexham, had a turnover of £60million in 2011, with ambitions of reaching £100million by 2015.
Further down the "food chain", the recruitment industry has a healthy presence amongst professional companies in the Fast Growth 50 list, with several names popping up in recent years. For example, Bridgend-based Smart Solutions topped the list in 2009 (600+% increase in turnover). Cardiff-based Linea Resourcing and Cardiff/Bristol based CPS Group have also appeared, but there does seem to be a trend that recruitment firms only make one appearance in the Fast Growth 50 then disappear.
Training companies have also been a mainstay of the Fast Growth 50. There are obvious reasons for the growth in this niche – a way for the unemployed and employed to attain new skills, with contracts from state agencies as well as private companies. Tydfil Training Consortium have centres throughout south Wales, while Abercynon-based Educ8 provide training for health and social care workers, as well as general training.
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| Service-related exports (2005-2011) Basically all the figures that didn't fit in previous parts. (Click to enlarge) |
In terms of service-related exports, it's generally accepted that Wales is likely to import more of these than export, unlike the other sectors, or it's simply to hard to determine or define.
One other "growth" niche here are price comparison websites. Three of the biggest in the UK – Moneysupermarket.com, Confused.com (part of Admiral Group) and GoCompare.com are based in Wales.
Flintshire-based Moneysupermarket.com are the largest, with a turnover approaching £150million in 2011. Newport-based Gocompare.com, founded by former Admiral emplyoee, Hayley Parsons, has experienced tremendous growth with turnover passing the £100million mark in 2011.
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| I'm sure Wynne Evans is a decent enough bloke out of character, and however annoying "Gio Compario" is, Gocompare.com are one in a line of Welsh price comparison success stories. (Pic : Arronchild's Blog) |
French insurance group, Covea, are seeking to launch a new price comparison operation near Llantrisant, utilising expertise and former employees that had built up from existing price comparison sites in Wales.
Public relations have also been another growth industry in recent years. Cardiff-based Freshwater have expanded to include offices across the UK. Public affairs consultancies (aka. "lobbyists") and think-tanks have sprung up since the advent of devolution - trying to link various interested parties/people to the Assembly and the Welsh Government. Positif Politics are probably the most prominent, but there's also Good Relations Wales, Welsh-branches of major lobbyists like the CBI, British Medical Association and Federation of Small Businesses, and more recent introductions like Deryn Consulting. Almost all of them, as you might expect, are based in Cardiff.
Legal services are another, rather overlooked, sector. Most of these are, again unsurprisingly, based in Cardiff – Eversheds, New Law, Capital Law and Hugh James for example. Hugh James are by some way the largest independent legal firm in Wales, with a turnover of just under £30million in 2011. Personal injury specialists, New Law, have experienced rapid growth, and made the Fast Growth 50 list in 2010 by increasing their turnover by more than 300%. The Welsh Government are actively trying to encourage London law-firms to open back-office functions in Wales.
The possible development of a separate Welsh legal jurisdiction, and the future devolution of criminal justice powers at some point in the future, might provide a boost for this sector in Wales. Any legal work in Wales would need to be carried out by Welsh legal firms who specialise in "Welsh law" – they would also (initially) have the additional advantage of having a full understanding of English law.
Retail
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| The £650million St Davids 2 development in Cardiff, briefly pushed the city into the top 10 retail destinations in the UK. (Pic : UKS Group) |
Retail is proportionally as important to the Welsh economy as the UK as a whole, making up 11% (£4.9bn) of GVA in 2009. In the last decade or so, the consumer-led boom resulted in several major retail scheme investments in Wales such as : the £650m+ St Davids 2 development in Cardiff, McArthur Glen Designer Outler in Bridgend, St Catherine's Walk in Carmarthen, Eagle's Meadow in Wrexham and - in future - Friar's Walk in Newport and Talbot Green Town Centre.
At the end of 2010, there were 97,800 people employed in "sale and customer service operations" in Wales, with just under 70% of these being women.
Iceland, based in Flintshire, is Wales' largest company, with a turnover of close to £2.4billion in 2011, employing 22,900 people across the UK. Probably because they specialise solely in frozen food, Iceland only have a 2.1% share of the wider UK grocery market. Also in the grocery sector, Filco Foods, based in Llantwit Major, run several stores across south Welsh Wales as part of the Nisa brand.
UK chains are major employers in some areas, in particular major supermarkets like Tesco. Independent stores are said to have come under increasing strain because of this. The Welsh Government recently carried out a review of non-domestic rates, and one suggestion raised was to create special "business improvement districts" in town centres, which could benefit smaller retailers.
