Big spender Sir (below) has poured £170m into DOING BUSINESS IN the , venue for golf’s 2010 Newport Ryder Cup FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT | Thursday September 30 2010 Page 4

www.ft.com/newport­2010 | twitter.com/ftreports Golden chance to put itself on the map

The Ryder Cup will struction workers who have too, is estimated at £70m to something about the place diverted roads and spruced £100m. The event will raise that means people feel good place one of the up the railway station. But the profile of a city of some about life when the rolling youngest cities in pre-eminent among them is 140,000 inhabitants that has mills are going at Llan- the mercurial figure of Sir sometimes been overshad- wern.” Europe under the Terry Matthews, the Welsh- owed by its neighbours Car- However, half of the 1,200- spotlight, writes Canadian telecoms tycoon. diff and . acre site is now empty. St Sir Terry, a risk-taker Newport is one of the Modwen, the Birmingham- Jonathan Guthrie with a keen understanding youngest cities in Europe, based regeneration special- of the opportunities that gaining that status only in ist, acquired 600 acres of it hen Tiger the communications revolu- 2002. The settlement has in 2004 and is working on a Woods and tion has created, has spent roots dating back to Bronze £500m-£600m scheme to cre- other top golf- a significant slice of his for- Age fishing camps but is, ate a business park, schools ers drive off at tune on building the golf in the main, the result of and public open space. Wthe Celtic Manor Resort in resort, which includes a 334- 19th-century industrialisa- There will also be a big the Usk Valley tomorrow, bedroom hotel. It sits on the tion that made it an impor- housing scheme. The main Newport, will join site of the maternity hospi- tant centre for steel- road running through Llan- the golfing destinations tal where he was born. making, manufacturing and wern will be opened to the hallowed by their associa- Looking out across the coal shipping. public, relieving pressure tion with the Ryder Cup neatly manicured Ryder In the postwar era New- on the M4 motorway to the that include Louisville, Cup course, Ian Edwards, port was pre-eminently a north. Kentucky, Sotogrande in vice-president of operations steel town centred on the The site is now cleared of Spain and Rochester, New at the resort, says: “Sir huge complex, factories, and Rupert Jose- York. Terry built the resort which opened in 1962. land, regional director of St The Ryder, which every because he wanted to put Steel-making ceased in Modwen, tells visitors that two years pits the US something back into the 2001, although the metal is it could provide a big part against Europe, has a glam- local economy. He is a pas- still processed there by of the growth of the city. our and excitement that sionate Welshman.” Corus, a subsidiary of Tata. He says: “We hope this extends beyond the world of Sir Terry has spent some Speaking of Newport’s scheme will generate 6,000 golf to a far wider popula- £50m bringing the Ryder to proud industrial heritage, jobs over 20 years and then tion. Some 150,000 people Wales. The value to the Tracey Lee, managing there should be a multiplier are expected to attend and area, where local authori- director of Newport City effect on top of that. millions more television ties have invested heavily Council, says: “There’s still Another 10,000 people viewers will watch a battle would live here.” that is never less than hard- Mr Joseland sees the fought. Ryder as a great opportu- The simple repetition of Inside this issue nity to market , the phrase “at Celtic Economy Customer writes Andrew Bounds as the scheme is called, to Manor, Newport” by TV services and business Page 2 property investors and co- presenters will give the administration have thrived developers. city, located near the most as coal and steel have all Relocation guide Newport’s pitch to inves- southerly point of the bor- but disappeared, writes William Hall looks at tors and companies seeking der between Wales and Eng- Jonathan Guthrie Page 2 transport links, education headquarters or branch land, a priceless publicity and housing choices locations is centred on its boost. “We have a great Commercial Page 3 good transport links. opportunity to put New- property Public and Its position on the M4 private occupiers From the port’s name on the map,” Heritage motorway and a main rail have been attracted Romans to rapper says Sheila Davies, regener- route give easy access to by relatively low Rhys Hutchings of ation director of Newport rents, says Goldie Lookin’ Chain. the busy economic corridor Council. William Hall Page 2 (left), Newport that stretches from west The three days of the has taken it London along the Thames tournament will represent Technology New all in its Valley through Bristol and the culmination of years of industries are building stride on to Swansea. work for Newportonians, on steel’s foundation, Page 4 The nearby M5 and M50 from the greenkeepers at Joining a select group of golfing destinations that have hosted the Ryder Cup: a view of Newport, Wales Celtic Manor to the con- Continued on Page 3 2 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 2010 Doing Business in Newport Mixed picture emerges as old industries decline

Newport the second-highest gross value rates high and pay rates are Bristol but we are still easy to Economy added per head among 22 local significantly lower than those travel to.” authorities, at £19,012 a year. for the south-east of England. The hope in Newport, as else- Customer services and Less positively, rates of work- Businesses with processing where, is that private sector A449 Chepstow A4051 public administration lessness are high and the city, and contact centres in the employment will take up the A48 along with many UK settle- city include -based slack, particularly through the A469 have thrived, drawing ments outside the prosperous motor insurer Admiral, Lloyds establishment of new busi- NewportNewport south-east of England, has suf- TSB, which is the UK’s largest nesses. Examples of local start- Ringland on a large local A468 fered badly in the recent reces- bank, and Yell, a directories ups include the server centre M4 Caerphilly workforce, writes sion. company. New Generation Data (see sepa- Warren Lane, head of HSBC’s Public administration has rate article at www.ft.com/ WALES Severn Jonathan Guthrie Wales corporate banking centre, thrived for similar reasons. The reports/newport-2010) and JoJo M4 A403 says: “We are in a difficult number crunchers of the UK’s Maman BéBé, a Mums-and- ewport is part of a economic climate, but people National Statistics organisation babies fashion business set up wider economic zone are adjusting to a ‘new nor- relocated to Newport, and