Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 27th January 2025 - video Dailymotion

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Laurence and Dan discuss successes for two firms established by Insider 42 Under 42s, the appointment of agents to a distinctive building lined up for Manchester and profits on the rise at the top companies in Wales.

Transcript

00:00Success for two firms established by Insider 42 under 42s, agents appointed to a distinctive

00:07building lined up for the Manchester skyline, and a report on profits in the biggest Welsh

00:12businesses. That's all coming up in today's business briefing, sponsored by Shawbrooke.

00:23My name is Laurence Culganan. I'm Daniel Zambartas.

00:27Good evening, Dan. So, stories with 42 under 42s always sort of catch my eye, and I'm sure

00:32our readers too. So, perhaps you can tell us about the one that you have.

00:36Yeah, that seems to be the theme today. So, Dragon's Den has been back for a couple of

00:41weeks now, and following its return, we have a brilliant story in Yorkshire, where a Ukrainian

00:46refugee who arrived to the UK nearly three years ago when the war started with nothing

00:51but a backpack and a laptop, she's now secured investment on Dragon's Den. After being encouraged

00:56to face the dragons, having been named as an Insider 42 under 42.

01:00That's fantastic. It's a great link up, because Dragon's Den, also a really popular area for

01:04people. So, tell us a bit more about this entrepreneur then.

01:06Yes. So, her name is Jana Smaglo, and she lost her fashion business in Ukraine and had

01:11to start again from scratch when she moved to the UK. But with some backing, she created

01:15her brand Nenya, which means motherland. The company sources clothing from companies back

01:21in Ukraine, and is now a £120,000 turnover business. And she secured investment from

01:28Deborah Meaden and Stephen Bartlett, a joint investment.

01:30Oh, a good combo, I'd say.

01:32Yeah. So, obviously, Stephen Bartlett will bring his social media expertise to the table,

01:36and he's also provided her with office space and warehousing in London. So, it's a great

01:41story.

01:42Fantastic. Well, watch this space. And sticking with 42s, we've got news today about growth

01:46plans for Fuel Hub. They were founded in 2019 by Michelle and James Laithwaite, and

01:53they provide a provider of meal prep delivery. So, they make up chef-prepared, high-quality,

02:00high-protein meals. And they work with well-known organisations like Team GB and Chelsea FC.

02:07So, after a successful 2024, they're lined up for further growth. So, we should watch

02:12that space. I mean, do you get any delivery food? You know, not sort of high sort of athletic

02:17impact food, but like, you know, any of the other brands?

02:20From time to time, I usually cook myself quite a lot. So, not too much. Do you?

02:25I do, yes. Well, we have had a couple of subscriptions down the years, but not with Fuel Hub just

02:29yet. Okay. So, now you've also got some news from Wales about profits. So, perhaps you

02:35can tell us a bit about that.

02:36So, our Wales editor, Douglas Freedly, he's been looking at profits across the biggest

02:39companies in Wales. His analysis found that profits have risen in recent years, so good

02:44news there, with companies on this year's Wales top 300 list making a combined annual

02:50pre-tax profit of £3.91 billion. Total profits are up 6.8% on the £3.7 billion reported

02:57by companies on the previous year's list. The average profit margin reported by the

03:02top 300 this year is also higher, standing at 11%, which is up from 8.3%. The latest

03:07Wales top 300 list will be published in the February-March edition of Wales Insider Business

03:13Magazine this spring. So, definitely be sure to check that out.

03:16Interesting. So, that must be good news for the wider Wales economy, if the businesses

03:19are making more profits.

03:20Absolutely. Great news for the economy, definitely.

03:21Excellent. Okay. Well, I've got another interesting one, which relates to a development which

03:26is being brought forward near us, actually. It's in the Northern Quarter, on the road

03:31to Piccadilly station. It's called NXQ. It secured planning permission recently, and

03:37now Savills and Knight Frank have been appointed to market the building to potential new occupiers.

03:44It's going to have about 120,000 square foot of office space. What makes it stand out is

03:49the shape of the building, because it's using cantilever engineering. So, it kind of gets

03:54larger as it goes up. So, I can't wait to see it as well, and it's going to be near

03:58enough for us to have a little snoop around at lunchtime.

04:00I wonder if I'll be able to see it from my flat building.

04:03You live there, of course.

04:04Yes, yes.

04:05There you go. Anyhow, to find out more about the stories we've been discussing, go to insidermedia.com.

04:10There, you can subscribe to our newsletters, you can subscribe to our magazines, and find

04:15out about upcoming events. That's all from us. See you next time.

Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 27th January 2025

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