In the convenience sector, Pontyclun-based Capper & Co run/ran the Spar franchise in Wales, and had a turnover of £289million in 2011, employing well over 2,000 people. They were recently taken over by England-based Blackmore Wholesale, in a move that consolidates Spar franchises in England and Wales.
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| Wales' Top 10 retailers (2011) (Click to enlarge) |
High street fashion retailer Peacocks, based in Cardiff, were saved from liquidation by Edinburgh Woollen Mill earlier this year. Peacocks is another major Welsh retailer, specialising in value-end high street fashion, with a turnover of £526.6million in 2011. Employment numbers will have changed since then though, and Peacocks is a best-case exemplar of the phrase "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" having built up large debts due to private equity investments. In recent days it's been announced that the fashion chain Jane Norman - also part of the Edinburgh Wollen Mill group - will move its headquarters to Cardiff.
A large chunk of Welsh retail is dominated by major car dealerships – such as Swansea's Day's Motor Group, Mon Motors of Cwmbran and Sinclair's of Port Talbot. Many of these have exclusive/authorised deals with major car brands, and run franchises across Wales. This is in addition include single "car megastores" like Trade Centre Wales and The Car Shop.
One of Wales' fastest growing retail "brands" is children's/maternity fashion retailer JoJo Maman Bébé , based in Newport, which had a turnover pushing £30million in 2011, and employs more than 300 people.
Logistics & Distribution
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| Arriva Trains Wales are Wales' largest logistics/transport company, with a turnover of more than £250million in 2011 (Pic : Via Flickr) |
There are several other independent haulage firms, too many to mention, as well as major distribution centres for international logistics companies. Internet retailer, Amazon, has a major distribution centre in Swansea, which opened in 2008 and employs around 1,000 people, though many of these jobs are likely to be seasonal/Christmas rush. German grocery retailers, Lidl and Aldi, have major regional distribution centres in Bridgend and Cardiff respectively.
Arriva Trains Wales, based in Cardiff but with maintenance centres/depots around Wales, operate the all-Wales passenger rail franchise, and some services in the Welsh Marches. Sunderland-based Arriva were taken over by Deutche Bahn in 2010. They employ around 2,000 people, and posted a turnover of £258.6million in 2011, making them the largest transport company in Wales. Arriva Trains Wales receive around £170million annually from the Welsh Government to run the rail franchise.
First Great Western run intercity services between Swansea and London, and have a major train maintenance depot in Swansea, which is due to be upgraded with rail electrification. Freightliner have a major inter modal rail freight terminal in Cardiff.
Cardiff Airport is Wales' only airport scheduled offering scheduled international and internal flights. The airport is owned and operated by Catalan company, Abertis. Concerns have been raised following the failure to attract a low-cost airline, competition from Bristol Airport, the withdrawal of several airlines and a major decline in passenger numbers - from 1.9 million in 2004, to just 1.2million in 2011.
Recently, the airport operated at a half-year loss due to another significant fall in passenger numbers, with the airport on course to serve fewer than 1million passengers in 2012. The Welsh Government have set up a Airport Taskforce to look at the issues, but is this too little, too late?
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| Catalan-owned Cardiff Airport has come under heavy criticism recently, due to rapidly falling passenger numbers. (Pic : Holidayextras.co.uk) |
There are no Welsh airlines (a peculiarity in the UK - even the Isle of Man has an airline), despite previous attempts at creating and sustaining them. Cambrian Airways were incorporated into British Airways in the 1970s, while Air Wales operated scheduled services between Cardiff and several destinations between 2000 and 2006. There have been rumours that a Welsh-based low-cost airline, "Flyforbeans", would base itself out of Cardiff Airport, but information has been scant and the project - for now - appears to be dead.
In terms of ports, as mentioned in Part II, Milford Haven is the UK's fourth largest port in terms of tonnage handled. The Port of Port Talbot is capable of handling ships of up to 170,000 metric tonnes, and for obvious reasons is a major port for ores. The Port of Cardiff handles around 2million tonnes annually – a far cry from its heyday during the "coal era". The Port of Newport handles around 1.5million tonnes of metals, recycling and general cargo every year. Other smaller commercial ports (in terms of tonnage) include Barry and Swansea.
Holyhead, Fishguard (and until recently, Swansea) are key ferry terminals between the Republic of Ireland and Wales. The Port of Holyhead alone handles around 2million passengers per year.
