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Got anything nice on your Christmas list? Fancy something a bit different? How about a baker’s dozen of refurbished, fully-let domestic garages?

The collection of garages at Farmwood Close, Newport, which are for sale through Paul Fosh Auctions at its December sale, could make the ideal income-generating investment.

The block of garages situated in a sought-after location to the east side of Newport benefit from refitted roller shutter doors and are accessed via a lane to the rear of Farmwood Close.

Listed with a guide price of £80,000-plus the each of the fully-let garages currently generate an income of £60 per month, equating to an annual total of £9,360. (Lot 3)

A mid-terrace, three-bedroom property with first floor bathroom at 17 King Street, Cwm, Ebbw Vale, with a guide price of £32,000-plus benefits from a gas combination boiler and partial double glazing. The house requires refurbishment throughout and would be suitable for someone looking to renovate to resell or for buy-to-let investment. The nearby town of Ebbw Vale offers an excellent range of amenities and a train station with direct links to Cardiff (Lot 1)

An end-of-terrace three-bedroom, bay-fronted house, 2 Southern Street, Caerphilly, is located a short distance from Caerphilly town centre and would make an ideal investment or for buyers looking to renovate to resell.

The property, which has a basement, forecourt and rear garden, is listed with a guide price of £105,000-plus.

Caerphilly offers good road links to Cardiff in the south and also has a railway station which connects with Cardiff and the Valleys. (Lot 16)

A three-bedroom, mid-terrace property situated in a popular residential location of 39 Heol Yr Ysgol, Ebbw Vale, benefits from gas central heating and UPVC double glazing but requires upgrading and improvement. The property, with front and rear gardens and first floor bathroom, is listed with a guide price of £42,000-plus (Lot 23).

A two-bedroom, mid-terrace house at 20 Upper Power Street, Newport, in the popular Barrack Hill area of Newport, is close to the city centre and the city’s train station. The property, with a front garden and rear courtyard and which is listed with a guide price of £69,000, requires renovation throughout but does benefit from a gas combination boiler and partial double glazing. The Junction 26 of the M4 is close by providing links to Cardiff, Bristol and beyond. (Lot 28)

These and a range of other domestic and commercial lots will be available for sale at the next Paul Fosh Auctions sale at The Cardiff North Hotel, Cardiff, on Thursday, December 5 starting at 5pm.

THE Reverend Andrew Webster was on his knees in the lounge at St David’s Hospice in Newport – but he wasn’t praying, he was looking for something dropped under an armchair.

Smiling and with a laugh the 48-year-old Yorkshireman grabbed the item and handed it back to the grateful patient.

Rev Webster has been in post at the hospice for the past four months.

“I love it” he said, chatting to a group of ladies getting ready for their lunch.

The Reverend, who covers each of the four day hospices run by St David’s Hospice Care in south east Wales, arrived at the Newport-based charity after serving as a Methodist minister in Cardiff, Birmingham and Chepstow and also as a chaplain in HMP Cardiff.

Speaking about his new role, he said: “It’s important to say chat Chaplaincy is for all our patients and their families, not just those who might be religious.

“We all have spiritual needs that perhaps come to the fore when dealing with life limiting illnesses. Our spiritual care team includes volunteers from various faiths and as well as humanists.

“This role is an enormous privilege to be alongside patients and their families at a particularly challenging time.

“Part of my role is to help people discover the inner resources that they already have to help deal with what they are facing.

Rev Webster knew a great deal about St David’s Hospice Care ahead of his appointment, the first for the charity, after his church role in Monmouthshire came to a natural end.

“I got to know St David’s Hospice Care while working as a local church minister,” he said. “Many times I heard what a good job they did for people in our local community. I also helped lead a Christmas Light up a Life service, which we found to be an opportunity to engage with the local community and gave a chance to remember loved ones at what can be a difficult time of year for people living with loss.”

