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The catch? The two shops have short leases but other than that they are ready to go.

Sean Roper, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions who is handling the sale, said: “The pair of shops, on the normally, pre Covid-19 lockdown, very busy High Street, in Blackwood, have been trading as a florist and a mobile phone shop bringing in £20,400 a year in rent.

“The retail units would seem to offer an entrepreneur the perfect opportunity to invest in the retail trade and at an unbelievably knockdown price.

“The pair are listed with a starting price of just £1. If that’s the only bid we receive at the online auction then that is how much the shops will go for – it’s as simple as that.”

The two shops, with vacant ancillary accommodation above each, at 116 and 118 High Street, Blackwood, are both currently let.

PaulFosh Auctions has been forced to take all its business online due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Buyers and sellers are advised to contact the office number, 01633 254044, email info@paulfoshauctions.com, or visit paulfoshauctions.com

The shops are up for sale online at the next Paul Fosh Auctions on Thursday, April 30.

“I wasn’t that keen on the place when I first saw it, if I’m honest. I was a bit reluctant as it really was in such a sorry state but with some projected vision from my wife, Joanna, I was interested.

“She knew my ability as a chef and the potential this opportunity held. If a restaurant is good enough then people will come. As simple as that. And that is what we did. One day at a time. Fifteen years have now passed and The Hardwick has established itself and remains as one of the places to stay and eat in Monmouthshire.”

Mr Terry was born in London and grew up in rural Bedfordshire. He arrived in Monmouthshire 20 years ago via 14 years in London, where he worked in some of its toughest and most respected restaurants, including Le Gavroche under the direction of Michel Roux Jr and three years with Marco Pierre White at the legendary Harveys alongside Gordon Ramsay.

He said: “I grew up in a pretty rural environment so coming to Monmouthshire after London didn’t come as a much of a culture shock.

“I bought The Walnut Tree from Ann and Franco Taruschio after being approached by them when I was still in London. I worked with them both for their last few months at the restaurant to immerse myself in the culture of the iconic restaurant before taking the helm myself and starting a new chapter.

“We won a Michelin Star at The Walnut Tree but sadly things didn’t work out between myself and my business partner, as circumstances changed, so we parted company.

“Sometimes it feels as though we’re a bit out in the sticks but in reality we’re not very far from the centre of Abergavenny. We’re on the gateway to West Wales, so if you’re on a bit of road trip heading west we are a convenient location for a stop. If you’re interested in food rather than stopping at the Golden Arches, then we’re on the radar.”

Things have grown organically since The Hardwick opened. Rooms have been added alongside an extension to the restaurant.

Mr Terry said: “The extension added 50 covers to the restaurant which brings our total to 110 covers. We’re happy with our progress and where we are today. We now have six in the kitchen and some 12 in front of house. It’s a tight ship but efficient.

“We’ve done some really nice things over the years. One of the best, and certainly most memorable, was being involved in the Nato Summit at Cardiff Castle. Prime minister David Cameron invited us to cook for all the leaders including Barrack Obama, the delegates, foreign secretaries, defence secretaries. It was fascinating.”

So, is Mr Terry hankering after a Michelin star? He said: “I haven’t really engaged with the guides so much recently. It tickled me for a while but then I got a bit bored with it. I’ve been involved in this business for a long time and, to be honest, I’m my own harshest critic. I am judged by my customers every day. The guides don’t have anything that I want.

“I’m 53 in April and I’m not chasing awards governed by people who are half my age. I have enough to occupy me with a family to look after, a business to run and staff to manage.”

He said: “My style of cooking now, as to when I started at The Hardwick, is a lot simpler. It’s more seasonal, it’s all about the quality of the produce. It’s about elevating the ingredients without being contrived. Yes, we use modern cooking techniques, but only so that it adds to the consistency of our food. It’s not about being clever for the sake of it. If I was clever I would be working in finance or property and earning a fortune.

“We’re spoiled rotten for local produce. We source our lamb, beef, pork, poultry, locally. We have great local eggs and Welsh cheeses on our doorstep. We have Ancre Hill winery up the road and some great local beers. We have fabulous fish from Pembrokeshire and Welsh sewin when the season’s right. We have Neal’s Yard Dairy just across the border. We’ve always used their products which are incredible.

“As a country restaurant, steak on the menu is essential. At the moment we have a dish which combines fillet steak and a deep fried croquette of braised ox tail, shin and feather blade of beef. It creates interest and keeps the price down. It’s a good value dish at £29.

