TOP London hotel Claridges was the backdrop for a presentation on the business opportunities available in South-east Wales.

The group set up to promote the area, Gateway South-east Wales Marketing, laid on the event, which was hosted by top TV presenter Huw Edwards.

And top of the agenda was a presentation of the £100m Celtic Springs development in Newport, which is being hailed as the first e-commerce park in Wales.

The development, which is a joint venture between awg Monmouthshire-based Broad-hall and Newport borough council, will provide in excess of half a million sq ft of office space on 42 acres on the western edge of Newport.

The leading business figures were also told of the current blue-chip firms that are in situ in Gwent, such as LG Electronics, Britax and Wire-less Systems International.

Chairman of the Gateway initiative David Ludlow, the Torfaen borough council economic development chief, said: "The quality of the product, the style of the presentation and the excellent ambassador we had in Huw Edwards guaranteed the success of this event. "By no means can we sit back on our laurels and wait for investment to roll in, but we have opened new doors and the prospects look good."

*The Gateway Marketing initiative, formerly the Gwent Marketing Initiative, has been developed over the past ten years into a local government, ELWa, and Welsh Development Agency partnership.

The current partnership includes Newport county borough council, Torfaen county borough council, Monmouth-shire county council, ELWa and the WDA.

*PICTURED: Left to right are Huw Edwards, Haydn Thomas (Hutchings and Thomas), David Ludlow and Ed Bampton ( WDA).