THE CELTIC COLLECTION has achieved a major international sustainability certification covering all of its hotels, including Tŷ Hotel Milford Waterfront.

The ISO 14001 certification recognises the group’s environmental management systems, including waste reduction, carbon-cutting measures, recycling, biodiversity work and long-term governance around sustainability.

The Celtic Collection, Wales’ largest independent hotel group, operates Tŷ Hotel Milford Waterfront in partnership with the Port of Milford Haven. It also manages St Brides Spa Hotel in Saundersfoot, which was acquired by the Port in 2024.

The certification also covers Celtic Manor Resort, Coldra Court Hotel, The Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff, the Tŷ hotels at Magor and Newport, and ICC Wales.

The group said all of its hotels send zero waste to landfill and operate carbon reduction strategies. Food waste is sent to be turned into biogas renewable energy, while waste oil is recycled into biodiesel.

Russell Phillips, Vice-President of Facilities and Development at The Celtic Collection, said: “Across The Celtic Collection we combine exceptional hospitality and large-scale event capability with a commitment to responsible delivery.

“This is now all underpinned by ISO 14001 which ensures we are continually reducing our impact on the environment.”

Energy and Sustainability Manager Fitzroy Hutchinson said staff across the group had played a key role, with environmental working parties set up at each hotel to encourage ideas and improve day-to-day practice.

The award is part of the group’s wider Environmental, Social and Governance strategy, which includes a commitment to reaching Net Zero by 2050.

Picture caption: Team members at Celtic Manor Resort with the ISO 14001 certification.

ONE of Wales’ best-known bakery brands has been acquired by Boparan Private Office in a deal said to secure the future of the business and protect hundreds of jobs.

Brace’s Bakery, founded in 1902, has been bought by Boparan Private Office, the family-owned group linked to some of the UK’s largest food manufacturing operations.

The announcement comes after growing concern over the future of the Welsh bakery, with fears over jobs and production amid falling demand for traditional sliced bread and major pressure on costs.

Brace’s is a fourth-generation family business and one of the best-known bakery brands in Wales, supplying bread, rolls and bakery products to major retailers and independent shops across Wales and the West of England.

Boparan Private Office said the acquisition would bring together Brace’s “strong regional heritage and brand recognition” with its experience of investing in British food businesses.

The group recently acquired Roberts Bakery, based in Cheshire, in 2025.

‘Iconic brand’

Ranjit Singh Boparan, President of Boparan Private Office, said: “Brace’s is an iconic brand with a rich heritage, and we are delighted to have been able to reach an agreement to step in and preserve this business, while helping to take it into a new era through investment, innovation and modernisation.

“Brace’s Bakery has been at the heart of its communities for generations, and we are absolutely committed to supporting its long-term success.

“Our focus is on providing the backing and stability the business needs to move forward and build a sustainable future while maintaining the identity and quality that customers trust.”

He said there were opportunities to invest in innovation across products, manufacturing, customer service and routes to market, while keeping the brand true to its values.

Mr Boparan also acknowledged the uncertainty faced by workers during the sale process.

He said: “We would like to take this opportunity to recognise the tremendous commitment and loyalty the Brace’s workforce has demonstrated during this challenging period.

“I recognise there has been uncertainty while discussions have taken place, which have admittedly taken longer than expected as we worked to ensure everything was in place for customers, the management team and all colleagues.”

‘A clear path forward’

Mark Brace, Managing Director at Brace’s Bakery, said the deal was an important step for the company.

He said: “This is an important step for Brace’s Bakery, and my brother and fellow director, Jonathan, and I are both delighted that Boparan Private Office has stepped in to give the brand the opportunity to build on almost 125 years of baking heritage as we move into a new era.

“Boparan Private Office understands the importance of the Brace’s brand, its people and the communities we serve.

“Their support provides a clear path forward for the business, allowing us to focus on strengthening Brace’s operations and continuing to deliver the quality products our customers expect.”

Changing market

The takeover follows a difficult period for the traditional bakery sector.

Brace’s has previously pointed to a sharp decline in demand for standard sliced bread, with changing consumer habits putting pressure on one of its core products.

Across the UK, shoppers have increasingly moved towards sourdough, seeded loaves, wraps, flatbreads, higher-fibre products and other alternatives, while many households no longer rely on toast and sandwiches in the way they once did.

At the same time, bakeries have faced rising energy, ingredient, wage, packaging and transport costs.

The deal means Brace’s, one of Wales’ most recognisable food brands, will now become part of a much larger food group with significant manufacturing interests.

Boparan Private Office is a family-owned conglomerate with divisions covering agriculture and property, UK food manufacturing, restaurants and European poultry operations.

The wider group is one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, with turnover of more than €5 billion and around 25,000 employees.

For Wales, the announcement will be seen as a major intervention in the future of a household name which has been part of Welsh life for more than a century.

The key question now will be how much investment follows, what happens to production across Brace’s sites, and whether the new owner can modernise the brand while keeping its Welsh identity intact.

A CALL for a north Pembrokeshire farm to be able to diversify through the bottling of water from its well has been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, a Mr George, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, sought permission for a change of use of part of an existing agricultural shed to a use for the bottling of water as a form of farm diversification at Trerhys, near St Dogmaels, Cardigan.

A supporting statement said: “The water bottling plant will be run and under control by the applicant, who also has direct control of the associated farm known as Trerhys. The water bottling plant seeks to diversify the farm income to provide future economic sustainability and increase revenue from the land.

“The increase in profits generated by the water bottling plant business will be siphoned back into the farm business, to allow for necessary improvements and works to the farm to ensure its future within a worsening agricultural economy.”

It said the profits would be used for on-going repair and replacement of existing fencing around the farm which owns significant land, along with investing and increasing the suckler herd on the farm.

“The applicant underwent major surgery back in 2023 and had to cut back hours on the farm to recover. This meant that the suckler herd dipped in numbers and due to profitability, the farm has yet to be able to recover to its previous numbers.

“This increase in profit will allow the capital to be reinvested in the suckler herd, increase profit margins and overall profitability for the farm.”

It also said the profits would be “channelled into large repairs and overall, like-for-like replacement of a number of existing farm buildings,” and, depending on returns, “there may be scope to invest in the existing farmhouse on site”.

It concluded: “Overall, whilst the water bottling plant will take some time to become established and generate suitable profits, once established significant profits, these will be reinvested as above into the existing farm business to ensure its future can be secured for longer within an uncertain agricultural economy.

“Without diversification, the farm is set to reduce further in size and the buildings and farmyard become further run down and unsightly in the landscape.”

An officer report recommending approval said the scheme for Trerhys Farm, 1.7km to the north of Moylegrove, would use one bay of an existing shed and would “utilise the existing water source from a well within an existing agricultural field to the north of the farm complex”.

Concerns were raised by three members of the public on the grounds of a query on the water source and transportation of the finished product, and potential noise issues.

The report said a noise assessment found no detrimental impacts in the locality, with Highways officers having no concerns on transportation issues.

The officer report concluded: “Following careful consideration of the application and its merits, it is concluded that the proposed scheme represents an appropriate form of development in this location.”

The application was conditionally approved.