Welsh Secretary visits growing Wrexham businesses recovering from the impact of Covid-19

25 Sep 2020 12:18 PM

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart has visited Wrexham to see how local businesses are recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and focussing on future growth.

On his visit to Wrexham, Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart went to Moneypenny, an outsourced communication company that manages calls and live chats for thousands of companies across the UK.

During his visit on Thursday (17 September) Mr Hart took a tour of the Moneypenny offices and met CEO Joanna Swash who explained how the business had adapted during the covid-19 pandemic and was now thriving and expanding its team both in the UK and US. While at Moneypenny the Welsh Secretary heard how the company, which now employs more than 1,000 people globally and has a turnover of over £50m, is developing Artificial Intelligence to further enhance its exceptional customer service.

Following his visit to Moneypenny, the Secretary of State for Wales visited award-winning Wrexham sporting goods firm Net World Sports. During the visit, Mr Hart heard from founder and owner Alex Loven on how the company has continued to grow, increasing its number of employees, sales and turnover despite facing challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said:

It was fantastic to see how Moneypenny and Net World Sports are continuing to thrive and to hear how they have both grown into global businesses, creating hundreds of jobs in Wrexham and boosting the local economy.

We are committed to supporting the Welsh economy through the pandemic and building a strong economic recovery. I was thrilled to hear how Moneypenny made use of UK Government support throughout the pandemic, allowing them to save jobs and build on their success.

Joanna Swash, CEO of Moneypenny said:

We were delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart and to discuss how as a business we have been able to support both our employees and clients and adapt quickly to new and innovative ways of working. Before lockdown Moneypenny had always operated in ‘thrive’ mode, so had to shift to ‘survive’ very rapidly, introducing short term contracts for clients, and innovative new services to help companies transition to the requirements of their employees working remotely. We are delighted that we are now in the position to grow our business and are looking to recruit for our expanding team.