Transportation and storage made up 4% of the Welsh economy in 2009, less than the UK as a whole (5%), worth around £1.78billion.
Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality
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| There were 33million visitor trips to Wales from the rest of the UK in 2010 (Pic : Meetup.com) |
Visit Wales are the Welsh Government arm responsible for tourism promotion, running a network of up to 80 full and part-time tourist information centres across the country.
In 2010, there were 33million UK domestic tourist trips to Wales, with visitors spending £1.45billion.
In addition, the same year, there were 890,000 visitors from outside the UK - with most of them (647,000) coming from Europe and 116,000
from North America.
By hosting the 2010 Ryder Cup, it's believed that Celtic Manor resort generated up to £42million in golf-related tourism, and a total of £82.4million in "economic impact" for Wales. The Welsh Government has its own "major events" strategy, which includes an ambition to bid to host the Commonwealth Games at some point in the future.
Oakwood, based in Pembrokeshire, is Wales' largest theme park, and attracts around 400,000 visitors per year between March and November. The £60million Bluestone holiday village, located nearby, is made up of around 300 holiday chalets, hosting around 65,000 guests in 2011, with a further expansion being mooted.
Sport and leisure have other economic benefits. The Welsh Rugby Union, by itself, had a turnover of £54.2million in 2011, and it's been estimated that the Grand Slam match in March 2012 attracted 250,000 people and boosted the Cardiff economy by up to £10million. It's been estimated that the Scarlets, based in Llanelli, will be worth £32million annually to the local economy by 2016, while Swansea City's promotion to the English Premier League in 2011, was estimated to be worth between £30-40million to the city. In terms of more traditional leisure, Bingo hall chain Castle Leisure, had a turnover of over £20million in 2011, and employ more than 500 people.
SA Brains is Wales' largest hospitality business, with a turnover of just under £100million in 2011, employing 1,907 people across it's chain of pubs and restaurants. The company has also recently launched a high-street coffee chain "Coffee #1", which intends to expand to 30 outlets by 2015.
If there's one weakness in the hospitality industry in Wales, it's so-called haute cuisine. Despite having fine produce on land and at sea (Part I), and seeing increases in food exports to mainland Europe and beyond, there are only four Michelin Star restaurants in Wales – two in Monmouthshire, one in Powys and one in Denbighshire - and none in Cardiff. Edinburgh alone has 5.
However, in some good news, 81 Welsh restaurants made the coveted Good Food Guide 2012, and there were a record number of new entries.
Media & Creative Industries
Creative Industries have been highlighted the Economic Renewal Plan as a special/growth sector. The Welsh Government and regeneration specialists, Igloo, are currently developing a new creative industries "hub" at Porth Teigr in Cardiff Bay, which is now home to a new BBC drama studio. Broadcasting and media regulation are not devolved to the Welsh Assembly.
There are three major television broadcasters based in Wales. BBC Wales, based mostly in Cardiff, with satellite studios elsewhere, who provide public service radio and television programmes as part of the UK-wide BBC. In addition to this, they employ the National Orchestra of Wales. In recent years, they've become a centre of excellence for drama, producing major UK network shows like Dr Who, Torchwood and Casualty. They employ around 1,000 people directly, and are rumoured to be looking to build a new headquarters somewhere in Cardiff in the next few years.
Welsh language broadcasting commissioning body, S4C, are will be funded (from 2013) by a combination of the licence fee and direct grants from the UK Government. As S4C are a commissioning body, they only employ around 150 people directly. Most of their productions are made independent television companies (as well as statutory obligations by the likes of the BBC and ITV Wales). A report for the UK Government in 2010, suggested that S4C supports around 2,100 jobs.
S4C have produced marketable children's programming in particular, such as Superted, Fireman Sam, Meees and Sali Mali. 1992 biopic Hedd Wyn - distributed by S4C - was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.
Independent television producer, ITV Wales, are based just outside Cardiff. Though technically there's only a single "ITV", ITV Wales (formerly HTV) provide national opt-out programming. This includes national news, as well as public service programmes like The Ferret, Sharp End and Wales this Week.
Tinopolis, based in Llanelli, are Wales' largest (independent) media company, with a turnover of £71.3million in 2011. They produce countless hours of television, and cover live events - for numerous broadcasters - with several subsidiaries as part of the Tinopolis Group.
AIM-listed Boomerang+ (now Boom Pictures), a TV production company also based in Cardiff, is a regular feature in the Fast Growth 50 list, and had a turnover of £21.5million in 2011.