the by award-winning entrepreneur A48 M5 A38 that spans the border mal’.” Fears of a double-dip city is also home to the Intellec- Laura Tenison. And Sir Terry between England recession in the UK have been tual Property Office, which Matthews, the mercurial Welsh- Nand Wales. To the city’s west, dissipating. administers UK patents. Canadian entrepreneur, runs his CardiffCardiff Portishead further into Wales, are the cities The Ryder Cup will provide a Public service employment UK-based high-tech investment of Cardiff, the capital, and good tonic for Newport, promis- has expanded broadly as a business, Wesley Clover, out of Swansea. To Newport’s east, ing to generate £100m in eco- result of a spending splurge by the Celtic Manor Resort. a short hop across the estuary nomic benefits for the city and the Labour government that lost More traditional businesses Bristol BristolBBristolristol of the River Severn, are surrounding area, according to still have much to give. They Channel the English cities of Bath and the Professional Golfers Associ- include steelwork manufacturer Clevedon A370 Bristol. ation. Another estimate of the The hope in Newport, Rowecord Engineering and Pre- Knitting this relatively pros- economic benefits for the city, as elsewhere in the mier Forest Products, a timber A38 perous zone together are the M4 by Sports Marketing Surveys, is importer operating from New- A37 UK, is that private M5 ENGLAND motorway and a main rail route, lower at £73m (see article on port Docks. “We are having our A370 both of which give speedy Page 4). sector employment best ever month, with sales of Ordnance Survey access to the Thames Valley, an The local economy was built £5.1m,” says Nigel Williams, 10km A38 mapping@ Crown economically thriving western on steel and coal. Newport will offset looming cuts PFP chairman, of the company’s copyright: AM31/10 hinterland of London. offered a large, flat coastal area performance in September. Unemployment rate Gross value added per head House prices The coastal plain on which to the south of mountainous dis- in public spending “That could be something to do % UK=100 Rebased Newport sits is densely popu- tricts rich in coal and iron ore. with the Ryder Cup”. lated by the standards of Wales, It therefore lent itself well to the power in the UK in May. A Con- The company, which expects a semi-autonomous nation establishment of steel mills and servative-led coalition govern- turnover of £50m this year, 10 100 110 within the UK that has large docks for shipping coal and fin- ment took control and is now imports 180,000 cubic metres Newport swathes of coast, mountains and ished steel. readying tough spending cuts. of timber through the docks Wales 95 105 farmland. The Welsh coal industry dwin- These are likely to hit UK cit- each year, and is part of a local Great Britain Thanks to agglomeration dled to almost nothing from the ies outside the charmed ambit cluster of timber companies. 8 90 Newport* 100 effects, east Wales – as defined 1980s. Low-priced foreign compe- of the English south-east fairly PFP, which is highly dependent East Wales by the European Union – had tition has meanwhile resulted in hard. However Newportonians on the construction trade, has Wales per capita gross domestic prod- a scaling back by Corus, the hope that the impact may be been working hard with forestry 85 95 uct with an index value of 110.3 steel company, over the past cushioned by efficiency pro- businesses in China to improve 6 Newport in 2007, with 100 representing decade. grammes that move government the sustainability of its prod- 80 90 Wales the EU average. This has left Newport with a jobs from costly London to more ucts. England For the sake of comparison, much more mixed economy. affordable urban centres. “We can move goods by sea, and Wales highly-ranked Bremen in Ger- Business administration and Sheila Davies, head of regen- rail or road and we have a rail- 4 75 85 many was indexed at 159, while customer services have become eration at Newport council, pro- head coming straight in to our 20040506070809 1995 2000 05 07 2007 08 09 10 Romania’s poorly-off Centru important employers, drawing motes the city as “The White- warehouse,” says Mr Williams. * Including region came in at 43. on a large local workforce. hall of the West”, saying: “Over- “Newport is fantastic to operate Sources : Nomis; ONS; Thomson Reuters Datastream Within Wales, Newport had Skills are good, retention heads are lower here than in from if you are in logistics.” Alternative location attracts public and private occupiers

LG Electronics site, and Cleppa Park. research, headline rents in Newport’s Commercial property On the eastern side of Newport, city centre remained unchanged at close to the M4’s junction 23, there is £16 a sq ft at the end of March 2010, Rents are considerably Gwent Europark, a 220-acre distribu- while out-of-town rents were stable at lower than in Cardiff and tion centre which is anchored by two £15 per sq ft. This makes Newport large depots for Tesco and Wilkinson. considerably cheaper than both Car- Bristol, says William Hall Queensway Meadows, a 200-acre mod- diff, where city centre rents were £21 ern industrial estate, is located just per sq ft and out of town rents were 2.5 miles from the M4’s junction 24. £16 per sq ft, and Bristol where rents Cardiff, the capital, is the main engine But the really exciting development are up to two-thirds higher. of growth in the South Wales property on the east side of Newport is a £1bn Nevertheless, Newport’s commercial market. But Newport has the poten- redevelopment by St Modwen of half property market has not escaped tial to be a booster rocket, with its of the former unscathed from the effects of the plentiful supply of undeveloped land site close to junctions 23a and 24. credit crunch. Brian McDougall, of and access to skilled labour, plus Over the next 20 years, the 600-acre relocation consultants OMIS, says: excellent transport links with the rest site will be transformed into a new “Newport’s business base is broad but of the UK. community, known as Glan Llyn, weak, with too much dependence on Twelve miles from Cardiff and 30 with 4,000 homes, two schools, leisure vulnerable industry sectors and a miles from Bristol, Newport is catego- and retail facilities, and the 1.5m sq ft handful of large employers. The local rised as a major sub-regional centre in Celtic Business Park. Work on the unemployment rate has nearly dou- the latest review of office space along first houses is expected to start in bled since the downturn in 2008 and the M4 corridor by Lambert Smith 2011. shop vacancies in Newport are now Hampton (LSH), the property consult- the highest in Wales.” ants. Newport’s stock of office space is King Sturge, a property consul- one-10th the size of