“Since joining St David’s Hospice Care I have accompanied nurses on their visits to see first-hand the amazing work they do and the care that they deliver over a large part of South Wales. I have also got to know various other members of the team including complementary therapists, welfare rights advisors and bereavement counsellors.

Rev Webster is a keen supporter of the charity’s Light Up a Life services at Christmas.

“This year local churches have kindly offered to host Light up a Light services to which everyone will be every welcome to attend,” he said. “Details of the services will be on the St David’s social media.”

St David’s Hospice Care chief executive Emma Saysell said: “The care, compassion and support and understanding that Andrew brings to this new role at the charity is very much valued and appreciated by our patients, carers, family, friends and staff here at St David’s Hospice Care.”

GWENT firm Tod Security & Fire is preparing for jobs and business growth after relocating to a large new headquarters building at Mamhilad Park Estate, in Torfaen.

The family electronic, security and fire business, established in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in 1987, has shifted to large, bespoke offices just down the road at the thriving Torfaen business park.

The innovative business, now headquartered at Brecon House, currently employs 18 staff but the number is set to more than double with the move to larger premises.

The business has secured a lease until the end of March 2023 on 4,769 sq. ft at Brecon House, Mamhilad Park Estate.

Tod Security & Fire is expert in the installation of fire alarm systems, intruder alarms, CCTV systems, automated gates and door entry systems, barriers and access control systems and other security and safety related applications.

Sales director Danny Tod said: “We currently employ 18 full time people but the building we have now moved into at Mamhilad Park Estate, should allow us to expand our team to at least 40 staff.

“We needed larger premises in which to expand and grow and Johnsey Estates, who own Mamhilad Park Estate, came up with a perfect solution.

“Mamhilad Park Estate has been a fantastic and valued customer for us for many years. We like to try and put business back with our customers where possible. The key benefit of our move is our ideal new location.

“Being based in Mamhilad means we are central to our customer base while having easy and quick access to the South Wales Valleys, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Hereford, Newport, Cardiff and the M4 corridor.

“The park itself is clean and tidy and offers a great base for customers to visit and go through their requirements. There is an onsite cafe enabling all staff to easily pop out for lunch. There is also a gym and an award-winning nursery based on the estate.

“The estate also now facilitates so many different businesses it gives us a great opportunity to work together with various other trades helping with networking and the potential to generate new business and additional work.

“From the offset the staff here made us feel welcome and have really demonstrated that they care for the success of each business on the estate.

“They have taken what was a vacant warehouse and transformed it into a bespoke set of bright offices, giving our staff a positive place to enjoy working and prosper.

“The objective of all of our installations is to provide systems of the highest standard, achieved using the most up to date and reliable technology. The excellence of our new surroundings at the business park exemplify these objectives to our existing and potential customers.”

Johnsey Estates chief executive officer James Crawford said: “We had a distinct goal when we set out to transform this business park and we are some way towards achieving our aim. Being able to attract business of the calibre and established success of Tod Security shows that we are moving in the right direction.

“We’re delighted Tod Security chose to relocate here from Abergavenny and that the go ahead business is happy with their new home, the offices space we created and the welcome that they received from the team here and from their new neighbours.”

In the heart of attractive countryside on the borders of Torfaen and Monmouthshire the park, unique with its lawns and specimen bushes and large mature trees, lies conveniently on the A4042 dual carriageway mid-way between Newport and Abergavenny. Junction 25 of the M4 is 10 miles to the south.

BREXIT anxieties were dampened recently as auction property buyers loosened their wallets to snap up well priced lots and solid investment properties.

A buoyant air of optimism infused the auction room when Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, with the BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer filming proceedings, brought it’s latest catalogue to auction.

Paul Fosh, owner of Wales’s most successful property auction business, said: “It’s fair to say that Brexit has been lurking large over recent months and its affect has to add a sense of trepidation among buyers and sellers.

“However, this wasn’t in evidence at the latest sale as there appeared to be a renewed sense of buoyancy and confidence which resulted in properties flying out of the sale room.