There are several Welsh commercial radio stations, both national and local, and of all shapes and sizes. Real Radio – arguably the largest independent radio group based in Wales - were recently taken over by Global Radio, after owners Guardian Media sold their radio businesses. Town & Country Broadcasting, based in Cardiff, run a network of local radio stations across Wales. UTV Radio operate The Wave and Swansea Sound in the Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire areas.
The circulation of local and national newspapers in Wales has been in a persistent decline, however traditional journalism still makes an impact on the Welsh economy. Media Wales - whose larger publicatrions include The Western Mail, Wales on Sunday and South Wales Echo - are the pre-eminent newspaper publisher in Wales, with a turnover of £32.3million in 2011. However, the company have seen turnover and the number of employees fall, despite posting pre-tax profits of £5.81million. Media Wales are part of the Trinity Mirror group, based in London. The Daily Post, sold in north Wales, is produced by Liverpool-based Trinity Mirror subsidiary Post & Echo.
South West Wales Publications, based in Swansea and part of Northcliffe Media, produce several local and regional newspapers in the Swansea region, including The South Wales Evening Post, which is Wales' best selling "Welsh" newspaper in terms of circulation.
Wales has been used as a filming location for major studios in the last few years (Ironclad at Llanilid, and Robin Hood in Pembrokeshire), but the Welsh film industry borders in inconsequential, employing around 200 people. This could change in the future with investment in things like the University of Glamorgan's Atrium campus in Cardiff.
Big companies like Tinopolis aside, the creative industries sector is growing, but is still very, very small. It's been estimated that there are as many as 600 creative sector companies in Wales, employing up to 13,000 people, and a combined turnover of £350million. However, only 50 people are estimated to be working in computer games, while the vast bulk are employed in facilities, television, interactive media, photography and publishing.
There is an issue here about media ownership (more, in relation to the Real Radio issue above, by Marc Webber) and the direction of the Welsh creative industries - especially the domestic media. Media guides and shapes public opinion of various things, including sport, politics and culture. This isn't an independence issue really, but about having a media that reflects Welsh life, not something a company based far away decides we want to hear.
Most Welsh people read newspapers that barely cover Welsh issues. They probably listen to radio stations that are part of faceless conglomerates, focused on expansion and balance sheets instead of providing a good national service in Wales. And they also probably prefer Hollyoaks to Wales Today - nothing you can do about that really, people have a choice.
The Welsh public probably hear more about Michael Gove than Leighton Andrews, despite the former having very little influence on Welsh education. I doubt many people outside of the Rhondda, anoraksphere or the Bay Bubble know who Leighton Andrews is, what he does, or what he proposes to do.
I don't want to drag politics into an economic piece, but we really need to get a grip on this or we have a serious problem. How can we hold local councils and the Assembly to account properly if we don't hear about them? How can there be the prospect of tax powers - for example - if the public at large don't know what's on the table?
Part IV, which will be posted on Tuesday, will look at the public sector, public spending and a glance at the role universities play in the Welsh economy.
By hosting the 2010 Ryder Cup, it's believed that Celtic Manor resort generated up to £42million in golf-related tourism, and a total of £82.4million in "economic impact" for Wales. The Welsh Government has its own "major events" strategy, which includes an ambition to bid to host the Commonwealth Games at some point in the future.
Oakwood, based in Pembrokeshire, is Wales' largest theme park, and attracts around 400,000 visitors per year between March and November. The £60million Bluestone holiday village, located nearby, is made up of around 300 holiday chalets, hosting around 65,000 guests in 2011, with a further expansion being mooted.
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| It's been estimated that Swansea City's promotion to the English Premier League is worth around £30million to the city's economy. (Pic : BBC) |
Sport and leisure have other economic benefits. The Welsh Rugby Union, by itself, had a turnover of £54.2million in 2011, and it's been estimated that the Grand Slam match in March 2012 attracted 250,000 people and boosted the Cardiff economy by up to £10million. It's been estimated that the Scarlets, based in Llanelli, will be worth £32million annually to the local economy by 2016, while Swansea City's promotion to the English Premier League in 2011, was estimated to be worth between £30-40million to the city. In terms of more traditional leisure, Bingo hall chain Castle Leisure, had a turnover of over £20million in 2011, and employ more than 500 people.
SA Brains is Wales' largest hospitality business, with a turnover of just under £100million in 2011, employing 1,907 people across it's chain of pubs and restaurants. The company has also recently launched a high-street coffee chain "Coffee #1", which intends to expand to 30 outlets by 2015.