that of Bristol and Last year’s collapse of tancy, notes that only one of the three one-sixth the size of Cardiff. Modus, a shopping centre city-centre retail developments, However, with traditional UK cen- planned as a key part of the regenera- tres for office services becoming con- developer, led to the tion programme, has been completed: gested and increasingly more expen- suspension of two big the £30m refurbishment of the 200,000 sive in terms of labour and property sq ft . costs, locations such as Newport can schemes in the city Last year’s collapse of Modus, a offer fresh alternatives, says LSH. shopping centre developer based in This has been reflected in its suc- north-west England, led to the suspen- cess in attracting both public and pri- “Newport has a much bigger catch- sion of Newport’s £90m City Spires View of a building on the new £35m campus at the , Newport vate sector occupiers, including the ment area than either Cardiff or Bris- scheme, which included a 30-storey Office for National Statistics, Lloyds tol, but does not have the associated residential building, and Friars Walk, sory purchase orders for the land and changed enormously over the past six Cardiff and Newport was completed. TSB, HSBC, Wales and West Utilities costs”, says Robert Carew-Chaston, of a £220m shopping centre which would is seeking a development partner to years. A £22m modernisation of Newport and HM Prison Service. chartered surveyors Hutchings & Tho- have included 450,000 sq ft of retail bring the site back to market. In 2004, the Newport Theatre and railway station has just been finished, The biggest and most developed mas. and leisure facilities, department Despite the recent setbacks, Mr Arts Complex and the Southern Dis- and the £35m city-centre campus of cluster of offices can be found at the “We need to use the magnets of store and new bus station. Beer is confident that the 2020 Vision tributor Road, including a fourth the University of Wales, Newport, is £100m Celtic Springs Business Park Bristol and Cardiff to our advantage. Gareth Beer, chief executive of New- for Newport will be implemented. bridge over the river Usk, were due to open early next year on the on the west side of the city next to They both have a lot going for them, port Unlimited, the urban regenera- This includes 2m sq ft of office space, opened. banks of the Usk. junction 28 of the M4 motorway. such as Cardiff’s . tion company overseeing redevelop- 11,000 homes, reclamation of 825 acres In 2006 a new Usk footbridge was Meanwhile, stylish apartment It is the best known of several busi- Newport will never be the capital of ment, says that relaunching the Fri- of derelict land and the creation of opened as part of the regeneration blocks, such as Mariners Quay and ness parks next to the junction, Wales, but it can use Cardiff’s ameni- ars Walk scheme is the number one more than 15,000 jobs in Newport and of the riverfront. Newhaus, and riverside parks are including the 350-acre Imperial Park, ties to benefit people in Newport”. priority. the Eastern Valleys. In 2009, the widening of the M4 springing up along the river on the which has grown up around the old According to LSH’s latest property The council has executed compul- The face and feel of Newport has to a three-lane highway between site of the Old Town Dock.

Contributors Jonathan Guthrie Enterprise Editor Fruits of digital revolution grow from deep roots Roger Blitz Leisure Industries and Tredegar Comprehen- university. It is partnering companies in the surround- rebuilding the blast furnace into breathtaking reality. buying a new workshop in Correspondent Technology sive School. with the private sector to ing area. from 2012. It will also The company recently com- 2007. “We have the ability The police and university research practical applica- Steel, the foundation of increase capacity, ensuring pleted the roof of Zaha to bend 40-50 tonne loads. Andy Bounds FT Regional Correspondent New industries are have used the proceeds to tions for digital technology Newport’s economy for dec- work for the Llanwern fin- Hadid’s Aquatic Centre for You have to apply the right building on steel’s set up the Gwent Independ- and harness the opportuni- ades, remains important. ishing plant in Newport, the London Olympics. amount of heat in the right William Hall ent Film Trust (GIFT) to ties from the convergence The presence of Corus, the which was mothballed for “It’s 3,000 tons of steel place at the right time. It is FT Contributor foundations, writes develop broadcast produc- of different media and steelmaker owned by Tata several months last year. lifted 25ft in the air and a real skill,” says Mr Hoppe. Andrew Bounds tions in Gwent relating to devices. of India that traces its roots Kirby Adams, Corus man- supported at three points,” “Those traditional skills are Andrew Baxter policing, community con- “Creativity flourishes in back to British Steel, has aging director, said at the says Andrew Hoppe, man- still here.” Commissioning Editor cerns and safety issues. an environment that stimulated much innova- time: “As a result of this aging director. “There are While many Newport Some 7m people around the Newport could soon be encourages innovation and tion. project, the Port Talbot only three or four compa- companies are family-run, a Steven Bird world have watched a home to many more produc- experimentation – a charac- works and our downstream nies in the country that big multinational develops Designer drama called Cow, about a tions, as the University of teristic of the much cele- Kirby Adams supply chain will be able in could do that.” world leading technology in Andy Mears teenager whose life is dev- Wales campus involved in brated Art School tradi- of Corus says the coming decades to con- The big projects, includ- the city. Picture Editor astated after she kills her Cow wants to set up a Cen- tion,” the university says. work for the tinue improving the quality ing football and cricket sta- Cassidian is the cyberse- two best friends in a car tre for Micro Broadcasting. The institute is based at Llanwern of products and services diums and a bridge for the curity arm of EADS, the For advertising details, crash while texting on her This would enable local the university’s plant has provided to their UK and BBC’s MediaCity develop- pan-European aerospace contact: phone. businesses to learn how to campus; from next year at been ensured overseas strip product cus- ment in Salford, have kept and defence group. The Jim Swarbrick But few know the short use such techniques to the new city centre campus. tomers.” Rowecord going in the company is expanding and Phone +44 161 834 9381 film, an internet sensation make their own advertising, It features the “sandpit”, an It was good news for recession, enabling it