“Well priced, neat and tidy properties are finding eager buyers and we achieved really strong prices for some of the more eagerly contested properties from buyers in the room and also by phone.”

A stand out property which sold after concerted interest was an imposing block of flats at 60 Cardiff Road, Newport, close to the Royal Gwent Hospital (Lot 20).

The block of five-fully let flats, each with their own lease and generating a combined annual rental income of £30,408, was listed with a guide price of £390,000-plus.

Paul said: “This was a key property on the night and there was strong interest in the room. The fully let block, in a renovated property which has been extended and improved over the years, sold for £425,000 which equates to just £85,000 per flat and potentially a very good return on investment.”

Another Newport property which had bidders’ hands flying up and telephones ringing was a traditional five-bedroom house at 30 Clyffard Crescent in the Maindee area of the city (Lot 2).

The three-storey, semi-detached property, close to the city centre, with off-road parking and requiring complete renovation, was listed with a guide of £139,000 plus and eventually sold for £171,000 after intense interest.

Paul said: “A Newport city centre property of this size and scope doesn’t come to the market that often so when it does it creates a great deal of interest. Investors and speculators continue to be are keen to get into Newport and snap up well priced prospects as and when they are presented for sale.”

Other well-presented properties also found ready and willing buyers with terraced properties, such as the two-bedroom one at 2 Penryhn Terrace, Phillipstown, New Tredegar, which was listed with a guide of £18,000 and realised £33,500 (Lot 3).

A three-bedroom terraced home at 74 Commercial Road, Abercarn, requiring full upgrading and listed with a guide price of £54,000 sold for £75,000 after a bid room battle. (Lot 11)

While two interconnecting terraced houses, at 70-72 Arail Street, Six Bells, Abertillery, which had previously been used as offices, listed with a guide price of £38,000-plus sold for £71,000 (Lot 14).

The October sale realised a total of £2,886,000 with 37 properties sold from 55 offered, a percentage of sales of 67 per cent.

The next sale, the Christmas sale and the last of the year, at The Cardiff North Hotel, Cardiff, is on Thursday, December 5, starting at 5pm.

THE Argus’ sister publication Voice magazine donated more than £4,400 to St David’s Hospice Care after fundraising at this year’s V Awards.

The awards, held at The Neon on Sunday, October 13, celebrate entrepreneurs and independent business owners in Gwent.

The magazine’s media sales executive Lisa Griffiths and marketing solutions account manager Matt Berry handed over the £4,460.76 donation to St David’s Hospice Care’s business and community fundraiser Tania Ansell on Wednesday, October 23.

Voice general manager Chris Evans said: “This year was the 15th anniversary of the V Awards and, with so much uncertainty around, we wanted to bring everyone together in a celebration of all that’s best about our city and its surrounding towns and villages.

“It was an incredible night, every penny raised from the ticket sales for the V’s go to St Davids, something I and the team are very proud of.

“Thanks to all for making the night so memorable.”

To find out who won what at The V’s pick up November’s Voice Magazine, availably throughout the region from Friday, November 1.

WELSH insurtech incubator pH Innovate continues to expand its technical and marketing teams after winning new customers for its innovative insurance trading platform.

Success in winning new contracts, including one with an app offering an unique reverse auction insurance product, is leading to jobs growth at the Torfaen business.

The business, based at Mamhilad Park Estate, near Pontypool, has an unique approach to recruiting technical staff via its trainee programme. The scheme allows school leavers, who have an interest in technology but perhaps limited qualifications and experience, to start a career.

The burgeoning business recently recruited five new staff, four trainee developers and a marketing executive three of whom have now started. It has plans to recruit a further four trainee developers in the new year.

Stephen Peck, one of the owners of pH Innovate, said: “While businesses are in dire need of technical skills very few want to help develop these skills and instead chase the limited number of experienced or well-qualified applicants or they even end up outsourcing work abroad.