“We get as many local vegetables as we can. Philip Jones is essential to our business. He is our local fruit and veg wholesaler and he sources us all we need. There is also a lovely lady called Joyce Watkins who lives up the road and has to be 80-plus. Whatever she turns up with, we use. She comes to the door with all sorts – gooseberries, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raspberries, strawberries – she’s amazing.”

The Hardwick had planned to host a charity chef’s evening in aid of St David’s Hospice Care in March but that had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Terry was set to be joined by Michelin-starred chefs Angela Hartnett, Daniel Clifford, Phillip Howard and Hywel Jones, who hails from Newport.

He said: “I only really got to know about St David’s Hospice Care since my wife’s mother became ill last year. She sadly passed away in August. She was cared for by the magnificent nurses at the charity. They were absolutely amazing. We’ve always done fund raising in the past for Ty Hafan, we’re big supporters of them, but never St David’s. But when it touches you and your family – and they were incredible – then you feel that you want to do as much as you can.”

What does Mr Terry like about his adopted county? “We now live in Govilon and there are some great places locally we can get to when we’re not tied up at the restaurant.

“The best place to eat in Monmouthshire? Now that’s a hard one. We tend to stay in if we have a night off. It’s a treat all being together at home – it’s like a night out by being at home.

“The reason there are not more ‘Hardwicks’ is that I am the one driving it. I am here six, sometimes seven, days a week. I cook and I oversee the kitchen and make sure everything is running smoothly. It requires sacrifice but without it you don’t have a successful restaurant. The Hardwick is my baby and also my pension! But I’m not standing still. I’d always like another challenge. Last year we ripped out the bar and created something different for us – a new fantastic nine metre long bar where we serve small plates. It’s very impressive and something we’d like to do more of.

“It is aimed at local people dropping in for a bite to eat. Sometimes people are just too busy or don’t want to cook and want some simple, tasty food. It could be a quick business meeting. It’s convenient, affordable, casual and accessible. In and out in an hour, easily.

“Certainly not a new concept but something that my style of cooking lends itself to well. I’d like to replicate this as a slightly bigger version in Cardiff. As soon as I find a site, in a good location, we’ll get started. What to call it – Source & Knocky? It’s a play on words, sauce and gnocchi? Watch this space…”

Paul Fosh, the owner of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “With the increasing fears over the spread of the Covid-19 virus, we decided to move our March sale online. This decision was taken in light of the most recent government information regarding the virus and mass gatherings of people.

“Despite having just two days to set the whole thing up, my team, working with online experts EIG, were magnificent. The sale went off without a hitch. It was very exciting for us and also for the buyers.

“It’s safe to say that we smashed it. I do think that online is now the new normal for the foreseeable future. We will now be staging our next auction, which had been planned to be in a hall as usual, online.”

Mr Fosh said: “We normally have more than 300 people at our sales in Cardiff but thankfully we were able to warn enough people to stay away and in the end, just five turned up at the hotel. We had as many people register for the auction online as we usually get at the ballroom and we sold more than 60 per cent of the properties offered generating more than £3m in sales, comparable to a ‘normal’ auction.

“Our next scheduled sale is on Thursday, April 30. We plan to proceed with this sale and will continue to gather entries over the next two weeks. This sale will once again be held online with all types of bidders being accommodated for, even those for whom the idea of an online sale is initially daunting.

“All future auctions following our April sale are still planned to go ahead as normal, whether that’s online or a room sale depending on the circumstances, and we’ll release details of these in due course.

“With the need to protect our staff and the wider public we have devised new ways to gather entries and market them.

“We already have many lots listed which have been inspected and photographed prior. Again, we are planning on using technology to enable us to appraise properties and utilising external photographs where appropriate and internal photographs and videos where available.

“Anybody who has a property that they would like to sell now could be a perfect time. With the general property market seemingly on hold for a few weeks, the auction market is likely to thrive as developers and property investors looking to buy to add to their stock during these times.”

The University of the West of England law graduate comes to Newport-headquartered ETLP after completing a legal practice course at Cardiff University and gaining valuable industry experience.

Susie, educated at the Bishop of Llandaff School, Cardiff, secured a training contract in 2012 at Howells solicitors in Cardiff which was predominantly property focused. She was admitted to the roll of solicitors in March 2014 and continued to develop her expertise in commercial property working in Blake Morgan and Geldards in Cardiff.

Since joining ETLP Susie has dealt with landlord and tenant work including lease renewals, new leases, lease assignments and surrenders, acquisitions and disposals of commercial property, including agricultural land and secured lending. The properties that we deal with at ETLP range from industrial units, to shops, takeaways, restaurants, pubs, cafes, hairdressers and bare land like woodlands and farmland.

