
Expert Support sees Cardiff Infrastructure Consultancy Reach £1m Milestone
Volos are experts in highway infrastructure design, project management, and quantity surveying
Cardiff-based infrastructure consultancy, Volos is set to hit £1 million in turnover, powered by strategic guidance from Business Wales fuelling its rapid growth.
Experts in highway infrastructure design, project management, and quantity surveying, Volos has quickly built a strong track record, delivering major local authority projects across South Wales and England, with key support from Business Wales.
Established in 2021 by Liam Shields and Ollie Marsh, Volos is now poised to surpass £1 million in turnover for its financial year ending 2025, as it secures places on tendering frameworks that offer the potential to unlock new revenue from large-scale civil engineering and highways works.
With 95% of its operations focused on the public sector, Volos' growing team of 10 professionals has significantly benefited from Business Wales' tailored support in tendering, HR, and business management. This guidance has enabled the company to secure key funding, refine its operations, expand its workforce, and win major contracts and frameworks.
Business Wales has also helped Volos navigate complex procurement frameworks, allowing the company to successfully bid for and secure high-value local authority contracts.
Most recently, the company has secured a place on the Specialist Consultancy Services South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework, which opens the door to major projects with Carmarthenshire County Council, Ceredigion County Council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Pembrokeshire County Council, Powys County Council and Swansea Council.
Outside of Wales, Volos has also secured a place on the Provision of Specialist Consultancy Services Framework, which allows the company to bid for projects with Surrey County Council.
Commenting on the growth of Volos and the Business Wales guidance that supported it, Volos Director, Liam Shields, said:
'We're extremely proud to see the hard work of our professionals and the partnerships we've created with our clients across the public sector deliver these exceptional results. No matter the scale or complexity of our clients' goals, we've created a team with the knowledge and expertise to deliver on any project.
'However, it's important to recognise how crucial the external support we have received from Robert Davies and his colleagues at Business Wales continues to contribute towards our success and growth. The intricacies of founding and structuring a business are immense, so having their wide range of expertise available to us is truly invaluable. If you're an expert in what you do, but feel you need assistance to make your company a reality, I'd urge you to explore how Business Wales can help.'
Volos first turned to Business Wales in 2024 to explore funding opportunities. Their Business Adviser, Robert Davies, identified the Cardiff Growth Fund as a potential source of financial support.
With Robert's guidance to prepare a successful application, Volos secured over £10,000 in match funding to invest in a customised project management system, which now serves as the backbone of Volos' operations, streamlining client projects, HR, and billing.
Business Wales' HR experts were instrumental to Volos achieving certification as a Living Wage Employer and formalising employment contracts that supported the firm's rapid expansion to a team of over 10 highly qualified specialists. The consultancy is also investing in the future, with its first graduate apprentice and several employees receiving company backing to pursue university qualifications.
Recognising the significance of language and culture, Volos additionally sought assistance to develop a Welsh language policy to reinforce the company's commitment to bilingualism in its operations.
The ability of Volos' growing team to compete for major contracts is further strengthened by becoming a signatory to Business Wales' Green Growth Pledge and expert guidance to develop carbon reduction plans and environmental credentials, which are key to securing places on valuable public frameworks.
According to Business Wales, Volos' trajectory to sustained success demonstrates how strategic guidance can turn ambition into achievement.
Business Adviser, Robert Davies, explains:
'Across Wales there are hundreds of experts who are passionate about what they do and the results they could achieve as entrepreneurs and leaders growing companies.
'Often, overcoming the hurdles holding back those ambitions simply takes external support to help access expert resources and guidance needed, and these are readily available to Welsh businesses. Volos is a perfect example of how a driven team of experts can realise that potential and unlock growth with the right assistance in place. I hope the success of Liam, Ollie and their team will inspire others to contact Business Wales to access the support that is freely at their disposal.'
Business Wales is funded by Welsh Government. For more information and support to help your business discover opportunities, and to speak to a specialist adviser, contact Business Wales. Visit www.businesswales.gov.wales/ or call 03000 6 03000. Rydym yn croesawu galwadau'n Gymraeg – we welcome calls in Welsh.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
14 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Spain launches another tax raid on British holidaymakers
Are you a holiday let owner affected by the Spanish government's new tax? Get in touch money@ Spain's socialist government is planning a tax raid on British holiday let-owners in the country. The ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party wants to charge 21pc VAT on stays of less than 30 days – more than double the rate paid by hotels. It comes as Madrid lawmakers take aim at foreign property investors as part of efforts to tackle high housing costs. Draft legislation put before the Spanish parliament would raise taxes on owners of short-term tourist rentals from the current rate of zero. The levy rate paid by hotels is just 10pc. Unveiling the new bill last month, housing minister Isabel Rodriguez said: 'Homes are for living in [...] the measures seek to guarantee the right to rental housing for families.' The proposed change is part of the same legal push to impose a 100pc purchase tax on the sale of Spanish property to non-European Union buyers and also includes higher taxes for second homes and vacant properties. Alex Radford, partner at Spain-based law firm English Solicitor & Abogado, said: 'The VAT has got more chance of being implemented than the 100pc tax on a property bought by a non-European.' He said that if approved, the bill would likely increase the cost of holidays and lead to fewer available holiday lets in Spain. 'We would envisage that the rental [market] is going to be slightly more expensive. If owners have to add 21pc VAT to the cost of a rental, then we would expect rentals to decrease and people will look at other countries.' 'It's still early days and we don't know what will get approved and what will not,' Mr Radford added. 'Britons are the number one enemy' Millions of Britons who visit and live in Spain face losing out because of the new laws, which will undergo scrutiny and potentially amendment before being voted on in the second half of this year. There were more than 260,000 British expats living in Spain at the last official count in 2020, while it received 1.6 million tourists from the UK – more than any other country – during the busy April period last year, according to the Spanish statistics agency. Robert Amsterdam, partner Amsterdam & Associates, a law firm that has campaigned against higher Spanish taxes, said: 'The Spanish government is diverting the attention of the Spanish people away from the government's behaviour and they're coming up with the British as enemy number one.' Most estimates place the number of British people who own property in Spain between 800,000 and one million. A figure for the number of British holiday let-owners in the country was not available. British non-residents bought 3,480 homes in Spain in the first half of 2024, making up 38pc of a total of 9,166 properties sold to non-resident non-EU buyers, according to the latest available figures from the General Council of Spanish Notaries and Spanish Property Insight. Growing anti-tourist sentiment in Spain has already seen cities like Malaga and Madrid capping new licences for holiday lets, while Barcelona will ban them completely by 2028. Spanish media reported in January that Barcelona's plans would cost €1.9bn (£1.6bn) and lose the city around 40,000 jobs, based on a report by consultancy PWC. The country's minority coalition government has defended a crackdown on foreign property investors and holiday let-owners as necessary to make more housing available for Spanish people. There is a deficit of 450,000 homes across Spain, according to a Bank of Spain report published this week. In popular tourist destinations like the Canary and Balearic Islands half the housing stock is either holiday lets for tourists or homes owned by foreigners, it said. Javier Peñate, a legal adviser to a holiday homeowners association in the Canary Islands, told Reuters: 'The sole objective is to put an end to these activities and leave [tourism] in the hands of hoteliers.' Short-term rentals in the province already pay 7pc VAT, as do hotels.