If there's one weakness in the hospitality industry in Wales, it's so-called haute cuisine. Despite having fine produce on land and at sea (Part I), and seeing increases in food exports to mainland Europe and beyond, there are only four Michelin Star restaurants in Wales – two in Monmouthshire, one in Powys and one in Denbighshire - and none in Cardiff. Edinburgh alone has 5.
However, in some good news, 81 Welsh restaurants made the coveted Good Food Guide 2012, and there were a record number of new entries.
Media & Creative Industries
Creative Industries have been highlighted the Economic Renewal Plan as a special/growth sector. The Welsh Government and regeneration specialists, Igloo, are currently developing a new creative industries "hub" at Porth Teigr in Cardiff Bay, which is now home to a new BBC drama studio. Broadcasting and media regulation are not devolved to the Welsh Assembly.
There are three major television broadcasters based in Wales. BBC Wales, based mostly in Cardiff, with satellite studios elsewhere, who provide public service radio and television programmes as part of the UK-wide BBC. In addition to this, they employ the National Orchestra of Wales. In recent years, they've become a centre of excellence for drama, producing major UK network shows like Dr Who, Torchwood and Casualty. They employ around 1,000 people directly, and are rumoured to be looking to build a new headquarters somewhere in Cardiff in the next few years.
Welsh language broadcasting commissioning body, S4C, are will be funded (from 2013) by a combination of the licence fee and direct grants from the UK Government. As S4C are a commissioning body, they only employ around 150 people directly. Most of their productions are made independent television companies (as well as statutory obligations by the likes of the BBC and ITV Wales). A report for the UK Government in 2010, suggested that S4C supports around 2,100 jobs.
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| Despite derisory comments about "zero viewers", many S4C-commissioned children's programmes - like Meees - have been picked up by larger markets. (Pic : S4C) |
S4C have produced marketable children's programming in particular, such as Superted, Fireman Sam, Meees and Sali Mali. 1992 biopic Hedd Wyn - distributed by S4C - was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.
Independent television producer, ITV Wales, are based just outside Cardiff. Though technically there's only a single "ITV", ITV Wales (formerly HTV) provide national opt-out programming. This includes national news, as well as public service programmes like The Ferret, Sharp End and Wales this Week.
Tinopolis, based in Llanelli, are Wales' largest (independent) media company, with a turnover of £71.3million in 2011. They produce countless hours of television, and cover live events - for numerous broadcasters - with several subsidiaries as part of the Tinopolis Group.
AIM-listed Boomerang+ (now Boom Pictures), a TV production company also based in Cardiff, is a regular feature in the Fast Growth 50 list, and had a turnover of £21.5million in 2011.
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| Real Radio have become another Welsh media company absorbed into a larger one with a decrease in distinctively "Welsh" output as a result - even sports coverage. (Pic : The Guardian) |
There are several Welsh commercial radio stations, both national and local, and of all shapes and sizes. Real Radio – arguably the largest independent radio group based in Wales - were recently taken over by Global Radio, after owners Guardian Media sold their radio businesses. Town & Country Broadcasting, based in Cardiff, run a network of local radio stations across Wales. UTV Radio operate The Wave and Swansea Sound in the Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire areas.
The circulation of local and national newspapers in Wales has been in a persistent decline, however traditional journalism still makes an impact on the Welsh economy. Media Wales - whose larger publicatrions include The Western Mail, Wales on Sunday and South Wales Echo - are the pre-eminent newspaper publisher in Wales, with a turnover of £32.3million in 2011. However, the company have seen turnover and the number of employees fall, despite posting pre-tax profits of £5.81million. Media Wales are part of the Trinity Mirror group, based in London. The Daily Post, sold in north Wales, is produced by Liverpool-based Trinity Mirror subsidiary Post & Echo.
South West Wales Publications, based in Swansea and part of Northcliffe Media, produce several local and regional newspapers in the Swansea region, including The South Wales Evening Post, which is Wales' best selling "Welsh" newspaper in terms of circulation.
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| Major studios have used Wales as a location, but despite developing creative industry skills, the Welsh film, and gaming, industries are practically non-existant. (Pic : The Film Review) |
Wales has been used as a filming location for major studios in the last few years (Ironclad at Llanilid, and Robin Hood in Pembrokeshire), but the Welsh film industry borders in inconsequential, employing around 200 people. This could change in the future with investment in things like the University of Glamorgan's Atrium campus in Cardiff.