Susie said: “I enjoy seeing a deal or transaction over the line, meeting or exceeding client expectations and the client satisfaction that follows. I also enjoy the varied nature of work that we deal with at ETLP and how each transaction is different.

“I enjoy working with Robert Twigg in the Newport office who is a consultant and has been working at ETLP since 2010. In my new role I will be able to assist in building and shaping the department in our own individual way helping it to grow further in the Newport and Gwent region.

“I see one of the biggest challenges that I face is building my network of clients and introducers in Newport after having predominantly worked in Cardiff.”

When not in work Susie enjoys spending time with her husband, friends and family and generally living life to the full. She enjoys trying new restaurants and bars, fine dining, keeping fit, to allow for the fine dining and walking in the countryside or seaside.

“I’ve recently given bouldering a go, although I didn’t find coming down from a nine metre wall as fun as going up it. I Iove travelling and am always looking for the next destination to explore. I enjoy reading, going to the cinema and theatre and I’m part of a female voice choir which regularly perform concerts throughout the year. “

ETLP managing partner Ashley Harkus said: “ETLP is very pleased to have been able to secure Susie to join us as part of our expanding and increasingly important commercial property team.”

The event attracted around 400 runners, who braved the difficult conditions to take part in the run through Pontypool Park and the surrounding areas.

Mamhilad Park Estate also sponsored the event, and, combined with the amounts raised by the runners, in total raised more than £2,000 for the Hospice.

Sam Williams, marketing executive at Mamhilad Park Estate and one of the runners, said: “It was a great, well organised event which we thoroughly enjoyed.

“Mamhilad Park Estate is keen to give something back to the community and we were delighted to be able to support such a great cause as St David’s Hospice Care which does such fantastic work throughout our community.”

Race organiser Christie Vorres, of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “Sponsoring and taking part in an event such as this shows real commitment.

“It’s great to have Mamhilad Park Estate on board. We can’t thank them enough for all that they have done for the charity.”

The nursery was described in a recent Estyn report as excellent for its current performance and excellent for its prospectus for improvement. The nursery, with a roll of 110 children aged from six weeks to five years, also received an award for excellence in the Estyn annual awards last year.

Little Stars has also played an active part in Welsh Curriculum Reform as part of the Child Development group.

Ms Williams said: “I was delighted to visit Little Stars to see the commitment and hard work they’ve given to the development of the new curriculum. I saw for myself the high standard of teaching our youngest learners are having at this Foundational Phase setting.”

Nursery owner, Emma Matthews, welcoming the minister to the nursery, said: “We are delighted that our commitment to setting improvement, staff professional development and delivering quality childcare and education, has been acknowledged with a visit from Kirsty Williams.”

Little Stars Nursery, which opened in January 2003, is owned and managed by Emma Matthews and Marie Ellis-Jones, two qualified and experienced Early Years School teachers who have total commitment to the quality provision for the pre-school child

Set in the grounds of Mamhilad Park Estate Little Stars sees a quarter of the children its cares for coming from businesses based on the park.

James Crawford, chief executive officer of Johnsey Estates which owns Mamhilad Park Estate, said: “Little Stars is a terrific asset for the business park offering parents a first rate start in life for their children. The nursery helps us to attract occupiers to the business park offering, as it does, first class educational and nursery facilities right here on site.”

Professional Adviser magazine is a leading financial services industry publication and this national award recognises companies for their emphasis on outstanding client focus, employee engagement and satisfaction along with the employee benefits, procedures and policies that firms have in place.

Kymin managing director Robin Hall said: “We are delighted to be recognised as the best financial adviser firm to work for in the UK for the second year in a row. This award is testament to all of the hard work, dedication and sense of pride that the team at Kymin have and the core values we live by as a firm.

“Data for this award is compiled through anonymous employee responses to questionnaires on employer benefits and polices and then an employee engagement and satisfaction survey. So, the fact that we won this accolade from our own employee responses is fantastic. It really highlights the direction we are going as a company and the strong family values we have. We have a dedicated and highly, motivated team who genuinely care about each other and the clients that they look after.

“The age profile of the team is diverse, we have at least one person in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s 60s and 70s and compared to some of our competitors we have some relatively young financial planners with one in their 30s and three in their 40s. We also like to train from within; we have a graduate that started with us last year who is currently taking his Level 4 diploma in financial advice and another member of the team who has been with us less than 18 months who became qualified to Level 4 during her nine months with us.