to is research-intensive, bring- [email protected] featured on the BBC, Sky, marketing and informative area where business people Cogent Power, an arm of Rowecord Engineering, a hold on to its 500 workers ing high quality jobs and or your usual CNN and Fox News, was programmes, and distribute and academics can mix to Corus that makes steels for structural steel company and avoid price-cutting. expertise to the area. representative conceived and made in them to consumers at low develop new technology. the electrical industry, is at that was set up 40 years Turnover slipped from £70m Cassidian employs several Newport. cost through familiar tools The IAB board is chaired the high-technology end of ago. The business, still to £50m, but it remained hundred people in Newport All FT Reports are Cassie Cowen, also such as digital cameras, by Simon Gibson, chief the industry and switched owned by the Hoppe family, profitable. and is a leader in encryp- available on FT.com. Go to known as Cow, is the sub- broadband, TV and mobile executive of Wesley Clover, to lean production methods has worked with Corus for The company’s designers tion and protecting military ft.com/reports ject of the road safety film. phones. an investment group based in 2003. decades and built the last and welders are constantly communications from hack- It was made by Peter It is part of the digital in Canada that has its Euro- Corus announced this two blast furnaces at Port pushing the boundaries of ing or jamming. In August, Follow us on twitter at Watkins-Hughes an award- revolution that Newport is pean headquarters in New- year that it would extend Talbot. the possible and it has it acquired Regency Secu- twitter.com/ft.reports winning film lecturer at trying to harness through port. The company, founded the life of its Port Talbot But its real expertise is in invested heavily to ensure rity, an internet security the University of Wales, the Institute of Advanced by Sir Terry Matthews, has works along the coast for at bridges and turning the it can keep pace with what specialist, to strengthen its together with Gwent police Broadcasting (IAB) at the financed many technology least another 20 years by flights of fancy of architects clients demand, including cyberwarfare expertise. FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 2010 ★ 3 Doing Business in Newport

Profile The many shades of Coilcolor

Steelmaking is usually all hopes to make £500,000 about size: huge slabs, this year. massive furnaces and long However, it has adapted rolls of strip. But one well to the downturn, Mr Newport company, Proctor says, by finding a Coilcolor, has found success way to recoat the tonnes of with the mantra that small grey panel rusting in mills is beautiful. or warehouses after Dean Proctor, joint demand slumped. managing director, talks “There was a lot of more like a tailor than a redundant stock about that steelman: offering bespoke was three to four years old. service in a choice of All they could sell it for was colours. grey backing for repairs,” Coilcolor tints steel for he says. the construction industry, “We developed a system which increasingly uses with BASF [the German large panels to divide rooms chemical group], where we or decorate buildings. Its can take redundant stock, products are used for overcoat it and it can be cladding and roofs and it used like new. also supplies the makers of “We will take something caravans, cold stores and worth at most £200 a prefabricated buildings. tonne, overcoat it for £300 It has reproduced a tonne with a guarantee Easyjet’s distinctive orange, for 20 years and it’s worth a lemon green for Bosch £1,100 a tonne.” and could do FT pink if The biggest challenge is required, says Mr Proctor. drying out the steel so the Mr Proctor says Coilcolor paint does not bubble, he is the only company in says. The research took two Europe to offer “toll years and cost £100,000 Link with the past: the 104­year­old Newport Transporter Bridge across the River Usk is one of only a handful in the world coating”. Most coating is but is paying off already. done by steelmakers such Taking a long­term view as Corus and ArcelorMittal. of constant adaptation is But they look for big orders easier for a family company and customers are without debt, says Mr restricted to a ready­coated Proctor. Michelle Proctor, Success factors remain in place range of steels and colours. his sister, is joint managing Coilcolor allows them to director and his father choose their own colour, in started the business 40 neighbouring Cardiff, and economically active Power League 2009 tables, All of them provide away, has plenty to offer small batches. It uses years ago. Relocation guide several business parks persons live within a 30- and , which ranks plenty of opportunity for on the arts and culture primer and top coat on one The company was one of have sprung up around minute drive – that 204th. outdoor pursuits, front, including the production line, cutting the six in Wales to be selected William Hall looks these junctions. includes Cardiff and parts There are also private particularly walking and Millennium Centre, home time needed to paint. by HSBC, the bank, for its at transport links, Widening the M4 to three of Bristol. schools, such as fishing. of the Welsh National It will also find the steel Business Thinking 2010 lanes between Newport and Figures provided for the Rougemont, ranked 254th This year’s Ryder Cup is Opera, and the Millennium for them, grouping initiative. education and Cardiff was completed this Office for National in the 2009 Sunday Times a reminder that Newport is Stadium, home of Welsh customers into consortia of Mr Proctor went to housing choices year, but plans to build a Statistics’ recent league table of independent the golf capital of Wales, rugby and football. five to 10 that order up to Mexico to learn about motorway toll road to the assessment of locations for secondary schools, as well with 27 courses in the Newport itself is home to 10,000 tonnes between business there. He is full of south of the city, to avoid its move from London as well regarded private surrounding area, the Riverfront Theatre and them, reducing the price. praise for the bank, which Newport faces one the bottleneck of the showed Newport had a schools in , including eight within the Arts Centre. The steel coils come from gave the company a £3m unfortunate problem in congested tunnel higher working-age Chepstow and Cardiff city boundaries. , on the China and Taiwan in the unsecured loan to ensure it attracting investors – its on the M4, which cannot population within 30 The new £35m city-centre However, there is far outskirts of the city, is one main. “We bring them into could finance stock name. There are at least a be widened, were axed in minutes