logo
Tredegar Vehicle Dealer Transfers Majority Ownership to Employees

Tredegar Vehicle Dealer Transfers Majority Ownership to Employees

David Spear Commercials, one of the UK's leading independent commercial vehicle dealers, has announced that 60% of the business has been transferred into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) giving its employees a majority stake in the future of the company.
Founded by David Spear in 1987, the Tredegar-based business has grown into a respected national leader in the commercial vehicle sector, supplying a wide range of vehicles to businesses across the UK.
'This company has been my life's work, built with the support of my wife Sarah, our children, and now with our son Elliot actively involved in the business,' said David Spear, founder.
'We've created something very special over the years, and I wanted to secure its future in the right way by placing it in the hands of the people who have helped make it what it is today. This move to employee ownership protects our independence, preserves our culture, and creates long-term opportunities for our team.'
The new structure ensures that the business remains locally rooted, people-led and independent while opening fresh avenues for employee engagement, financial participation, and leadership development.
David Spear Commercials will continue to operate with the same team and, it said, the same high standards and the same commitment to serving businesses across the UK.
'We want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our customers — past and present,' added David.
'Your continued trust and loyalty have played a huge part in our journey, and we're excited to move forward with you by our side, now with a team that's more invested than ever.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

New Scarlets investor's damning view of WRU emerges in social media post
New Scarlets investor's damning view of WRU emerges in social media post

Wales Online

time7 hours ago

  • Wales Online

New Scarlets investor's damning view of WRU emerges in social media post

New Scarlets investor's damning view of WRU emerges in social media post 'The WRU? Stand for nothing, except protecting their perks and polishing their own legacies,' writes Jane. A social media post from House of Luxury CEO and new Scarlets investor Kirsti Jane has emerged on social media (Image: Riley Sports Photography) A damning statement about the Welsh Rugby Union from new Scarlets investor Kirsti Jane has emerged on social media. US-based House of Luxury have decided to invest in Scarlets despite the WRU's suggestion it could cut two of the regions in a review set to begin in the coming weeks. ‌ Writing on LinkedIn last month, shortly after Wales lost their 18th successive Test match against Japan, Jane tore into the WRU's leadership and criticised current CEO Abi Tierney. Ospreys and Scarlets refused to sign the new Professional Rugby Agreement, with Jane writing that the WRU has "no direction. No guts" after the two-year notice period was issued. ‌ Of course, the Welsh men's side ended their sorry 18-match losing streak with victory over the Brave Blossoms in the second Test of their summer tour, but there is much to improve across the board in Wales, as Jane explains. ‌ "Wales' losing streak hits 18," begins Jane on LinkedIn. "Breaking records, just not the kind anyone wants. I was going to say, don't worry... I'm sure WRU CEO Abi will find some more flowers to cut from the budget but honestly, it's not a joke. It shouldn't be. But suits at the top are treating it like it is. "Let's call it what it is: Welsh rugby is in crisis. Not a new one. Not a one off. Years long cycle of failure, masked by PR spins and empty gestures. The WRU gave notice to Ospreys and Scarlets months ago. Yet here we are with no direction. No guts. A CEO who can't seem to make a single executive decision without cutting another cheque to consultants who tells her what she should already know! Article continues below "Years of decline, in the entire pyramid. Forever missing the actual issues. Beg benefactors to bail them out, instead of building something worth backing in the first place. Rugby itself is losing the global battle. Other niche sports are innovating, growing. "Rugby clings to the past like a shipwrecked sailor to a piece of floating debris …especially in Wales, where it's not just outdated, it's rotting. We're now 18 losses deep. And counting. But sure, let's keep rearranging the chairs on the Titanic. Accountants in growth roles. "Because apparently, all the talent you ever need is just down the corridor. That's not leadership or vision. That's survival mode. That's ego driven insulation dressed up as 'strategy'." ‌ Jane went on to say that the game is "boring" and that "fans are forgotten" by the Union. In the post, she added that there was a disconnect between the WRU and the game's supporters in Wales, pointing towards how football's governing body has led in that regard in this country. "The connection between the WRU and the people who made rugby matter? Broken," she added. ‌ "Now look at the FAW. Night and day. They have purpose. Direction. A brand. A culture. They reignited national pride in the process too. The WRU? Stand for nothing, except protecting their perks and polishing their own legacies. "As someone with an ego, I don't get it. If you're in power, why wouldn't you want to be the ones who changed the game? Who rebuilt Welsh rugby and put this country on the global map? Because rugby matters to Wales. It was culture. It was identity. It brought communities together. Gave kids something to dream about. We are losing that. "And when people say, 'Wales is a tiny nation'… I call b******t. It doesn't have to be. Not when we build with ambition. Not when we lead with vision. Rugby can be the vehicle that rewrites that narrative. That's why we built our Sports & Entertainment division. Not just to serve clients. To own. To shape. To disrupt. To take rugby and the culture around it and flip it on its head. Give it bite. Give it story. Give it stage. Article continues below "Not just with our money but with our blood, sweat & expertise. We believe rugby in Wales: Deserves a bigger global platform and be entertaining again Deserves to attract new eyes, new fans, new money Deserves to win, on and off the field So WRU, if you're ever ready for real change… knock on our door. And if you don't? We'll be the wolf blowing your house down." Jane's House of Luxury will assume control of financial liabilities and commerical growth of Scarlets now they're at the helm. She is from south Wales and her company been recognised as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies by WPO and JP Morgan Chase in 2025. The changes made to Scarlets will be radical and across the board, with the company aiming to generate new revenue streams and capture the younger audience. Chief experience officer Simon Kozlowski says they will "invest heavily".