“We believe that a training and development programme making sure all staff are qualified to a recognised level is essential. Recruiting the right people is key to any business, but even more so with a financial planning firm, you have to make sure the people you take on are not only qualified and able to do the job but are trustworthy and honest. This shows that recruiting the right people from the outset and keeping members of the team has been key to the success of the company over the years where they build up a good relationship with the clients.

“Team building plays an important part in keeping the staff on board and motivated. We have done many things over the years including go-karting, crazy golf, pub quizzes and numerous fund-raising events for St David’s Hospice Care. We take at least a day out of the calendar each year for an away trip during the summer months, this year we are going to Devon in July. To celebrate our 25th birthday a few years back we took the whole team to Jersey for a long weekend.

“This latest award builds on our commitment to being both the best financial planners and employers that we can be. We are proud that our staff feel their working environment and the culture we have is a good one, as we continue to grow, we will always help our team to be the best they can and reward them with great benefits.”

Paul Fosh said: “It was an absolutely cracking sale with some brilliant lots. There was a range of properties on offer for all tastes and a great deal of energy and excitement in the auction room from the word go from the sale of the first terraced property and across the catalogue.

“We even had the relatively rare occurrence of a property selling for a single bid. Guided at £36,000 a simple, traditional, two-bedroom, mid-terrace property at Garn Cross, Nantyglo sold to a single bid of £45,000, once I’d opened the bidding at £30,000.

“Whatever your views on Brexit and however you voted it’s clear to see that the uncertainty infecting almost everything over recent months has now finally been lifted, the shackles are off and investors and the public in general feel more relaxed and willing to make decisions.

“This was certainly the atmosphere in the auction hall with properties flying out of the room. Sellers and buyers in equal proportion will have been delighted with the night’s sale. There was a feeling in the room, which I haven’t experienced for quite some time, it was back to the good old days if you like with cheers and applause when properties were won.

“There were some properties where sellers were under a certain amount of pressure from eager buyers to accept offers ahead of the sale but I’m pleased that these clients took our advice, stuck to their guns and presented them for sale and the prices achieved were in excess of those that they would otherwise have made.

“Some excellent results were achieved which shows that once more, now we are in more certain times, that there are investors and buyers in the market ready and willing to make a deal. Optimism has returned now that we have clarity, which for us is very good news.”

A highlight of the sale was a former care home at Maesteg which had created strong interest ahead of the sale. The property, Hyfrydol, at Cemetery Road, was listed with a guide of £148,000 but soon raced away from this figure and after intense bidding reached almost three times that figure with the hammer falling at £410,000.

A 1930s toilet block in Bridgend, which prospective buyers ahead of the sale had looked at to turn into everything from a dog grooming salon to a cafe, sold for £61,000, more than twice the guide price of £27,000-plus.

Another notable sale was that of the internationally-recognised former marine artist’s home at Argoed, near Blackwood. Ty’r Graig, a Welsh farmhouse and former home to artist Leonard J Pearce, was listed with a guide of £250,000 but sold after very keen interest for £295,000.

And a four-storey, semi-detached property with 13 rooms, attic and garden at Victoria Avenue, Porthcawl, listed with a guide price of £179,000, sold for £265,000.

The next Paul Fosh Auctions sale in on Thursday, March 19 at The Cardiff North Hotel, Cardiff starting at 5pm.

The open-plan property, with mezzanine balconies, is being sold through Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions with a guide price of £250,000-plus.

Sean Roper, who is handling the sale for auctioneers Paul Fosh, said: “Ty Graig is situated in a rural position with 0.88 acres of land and garden and offers generous open plan accommodation.

“The property would be an ideal family home or perhaps a potential business such as holiday let or bed and breakfast, subject to planning.”

With an inglenook fireplace and original stone staircase, the property has a bathroom on the ground floor with additional bedroom and workshop, which could be used as another living room.

There is a mezzanine on either side of the property overlooking the living room, three bedrooms, a family bathroom and studio. Outside there are gardens to the front, sides and rear with a summer house and garage.

Renowned artist Leonard John Pearce died on June 12, 2018.

The London-born painter and sculptor, who moved to Wales in the 1980s, was well-known for his paintings of famous ships in full sail. He was a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Art Workers Guild and his paintings can be found in marine art collections in many parts of the world. A website featuring his life and work can be viewed at boundingmain.co.uk.

Mr Pearce also created many original candle designs for Candle Makers Supplies, in Blackwood, and sculpted miniatures including Lord Nelson, a fine bust of Chief Joseph and painted local subjects including Marine Colliery, Gelli Groes Mill and Tintern Abbey.

Ty Graig is due to be sold at Paul Fosh Auctions on Thursday, February 6, at The Cardiff North Hotel, Cardiff, starting at 5pm.