BACKING NEWPORT: City is a great place for small firms to thrive

Newport small businesses are backing the city by basing themselves here, employing local people and helping other local businesses thrive by using them.

Seng Koh, co-owner and CEO of the Niche Hospitality Group

I was formerly an investment banker working in Canary Wharf, London. I came to Newport in 2014, and Niche now runs a number of ventures including Mojo The FoodBar, Hide and Sea – a steak and seafood restaurant set to open at Clarence Place – and Dog ‘N’ Dough – a pop-up American-style hot dog restaurant.

Newport is a vibrant and up-and-coming city with many entrepreneurs at its heart including the likes of Sir Terry Matthews and The Celtic Manor Resort, which has firmly put Newport on the map.

The future looks even brighter in terms of footfall and visitor numbers with the creation of the Wales International Convention Centre at Celtic Manor, which I am sure will help and support all city centre businesses.

We have invested in Newport.

We took a chance on the city for a number of reasons.

We believe there is certainly an audience who wants up-market dining options and places where you can enjoy some of the best cocktails and wines in the area. For many years these potential customers were travelling out of the city to places like Bath, Bristol and Cardiff.

Since Mojo opened in Clarence Place, incidentally well before Friars Walk, we have welcomed increased numbers of customers who are both local and from farther afield.

Friars Walk has helped in a number of ways in increasing footfall from people parking nearby and walking in to the city centre. However, we need to ensure we channel this for the good of Newport and look at how we can further re-generate the city centre.

It’s great having all of these commercial offerings on our doorstep but we should not forget about local businesses, suppliers and producers. Engaging with these much-needed businesses within our community will help ensure we do not become a faceless, cold city but one that fosters a personalised approach to customer service, bringing culture, incorporating heritage and ensuring that modern meets old.

We’ve always felt the local community is passionate about Newport and wants to see it succeed, just as we do. We engage with the community by working with colleges and educational establishments and by bringing world-class events and companies to the city through many speciality evenings. We also support charitable events wherever possible.

Sometimes I feel that better support and engagement is required of the local authority to ensure small and start-up organisations can be assisted or pointed in the right direction as often we are the ones that are forgotten as being the blood in the veins of the city. While chains and the larger commercial entities are important, they should not take priority.

We also believe Newport to be perfectly placed with immediate access to our neighbour Cardiff and a short train journey away from Bristol or London. Close proximity to the M4, the Severn Crossing and the M5 interchange makes Newport ideally positioned for excellent access both for those wanting to come and sample our business but also for us in terms of getting the best possible suppliers, the freshest meat, vegetables and fish.

Tom Evans, owner, Crafted

Crafted is a design-led store which sources items from designers and makers based within a 25-mile radius of Newport city centre. We’re currently based in Friars Walk.

We have very strong ties to the city and wanted to open a business which benefits the city centre and local economy. There is such a great creative community in the area and we are now stocking items by more than 50 suppliers.

There have certainly been a number of improvements over the past few years including the housing developments on the riverfront and townscape heritage initiatives along Commercial Road and Commercial Street.

I would like to see the issue of empty shops, particularly in the city centre, tackled proactively. Other cities have implemented clear strategies for attracting certain business types and reducing costs for start-ups. I would also like to see a greater emphasis placed on the role of culture and the creative community in the future regeneration of Newport. Places like Dundee, Hull, Sheffield and Liverpool have really developed their cultural offer, as part of a wider city development plan, to change perceptions, attract new investment and retain local talent.