The AI revolution is not hanging around – we need to make hard choices
The AI revolution is not hanging around – we need to make hard choices

The Herald Scotland

time9 hours ago

  • The Herald Scotland

The AI revolution is not hanging around – we need to make hard choices

Although tourism doesn't dominate in cash terms – financial services is by far the biggest at over £7bn – it certainly does in employment, supporting over 30,000 jobs, with accommodation and food the city's third biggest employment sector behind health services (56,000) and finance and insurance (42,000). Education is fourth with 36,000. Unless someone blows up the Castle and closes the hotels, tourism will always be here, so no wonder councillors are already salivating at the prospect of raising £40m annually after the Tourist Tax – sorry, Visitor Levy – is introduced next year. Publicly funded health services aren't going anywhere, in both senses, but alarm bells should be ringing off the walls in other sectors about the challenges – not quite threats as yet – of technological advances now unfolding at breakneck speed, so vital for the future of both financial services and higher education. The issue is the need for data to drive artificial intelligence and the vast amounts of energy required, and a growing number of applications for battery storage and data centres are coming forward in South Scotland to tap into the new demand. Read more 'A staggering failure of even the most basic standards' Scotland needs a new kind of festival to take on the liberal elite Visitor levy group will have good intentions but may collide with reality One such project is a data centre at Hermiston unveiled last week by York-based energy company Apatura which specialises in large-scale data centres and battery infrastructure. It's involved with seven Central Belt sites, including an expression of interest to have part of the old Ravenscraig steelwork site included in a UK Government AI Growth Zone (AIGZ) programme. The AIGZ scheme, to which the UK Government has committed £2.5bn, is designed to speed up the regulatory and planning processes such significant projects normally face, but the criteria for inclusion are strict. There must be access to adequate power, a plentiful water supply for cooling, and at least 100 acres of developable land which will face few obstacles in obtaining planning permission by 2028, barely two years away. Apatura won't have considered the Hermiston project for AIGZ status because it's on Green Belt land and while Hermiston might suggest big roundabouts and a car-clogged retail park, this site is pleasant farmland off the A71 across from the Dalmahoy hotel and country club. It is, however, a short cable's length from Heriot Watt University's Riccarton campus, a national centre of computing and engineering excellence. As latency – the delay between data generation and its use – is of critical importance, the closer the data centre is to its customers the better, so across the road from Heriot-Watt would therefore be ideal. It should therefore be worthy of serious consideration if it comes to a formal planning application and the scheme has been submitted to Edinburgh Council for the pre-application process to flag up key issues, and there will now be two public consultation events at, guess where, Heriot-Watt's National Robotarium. Apatura's public communication seems minimal for such a significant proposal on what in planning terms is a difficult site, which might indicate the company either knows it's a long shot or has an inkling the path might be smoothed. Battery storage (Image: Newsquest) But the fact it's Green Belt is inescapable and perfectly reasonable proposals to build single houses on the site of old barns have been rejected for that reason. I recall an application for facilities for disabled people on the site of disused farm buildings in nearby Bonaly being rejected because the Green Belt was sacrosanct. Even if Edinburgh planners are prepared to make an exception to a local development blueprint only approved two years ago, the chances of years of opposition and court challenges must be high, and it could take over four years to turn schemes on contentious sites into reality. Data centres and battery storage facilities (there is a live application for a battery scheme just up the road for a field in Curriehill) are not usually constructions of great architectural beauty, essentially boxes of one size or another, but the necessity of having huge volumes of data in the AI age, particularly for research institutions, is beyond question. And if Edinburgh and the surrounding authorities reject such projects the applicants will simply go elsewhere and give the universities a serious headache. Much has been written about the collapse of the lucrative overseas post-graduate market, but inadequate access to data processing will be as damaging, if not more so, in the ultra-competitive battle for research investment. For Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt to be hit by both would be catastrophic, potentially turning them into glorified polytechnics. When Edinburgh's City Plan 2030 framework was being drawn up, few had heard of data centres, and they certainly didn't feature in the discussions. And the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit moves at a glacial pace which, like the planning system, is simply unfit for the challenges of the new era. The AIGZ initiative is designed to address such problems, but it's limited to sites where the planning process is relatively straightforward. And in Scotland don't even think about the obvious solution of small nuclear to provide reliable power instead of acres of batteries, solar panels and wind turbines. Hard choices need to be faced about a planning blueprint inadequate for housing demand, never mind new technology. The AI revolution is not hanging around for planning officers to reach conclusions, so let's hope the tourists keep coming.