drive of the city campus of the University more to the city than golf. of the best examples of a which is just purchases for customers. dozen other Newports in July 2009. centre than Cardiff or of Wales, Newport, rising It is home to Newport 17th century mansion in a mile away. We can store He has also received the UK, and more than two Newport has good high Bristol. More than 1.6m on the bank of the river Gwent Dragons, one of the UK, while the 104-year- them there or at our site, more welcome news: almost dozen Newports in the US. speed rail connections not live within a one-hour Usk, is the clearest sign of Wales’s four professional old Transporter Bridge so the customer doesn’t a decade after being told So Newport in South only with London, which drive. the growing importance of rugby union teams, playing across the River Usk is one have to worry about that,” by the Welsh Assembly that Wales needs to work has two trains an hour and Wage costs in Newport the university in the city’s in the Magners League, of only a handful such says Mr Proctor. Coilcolor would have to harder than most to takes 110 minutes, but also are more than a third regeneration. and also houses Newport designs in the world. “We have had to be move to make way for differentiate itself, not only with neighbouring Cardiff lower than those in The university, which International Sports Other historic sites in flexible and responsive. We redevelopment, Mr Proctor from its closest rivals, (seven trains an hour London and also lower traces its roots back to the Village, which contains the immediate vicinity cannot compete on price has been told it can stay Cardiff and Bristol, but taking 15-20 minutes) and than in almost all other Newport Mechanics Wales’s National include the National against those doing huge put. from the host of other Birmingham (two trains an regions of the UK except Institute, which was Velodrome, a competition Roman Legion Museum at volumes and one colour,” Now the company is Newports dotted around hour). for north-east England and founded in 1841, has nearly swimming pool, football Caerleon, a Roman fortress he says. waiting to hear if it can buy the world. The city is a 45-minute Northern Ireland. doubled in size over the and athletics stadium, town, and also the Big Pit Turnover is about £12m the redundant factory next Although the economic drive from two of the UK’s According to the latest past decade. It now has cricket and hockey pitches, in nearby Blaenavon, and the company was door, as it needs it to recession has slowed the faster growing regional Annual Survey of Hours 4,000 full-time and another and an indoor tennis which is one of Britain’s making £800,000 profit expand. pace of growth and airports. Cardiff and Earnings, the median 4,700 part-time students centre. leading mining museums before the recession. In regeneration, the critical International, which gross weekly wage in studying 100 courses. Cardiff, the capital of and has Unesco World 2009 it lost £250,000 and Andrew Bounds success factors that have handles 2m passengers a Newport was £362.2 which It is one of the largest Wales and just 12 miles Heritage Status. established Newport as one year, has flights to more is 91 per cent of the UK degree providers in Wales of the prime investment than 50 destinations. average. It is also 3 per for creative arts and locations for business in Bristol, which handles 6m cent lower than in Cardiff education and the new Wales remain in place. passengers, serves 114 and 12 per cent below campus building will house Experian Business destinations. Bristol. Newport Business School, Strategies, in a 2007 report, London’s Heathrow Another attraction for and the design, film and ranked Newport seventh in airport, the UK’s biggest, is potential investors is its digital media sections of terms of predicted output 120 miles east on the M4 lower than average house the Newport School of Art, growth of UK towns and motorway and a two-hour prices. According to figures Media and Design. cities up to 2020. drive. provided by the Land Newport is the smallest A more recent report in Newport, once Wales’s Registry of England and and most lowly rated of 2008 by Lambert Smith biggest coal port, remains Wales for the first quarter the six universities within Hampton, the business the second biggest port in of 2010, the average house a 30-mile radius of the city property group, placed south-east Wales after Port price in Newport was according to the Sunday Newport third in its index Talbot. £138,090, some 38 per cent Times University Guide of leading office locations As part of Associated below the UK average. 2011. in the UK outside London, British Ports (ABP), Newport house prices are The others are Cardiff on the basis of a range of Newport handled 2.7m also 24 per cent lower than University, UWIC cost/quality criteria. tonnes of traffic in 2009, in neighbouring Cardiff (University of Wales Newport has several compared with Cardiff’s 2m and 35 per cent lower than Institute, Cardiff), powerful attractions as a tonnes and Swansea’s in Bristol, another big Glamorgan University, business location that are 400,000 tonnes. The port, competitor 30 miles east. Bristol University and the helping it emerge from the which can take ships of up University of the West of long shadow of Cardiff, the to 40,000 dwt, is a five- Education England. Together these Welsh capital some 12 minute drive from the M4’s Newport has a number of universities provide an miles to the west, and Junction 28. well regarded state annual output of around Bristol, its closest English ABP has made secondary schools, 20,000 first-degree rival, some 30 miles to the significant investments such as Caerleon, graduates. east. to develop the which ranks 157th In the past, there has general cargo in the Sunday been talk of merging Transport facilities, and Times Parent UWIC, Glamorgan and Newport likes to refer to Australia’s Sims Newport into a super itself as Wales’s first city, Group has university, that could rival because it is the first city invested Cardiff and Bristol, but the encountered when entering heavily in the idea has never taken off. the country from the other UK’s most side of the River Severn. modern Leisure Central London is 2½ metals The city is surrounded by hours drive away, recycling and some of the UK’s most Birmingham is 1½ hours export plant. beautiful countryside, with away and Bristol 35 the Wye Valley, the Vale minutes. Employment of Usk, the 519 square mile The city has six local and housing Brecon Beacons National junctions on the vital east- Some 74,000 people work Jason Tovey of Park and the Gower west M4 motorway in the City of Newport, Newport Gwent Peninsular within a 30-60 corridor, twice as many as and an estimated 479,000 Dragons Getty minutes drive.