North Wales Live
17 minutes ago
- North Wales Live
Landlord wants permission for six-bedroom bedsit in Rhyl
A landlord has applied for planning permission for a house of multiple occupation (HMO) in Rhyl. Majid Khan, of London-based Genics Investment, has applied to Denbighshire County Council's planning department, seeking permission for a change of use of 15 Chester Street from a dwelling to six-bedroom HMO. According to the application, the HMO is already in use but is not registered with Denbighshire County Council. The applicant says the building has been in continuous use as a HMO for more than ten years. The applicant has supplied a list of tenancy agreements, housing benefit details, and a statement from the previous landlord as 'evidence' of the above. A planning statement issued on behalf of Mr Khan reads: 'The property was purchased in 1996 for a HMO use, and the previous landlord did submit a planning application in (the) late 90s (or) early 2000s, but this was not registered formally on the council's records. Before the new directives came in 2014, a HMO Licence was not required. A HMO licence was granted and expired in 2020.' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. HMOs are carefully regulated by some councils, especially in seaside towns, which may have a greater number of large empty properties. Rhyl councillor Brian Jones said he believed the town already had enough HMOs. 'In my opinion, Rhyl has more than enough HMOs,' he said. 'When Rhyl is compared to other towns in Denbighshire, Rhyl has by far the highest number. We have enough of them. We certainly don't need any more.' Denbighshire defines a HMO as a property rented to 'at least three people who are not from the same household, such as a family'. A HMO property in Denbigh, Llangollen, Prestatyn and Rhyl must have a licence if there are three or more tenants living there and: They form more than one household, with or without shared facilities (bathroom and kitchen) They form more than one fully self-contained household, but do not meet the 1991 Building Regulations and where less than two-thirds of the self-contained flats are owner occupied. The planning application will likely be debated at a future planning committee meeting at Ruthin 's County Hall HQ. Public notices in your area


South Wales Guardian
19 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Dr Martens sees profits slide but on track for return to growth
The footwear group reported pre-tax profits of £8.8 million for the year to March 30, down from £93 million the previous year, after seeing sales fall 10%. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits slumped to £34.1 million from £97.2 million. The group said sales to consumers in the US returned to growth in the second half of the year and have continued to increase, but revealed UK revenues have remained lower since the year-end 'due to a challenging market'. It added that unfavourable foreign exchange rates would see it take a hit to group sales and profits of around £18 million and £3 million respectively in 2025-26. Despite this, Dr Martens said it expects underlying profits to rise 'significantly' over the financial year ahead, with analysts expecting a jump to between £54 million and £74 million. It flagged uncertainty over the impact of higher tariffs, but said it was holding off from price hikes for the the remainder of 2025. Its stock is already in the US market for the spring/summer season and either there or on its way for the autumn/winter. 'We do however recognise that there is continued macroeconomic uncertainty and the full outcome of tariffs is still unknown, and we will monitor this closely through the year and take action as appropriate,' the group said. The Northamptonshire-based company outlined new plans for growth alongside its results, with aims to attract new shoppers and hold off from discounts in EMEA and the Americas. Annual figures showed sales sales dropped 11.4% over the year, although retail lifted 1% in the final six months. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, sales fell 11%, with direct-to-consumer difficulty amid a highly promotional market – particularly in the UK. The company, whose yellow-stitched boots have been a retro mainstay for decades, has been in the doldrums in recent years, with declining revenues exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, and has since issued a slew of profit warnings and replaced its chief executive. Many of Dr Martens' recent problems have come from steep declines in sales in the US, but new chief executive Ije Nwokorie said the group had stabilised in the past year. He said: 'Our single focus in 2024-25 was to bring stability back to Dr Martens. 'We have achieved this by returning our direct-to-consumer channel in the Americas back to growth, resetting our marketing approach to focus relentlessly on our products, delivering cost savings and significantly strengthening our balance sheet.' Mr Nwokorie, previously the firm's head of marketing before taking on the top job from Kenny Wilson on January 6, said: 'I am laser-focused on day-to-day execution, managing costs and maintaining our operational discipline while we navigate the current macroeconomic uncertainties.'