Results day: The UK's 25 best universities named by global ranking
Results day: The UK's 25 best universities named by global ranking

Scotsman

time9 hours ago

  • Scotsman

Results day: The UK's 25 best universities named by global ranking

Choosing which university holds the keys to your future will be no easy feat for many of this year's prospective scholars. Students across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be getting their A Level results next week – with their results day falling on Thursday, August 14 this year – while Scottish pupils received their Highers results earlier this week. The culmination of years of hard work and time spent studying, for those planning on heading off to university this year, results day is also when their future path becomes a little clearer. Universities tend to send out offers to those with conditional places on results day, provided candidates have met their grade requirements. But nationwide, many young students are yet to decide where they want to study, whether it's because they've changed their mind about their course, applied late, have several tempting offers waiting, or their grades end up leaving them navigating the Clearing process. Some university hopefuls may even have aspirations on the world stage, and will want to consider universities' international reputations when making a final call on where to study. With these learners in mind, we've taken a look at the most highly ranked UK universities according to U.S. News & World Report, an American consumer advice and analysis publisher. Its 2025/26 university rankings score 96 universities across the UK – and more than 2,500 globally – based on a range of metrics; which are primarily drawn from their research performance, and how they've been rated by members of the academic community around the world and within Europe. You can see its full methodology here. Each institution is given a score out of 100, so we've created a league table of the UK's top performers. As well as their scores and local placing, we've included where they rank on the global charts, too. Here are the top 25 from across the country, for the upcoming academic year: 1 . University of Oxford Perhaps the UK's best known university, this prestigious institution in Oxford, in England's South East, took out the top spot. As well as being the top UK university, it also ranked 4th worldwide. U.S. News & World Report gave it an overall score of 88.3 out of 100. | Photo:Photo Sales 2 . University of Cambridge The other half of the esteemed Oxbridge duo is next. This university is based in Cambridge, in the East of England, and also ranked 5th worldwide. U.S. News & World Report gave it an overall score of 86.8 out of 100. | (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images) Photo Sales 3 . University College London The capital's UCL is next, with a global placing of 7th overall. U.S. News & World Report gave it an overall score of 86.2 out of 100. | Google Photo Sales 4 . Imperial College London Another London-based university, Imperial College also came 11th on the worldwide ranking. U.S. News & World Report gave it an overall score of 85.2 out of 100. | Adobe Stock Photo Sales

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store