Golden chance to put itself on the map

Continued from Page 1 employ more than 6,000. the facility, guaranteeing ren both celebrating and However, silicon chip prices 150MW of power. sending up the working motorways carry traffic tumbled and the factory Putting neglected assets class culture of his home north to the English Mid- never entered service. to use is also the name of city, while singer Terema lands; Cardiff and Bristol “We started talking to the the game along the water- Wainwright plays a bat- airports are just a short Welsh Assembly govern- front. Gareth Beer, chief tered synthesiser and sings drive away. Some 1.5m peo- ment about this towards executive of the urban the chorus “Newport, con- ple live within 30 minutes the end of 2006, after legal regeneration company New- crete jumble where noth- drive of Newport. hassles had been sorted port Unlimited, says “the ing’s in order”. However, it was ready out,” says Nick Razey, co- idea is to have high quality, It is fair to say that the access to the UK’s electric- founder of Next Generation, mixed-use schemes along redevelopment is a work in ity grid rather than its referring to repayment of the river”. progress, with no thanks to transport network that job creation grants that There is already a new the hiatus resulting from lured one start-up. Technol- Wales sought from LG. £35m university campus, a the recent UK recession. ogy business Next Genera- “It was clear that while new bridge connecting However, the Ryder Cup tion Data is breathing new the facility was a great south-east Newport with should help to get the party life into an old silicon chip embarrassment, it was also the link road to Llanwern started again. factory at Celtic Lakes by a great asset.” and a number of completed And it is characteristic of marketing it as a data cen- The building is a perfect affordable housing schemes. a city with broad shoulders tre. Here, communications place for a data centre, “None of this was here a and a robust identity that businesses can house the according to Next Genera- few years ago,” says Mr Newportonians were mostly proliferating banks of serv- tion, which has signed a 25- Beer, surveying the scene amused rather than scan- ers needed to run memory- year lease with its owner, from the parapet of the dalised by the Ymerodraeth hungry computer services. the Welsh Assembly gov- bridge. video. The 75,000 square metre ernment, an elected body. It Recently, a spoof of Jay-Z When the historic Trans- high-specification building has a large, earthquake- and Alicia Keys’ Empire porter Bridge was reopened was built on the outskirts proof floorplate that could State of Mind tribute to in the run-up to the Ryder, of Newport in the late 1990s house up to 19,000 racks of New York, called Ymero- Messrs Warren and Wain- as part of a proposed £1.7bn 10 or more servers each. draeth State of Mind, has wright were invited to the development by LG, the The UK’s national electric- been a YouTube hit in the ceremony. Newport wel- Korean electronics group, ity grid was diverted to UK. The video features comes comedy rappers as that was supposed to place a substation close to Newport rapper Alex War- well as Tiger Woods. 4 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 2010 Doing Business in Newport A decade of build­up – for three days of golf

most of the Ryder Cup, such as Ryder Cup Rowecord, which built the £2m footbridge that connects the Roger Blitz examines 2010 course to the practice area, the potential economic and GD Environmental, respon- sible for the waste management impact for the area of contract. one of the world’s But those coming to Newport for the first time could be for- leading sporting events given for thinking that the Ryder Cup was generating a big dose of economic regeneration. he £22m redevelopment The city is in the midst of a of Newport’s railway £2bn private sector-led invest- station, built in material ment programme, delivering or used by the space planning new retail, industrial Tindustry, is gleaming and ready. and office space, homes, univer- The city’s street lamps parade sity facilities and public projects 2010 livery. Even J Sainsbury such as road improvements, the has redoubled efforts to make footbridge and a boulevard. sure its biggest supermarket Gareth Beer, chief executive in Wales is open in time for of , the the country’s big sporting urban regeneration company moment of the year, the Ryder responsible for it, says the Cup. Ryder Cup and the investment It is a moment that has been programme are a “happy coinci- anticipated in these parts since dence”, the two living alongside 2001, when Sir Terry Matthews’ each other. Celtic Manor Resort was chosen “The Ryder Cup is important, as host venue. That is a long but it’s a milestone, it is not an time to wait for three days of end in itself,” he says. golf. There has been £5m spent in The wait should prove worth- the city on legacy projects while, in view of the expected related to the Ryder Cup, while benefits to the area, although an arts festival has been run- these might not accrue in the ning throughout the year. immediate future. However, the real benefit is in As Tiger Woods, Lee West- the cachet the event gives the wood and their US and Euro- city and surrounding area. pean team mates drive, chip and “The benefit of the Ryder Cup putt their way round the course, one of the most frequently heard (non-golfing) phrases The tournament and a during the tournament will £2bn investment be about how the event puts Newport and Wales “on the programme are a map”. ‘happy coincidence’ As Carwyn Jones, Wales’ first minister, said at a Celtic Manor event: “We’re going to go out is largely intangible,” says Mr there and sell Wales.” Beer, “but it has given us an The immediate economic opportunity over the past year impact of hosting the Ryder Cup to engage with a much wider and welcoming some 45,000 private sector audience.” spectators a day may not be More tangible is the Celtic game-changing for Newport, let Manor Resort and its impor- alone, Wales but it is significant Teeing off: an aerial view of the Celtic Manor Resort, venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup which begins tomorrow PA tance to Newport. It may feel enough. slightly apart, but the resort is Some previous Ryder Cup one of the city’s biggest employ- hosts have generated an eco- Celtic Manor Hard­driving owner hits bunker but plots further expansion ers, providing full-time work to nomic impact of between £44m 618 people. Sir Terry’s Ryder and £62m, according to research A reasonably charming relic Jones, Celtic Manor’s marketing two hotels, six restaurants, three away from higher end to Cup investment is £50m, on top by Sports Marketing Surveys. stands somewhat incongruously director. “He is a man who is bars, health clubs and a spa, the affordable accommodation, of the £120m he has ploughed The top-end of its expectations right next to the modern very successful, and there is a family is not content. something the downturn has into the resort. for Wales from the event itself is clubhouse of the 2010 Course at little bit of cussed stubbornness “The leisure market is hastened. Average room rates It would be surprising if, in £73m, once “leakage”, or the dis- the Celtic Manor Resort, venue towards him.” constantly changing,” Mr are £110­£120 a night. the weeks and months after the placement of tourism income to for golf’s Ryder Cup. Were it not Whatever the motives behind Edwards says. “It’s a market we Celtic Manor is battling with cup is won and lost, the real neighbours such as English there, there would be a stunning the decision, Sir Terry has no really never attacked until two two perceptions, Mr Rees Jones benefit of hosting the event did hotels, is taken into account. view of the slopes surrounding intention of either letting the years ago. The resort seems as if adds. One, from the London not start to emerge. There has also been a big boost the Usk valley. matter drop, or slowing the its in its infancy.” market, that “coalmining Wales” In terms of sporting events, in attendances at Welsh golf Sir Terry Matthews, born in a development of his resort. The Hence, plans are afoot for two is difficult to get to; two, that the Ryder Cup generates the courses in the past year. maternity hospital that is now Canada­based technology nine­hole “crazy golf” courses, an Wales might struggle to put on third biggest television audience Quite how much the city of part of the resort’s four and five­ billionaire and his son Dylan, the adventure climbing area, luxury an event as prestigious as the in the world, behind the Olym- Newport itself derives from that star accommodation, has poured resort’s chief executive, are tent and lodges accommodation Ryder Cup. pic Games and the football £73m is unclear. Guest-houses £170m into Newport’s showpiece appealing against the move, and – anything that caters for the It is nothing new for Newport’s World Cup. and bed and breakfast accom- facility, which will command a plotting further expansion. family market. man­made­good. “Terry was told Gareth Rees Jones, Celtic modation will augment the rela- huge global TV audience for “You never say never,” says With no neighbours to worry he had a 2 per cent chance of Manor’s marketing director, tively limited hotel capacity – golf’s biennial match between Ian Edwards, the resort’s about and unfettered road getting the Ryder Cup to Celtic says Welsh politicians look at plenty of spectators will be stay- Europe and the US. operations vice­president. “The access, the resort wants to Manor,” says Mr Rees Jones. Celtic Manor not merely as a ing in Cardiff. So, when in July Newport’s way the Matthews family works, exploit its ability to bring in up to Once the Ryder Cup leaves leading stimulant to the tourism Much of the consumption dur- planning councillors blocked his if they want to make something 50,000 visitors a day, hosting town, Newport’s planning economy. “They see it as a cata- ing the day will take place at plan to dismantle and relocate happen, it will happen.” concerts and equestrian events. councillors, cussed or not, might lyst for inward investment,” he the resort. One benefit for the that 400 year­old ruin, an old Thus far, the resort, which If Celtic Manor could host rugby as well get used to those says. city is the mooring in Newport farmhouse, he felt entitled to a overlooks the M4 motorway, is and football stadiums, it probably Matthews folk from up the hill “They want somewhere that of the five-star Le Diamant sense of grievance. known for golf – there are three would. “It’s important to be dominating their civic lives once chief executives and other top cruise ship, carrying 226 guests, “There is a lot of jealousy courses – and its award­winning offering more than golf,” says Mr more. executives can play golf. They during Ryder Cup week. about Sir Terry, a lot of convention centre facilities. But Rees Jones. very much see Celtic Manor as a There are Newport businesses resentment,” says Gareth Rees though it provides 400 rooms in That means shifting the focus Matthews: lord of the Manor Roger Blitz showcase for the best that that have already made the Wales has to offer.”