“In addition to the personal satisfaction in helping develop careers and building skills we find that we our employment recruitment programme gives us a competitive advantage in the market both through reduced cost of staff turnover and ability to provide a high level of technical skill to our customers.”

Fellow business owner David Harlow said: “The five new recruits all come from the local area.

“We’re extremely pleased with the calibre and quality of the local recruitment pool. One of our recruits has a degree in astrophysics so we’re pleased to be able to say that we now have our very own rocket scientist.”

Mr Harlow said: “All the recruits are from the local NP4 or NP44 areas. All of them have been struggling to get jobs in IT and development and have, until now, been working in fast food chains/warehouses.

“The recruits like the idea that they can learn and grow with the business.

“pH Innovate has won several contracts over the last quarter including with a young driver insurance start up, a comparison site for a large financial organisation and with industry first insurance app Honcho.”

“Honcho operate a reverse auction market place that notifies a panel of brokers/insurers when customers are looking for car insurance, providers then ‘bid’ for the customers business.

“Honcho has partnered with quotethemarket.co.uk, part of pH Innovate also based here in Torfaen, to supply multiple insurance providers to their platform allowing them to build a competitive panel of providers swiftly and economically.

“Forming a part of quotethemarket.co.uk’s next generation innovative comparison services, the ability to supply multiple brands in a single (API) feed frees up partners, such as Honcho, to focus on developing their front facing brand.”

A traditional, five-bedroom, three storey, semi-detached house situated in a popular residential area close to Newport city centre could offer a new owner challenges but great rewards.

The architecturally interesting property at 30 Clyffard Crescent, which is being sold by Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions tomorrow(Thursday), requires renovation and may be suitable for conversion to flats (subject to necessary planning consent).

The house offers good sized accommodation throughout, off-road parking and a rear garden area with side access. The property is listed with a guide price of £139,000-plus. (Lot 2).

An impressive double-fronted, mid-terrace house with fine views to the front is offered with a guide price of £54,000-plus.

The three-bedroom property, at 74 Commercial Road, Abercarn, requires full upgrading but benefits from mostly UPVC double glazing and would make a wonderful family home or would suit an investor looking for resale.

The village of Cwmcarn benefits from an excellent range of amenities and shopping facilities and is adjacent to the well known Cwmcarn Forest Drive (Lot 11).

A bay-fronted, mid-terraced house situated in a pleasant cul de sac location. The property, at 12 Blake Road, Newport, benefits from UPVC double glazing and gas central heating and requires upgrading. The property, which is said to be ideally situated for local amenities and schools with excellent road links to Newport city centre and the M4, is listed with a guide price of £25,000-plus (Lot 32).

The next Paul Fosh Auctions sale is tomorrow, Thursday, October 24 at The Cardiff North Hotel, Llanedryn, Cardiff staring at 5pm.

A NEW storage facility specifically designed for caravans has been developed at Pontypool’s Mamhilad Park Estate.

The original caravan storage facilities, established using previously vacant land around the park, are now fully occupied. Due to high demand, a new space has been developed which will offer space for additional caravans.

The estate, on the outskirts of Pontypool, also contained 40 self-storage units, but due to high demand, further units have now been developed.

James Crawford, chief executive officer of Johnsey Estates, said: “We’re very pleased with the success of the caravan storage and also our self storage offering. Initial research suggested that there was a pent up demand for both and this has been proved in practice.

“We’ve cleared and prepared a piece of underutilised land to the north west of the site for caravan storage and self storage. We’re bringing in the previously used containers at quite a rate. Almost as they arrive the units are being reserved by potential occupiers.”

Marty Jones, owner and managing director of MJ Events Security, was the first business to take space in the storage units.

Mr Jones, who manages major events of gatherings throughout the UK, said: “We use two units for the business. We were the first to sign up when the units first arrived on site. We use the storage to keep clothing and equipment that we used as part of the event s business. The fact that the storage units are here on site is a real bonus for us as we have quite a bit of stuff which we need to store.”