Big companies like Tinopolis aside, the creative industries sector is growing, but is still very, very small. It's been estimated that there are as many as 600 creative sector companies in Wales, employing up to 13,000 people, and a combined turnover of £350million. However, only 50 people are estimated to be working in computer games, while the vast bulk are employed in facilities, television, interactive media, photography and publishing.
There is an issue here about media ownership (more, in relation to the Real Radio issue above, by Marc Webber) and the direction of the Welsh creative industries - especially the domestic media. Media guides and shapes public opinion of various things, including sport, politics and culture. This isn't an independence issue really, but about having a media that reflects Welsh life, not something a company based far away decides we want to hear.
 |
| Lady Justice is sometimes portrayed as blindfolded, representing objectivity. However, are we all blindfolded by simply not having the media capacity to properly scrutinise Welsh politics? (Pic : Via fotothing) |
Most Welsh people read newspapers that barely cover Welsh issues. They probably listen to radio stations that are part of faceless conglomerates, focused on expansion and balance sheets instead of providing a good national service in Wales. And they also probably prefer Hollyoaks to Wales Today - nothing you can do about that really, people have a choice.
The Welsh public probably hear more about Michael Gove than Leighton Andrews, despite the former having very little influence on Welsh education. I doubt many people outside of the Rhondda, anoraksphere or the Bay Bubble know who Leighton Andrews is, what he does, or what he proposes to do.
I don't want to drag politics into an economic piece, but we really need to get a grip on this or we have a serious problem. How can we hold local councils and the Assembly to account properly if we don't hear about them? How can there be the prospect of tax powers - for example - if the public at large don't know what's on the table?
Part IV, which will be posted on Tuesday, will look at the public sector, public spending and a glance at the role universities play in the Welsh economy.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI've just read the report Protecting Jobs, Advancing Business and Delivering Economic Returns for Wales quoted in your blog and I dont think it looks like an accurate assesment of reality. Perhaps you could shed some light on it.
In section 3.3 they present the case for investment by the WAG in the industry in Wales, imploring politicians to "understand that this marketing money is an investment and not a handout..It is a catalyst for future PAYE, VAT, NI, Corporation Tax and Rates contributions that surpass many times the sums of the initial investment".
As all money earnt by PAYE, VAT, NI and Corporation tax goes straight back to the exchequer in London I dont understand how money spent on the tourism industry in Wales by the WAG "will enable the Government to have more to spend on hospitals and schools tomorrow"? The only way I can see this being an accurate statement is if they are referring to the Government in London who of course do not have responsibility for health and education in Wales.
I really would like to know how they are able to say that WAG spending in tourism today is an investment in Welsh schools and hospitals tomorrow, when in fact it looks like the arguement they are actually forwarding is that WAG expenditure on Welsh tourism is an investment in English schools and hospitals.
This report was written by a company in Oxford, did they not understand the political reality in Wales now or is it me?
Craig
Thanks, Craig.
ReplyDeleteYou would expect a industry group/pressure group focusing on tourism to extol tourism to the max. I presume they mean, "by investing in tourism, you'll boost our business, and taxes from our business will increase as a result for the WG to spend on schools and hospitals."
But the flaw in their argument, as you quite rightly point out, is that the taxes will go to the Treasury and then come back to us via the block grant, so it's a moot point.
They quote a report by Oxford Economics (who are a respected economic forcasting body) and those are the figures I used, and I'm going to presume they're credible.
The bulk of the report itself was written by the Wales Tourism Alliance themselves I imagine.
Does the block grant increase if more taxes are paid in Wales?
ReplyDeleteNo. It's currently determined by the Barnett Formula, which is based on changes to public spending in England. Wales roughly gets the equivalent of 5% of any spending increase in England on things like health, education etc.
ReplyDeleteIf tax receipts from Wales suddenly went up, then it makes no difference to the block grant, similarly if tax receipts went down.
i thought so. so working on the logic the report uses it would make more economic sense to invest the money elsewhere, as the only return they report coming from WAG money in tourism all goes straight to london. ive asked them for clarification.
ReplyDeletethink your blog is exceptional. no idea where you find the time to do it.
Thank, llan.
ReplyDeleteI tend to spread big posts/series like this one out over several months, doing a hundred words here and there, fitting shorter posts around it. I'm also a fairly quick typer it has to be said.
Believe it or not, I started work on this series back in May!
i take it youre single, unemployed and friendless then! small price to pay for the quality of your blogs.
ReplyDelete