Company profile Cintec puts a sock in it

What connects Windsor Castle, England, show the corbelled structures of pyramid Ground Zero, New York and The Red burial chambers as he talks over coffee, Mr City takes Romans Pyramid, Egypt? The answer is Cintec James says: “We can take the load­bearing International, a privately owned Newport capacity [of a structure] from four tonnes company whose ingenious civil engineering to 40 tonnes.” technology stabilises buildings in all those Cintec was called in to work on Windsor and rap in its stride locations. Castle near London, an official residence of Cintec is an example of what are the Queen of England, after it was damaged sometimes called “small multinationals” – by fire in 1992. Heat damage to the companies of modest size whose world­ Brunswick Tower meant it faced being former curator of Newport The Morgan family, the beating technology and specialisation allows dismantled and rebuilt. Instead, Cintec Heritage Museum and Art Gallery. local aristocrats, amassed them to trade across borders. The business, workers created a network of holes by The ruined amphitheatre, significant wealth from the which belongs to founder Peter James, has diamond drilling, which knitted the damaged Jonathan Guthrie at a place that came to be development of Newport. branch offices in the US, Canada, Australia structure back together once anchors were explains how a called Round Table Field, They spent some of it on and India. It offers its services through inserted. may have helped foster modernising their stately agents in a host of other countries. Cintec employs 60 people worldwide, 35 border settlement local Arthurian legends. home, Tredegar House, now The company has carved out a niche in of them in Newport. Mr James expects his has kept its edge The 12th-century chronicler owned by Newport Council reinforcing buildings and bridges that have company to make a profit of about £1m Geoffrey of Monmouth and open to visitors. been made unstable by age, dilapidation or this year on turnover of more than £5m. claimed that King Arthur They also ploughed some shockwaves. As with many good ideas, the The entrepreneur set the company up in Newport is the youngest was crowned and held court of their money into local system that Cintec deploys around the 1984, acquiring the worldwide rights to the city in Wales, gaining that there. philanthropy, for example world is a simple one. anchoring system from its German inventor. status only in 2002. But it Newport itself, which is by creating parks where Workers drill narrow holes through the Before that, Mr James had worked as a has roots going back to closer to the mouth of the Newportonians could relax load­bearing parts of built structures. They senior civil engineer for Cardiff City Council Bronze Age fishing camps. Usk, was an established set- after their labours in the then insert a “sock” of synthetic material and Gwent County Council, during which An important trading cen- tlement by the ninth cen- steel mills and docks. into the hole, which is pumped full of a time he became acutely aware of the lack tre for millennia, the New- tury. Norman invaders built The Morgans helped fi- Comedy rapper Rhys Hutchings of Goldie Lookin’ Chain concrete­like grout that presses tightly of solutions for stabilising old buildings. At port area has a gritty spirit a castle and a bridge there nance the Transporter against the walls of the drill hole. When the Cintec he has developed a culture based on of place reflecting economic at the end of the 11th cen- Bridge, a monument to producing 6,000 tonnes of that the town was really grout sets, the building is strengthened. careful testing of systems. ups and downs and the fluc- tury, creating a more direct Edwardian ingenuity down- steel daily and providing part of England. “Most of the work that we do is bespoke That is apparent in videos of tests on the tuating national loyalties of route between South Wales river from the city centre. thousands of jobs. These days Newport feels and is carefully tested,” says Mr James, Water Wall blast containment device that a border settlement. and England. This transported people and Lower cost foreign compe- definitively Welsh, but with talking at Cintec’s headquarters at Gold Mr James invented in response to enquiries Newport is located on the In the Middle Ages, New- vehicles over the Usk in a tition forced Corus, the the cheeky street swagger Tops in Newport. “The hardest part of the from the UK security services. banks of the River Usk, port became a borough with large metal gondola dan- company that owned it, to of post-industrial South process is the drilling”. One clip shows a speeding van crashing which has figured both as a rights to hold fairs and mar- gling from cables attached stop making steel at Llan- Wales rather than the some- The Cintec Anchor System has been used to a halt as it slams into a bulwark of means of transport by kets. The town prospered as to a lofty gantry. It has wern in 2001, although it times rather earnest Welsh- to reinforce unglamorous postwar tower Water Wall devices, which resemble water and an impediment a trading hub, as evidenced continued to process the speaking accents of the blocks in the UK. But Mr James is most children’s “bouncy castles” inflated with to transport by land. by a well-preserved medie- metal there. That left a rural and coastal west. proud of its deployment to support famous water rather than air. The Romans came, saw val merchant ship discov- ‘This is a gritty city town previously geared to Hip-hop, a music often or historic structures. These have included In another video, the blast from a car and conquered in the 1st ered in 2002 and now under- with a fantastic heavy industry with a more used for asserting aggres- buildings around the World Trade Center in bomb is soaked up by a bank of the century AD, when they going lengthy preservation. mixed economy in which sive black masculinity, has New York, which was destroyed by devices. built a bridge and settle- As with many settlements sense of humour. public sector employment been seized on by white terrorists in 2001. Cintec has supplied the invention, which ment upriver at Caerleon, a in the UK, industrialisation People are very plays a significant part. working class Newportoni- Cintec engineers meanwhile faced the elegantly exploits the resistance of water to well-preserved historic site triggered explosive growth. Newport has tussled with ans as a medium for self- challenge of stabilising a building erected high­speed shocks, to the US, UK and which today attracts a Newport’s most recent her- proud of where it issues of national allegiance parody, for example by four and a half millennia ago when they Jordanian security services. steady steam of tourists. itage is as a coal-shipping as border towns are prone Goldie Lookin’ Chain, a worked on the Red Pyramid in Cairo. They Some 5,000 legionaries and port and a centre for iron has come from’ to. Rhys Gethin, a general comedy rap crew clad in deployed stainless steel Jonathan Guthrie officers were stationed and steel, processing raw of the Welsh rebel prince cheap chain store sports- consolidation anchors to there with comforts that materials dug from hillsides been restored and brought Owain Glyndwr, burnt wear. Repetition of their support a corridor where included an amphitheatre farther north. The Mon- back into service just in parts of it during a revolt choicer lyrics is precluded dangerous cracks had for gladiatorial displays. mouth Canal catalysed time for the Ryder Cup. against English rule in 1402. by the FT’s rules against appeared. Part of the wider settlement those activities after it Newport suffered eco- Welsh speakers became a gratuitous obscenity. Using broken Red alert: Cintec engineers now lies under the Ryder opened in 1799, before it nomic decline after world minority in the Victorian Mulling over Newport’s shortbread helped stabilise Cup golf course. was superseded in 1850 by war two, according to Mr era, as English economic industrial heritage, Tracey biscuits to the Red Pyramid, “By 290AD, the fortress the railway. Trett, but this was arrested migrants flooded into the Lee, managing director of Cairo had been deserted, as Brit- “As a result of industriali- when the current Queen town, many of them from , says: ish garrisons were moved to sation, a population of presided over the opening the rural Midlands. Later, “This is a gritty city with a protect the towns,” says about 2,000 swelled to 60,000 of the huge Llanwern steel- some of them banded fantastic sense of humour. Bob Trett, proprietor of to 70,000 by 1900,” says Mr works in 1962. By its peak together in the St George People are very proud of Caerleon History Tours and Trett. in the 1980s the facility was Society of Newport to assert where it has come from.”