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Radnor Hills acquires Highland Spring Group’s Welsh production site
Soft drinks maker Radnor Hills has acquired Highland Spring Group’s Welsh production site.
The deal, completed last week, will protect jobs at the site located in Blaen Twyni, Swansea, and support the ongoing strategic growth of the Radnor Hills business.
The acquisition also includes a 40-acre water source in the heart of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
The site has serviced major supermarkets in the UK with still, sparkling and flavoured natural source water drinks for several years.
Established in 1990, independent and family-owned, Radnor Hills has a turnover of £64.4 million and produces over 400 million drinks every year.
Its brands include a full range of Radnor Hills spring water, Heartsease Farm, Radnor Splash, and their market-leading range of school-approved children’s drinks, Radnor Fizz.
A key business priority for Radnor Hills has been to find an expansion opportunity in Wales that mirrors its other manufacturing base in Knighton, Powys.
William Watkins, founder and Managing Director of Radnor Hills, said: “This deal represents an important milestone in the growth of our company and will allow us to keep pace with our growing consumer demand.
“The Blaen Twyni site presented us with the ideal opportunity to expand our capacity with a plentiful source of pure natural Welsh spring water, which complements the supply of pure water we already have at our source in Heartsease.
“We’re excited to welcome the highly skilled and dedicated workforce from Blaen Twyni to our Radnor family. The opportunity for us to continue to safeguard jobs in Wales and to offer further employment opportunities to the local area in the fullness of time is extremely important to us.
“We are grateful to Highland Spring Group for this opportunity and for the professional and helpful approach of their team, which has made the transition as smooth as possible.”
Simon Oldham, Managing Director of Highland Spring Group, said: “We’re pleased to have agreed this deal with Radnor, and I would like to personally thank every single member of the site’s operations team for their professionalism and support during this transition. We wish them and the team at Radnor the very best for the future.
“Our business is focused on driving the growth of Highland Spring as the UK’s No.1 plain bottled water brand, which forms part of our long-term strategy to continue to invest in and develop high-quality, sustainable products which provide healthy hydration in an environmentally sustainable way.”
Gin from smugglers route and Athurian legend to debut at Speciality & Fine Food Fair
Gin fans looking for a taste of romantic tales with a hint of Athurian legends and side notes of the Neolithic era are in for a treat at this year’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair, as Golden Road Gin makes its debut.
The copper pot gin, created from 100% natural botanical ingredients, is distilled close to the heart of Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills and whilst it has only been available for the last six months, it has already picked up its own little bit of history, securing a Great Taste Award last month (August).
The gin is the result of 18 months of hard work behind the scenes for husband and wife team Phil and Jennifer Wheeler, who already run a successful luxury self catering business in the area which is just off the historic Golden Road route which dates back some 5,000 years.
Since then, the seven-mile moorland route, which has views that reach as far across the waters as Ireland, has been home to bronze age burial mounds, smugglers and if legends are to be believed, the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur.
“Pardon the pun but we are ‘steeped’ in history here,” says Phil Wheeler, who together with former chef Jennifer embarked on their artisan gin journey back in 2022.
“We also love a sense of adventure and an unashamed pursuit of fun and freedom, so naming the gin after this incredible trail seemed pretty apt. We’ve been hugely supported by the amazing team at In The Welsh Wind distillery who have worked with us from the moment we said ‘wouldn’t it be fun if we created our own gin?’ So our massive thanks go to them and indeed to our neighbour Sally who introduced us.
“That was 18 months ago now and here we are embarking on our journey from rural south Wales to one of the biggest food and drink shows – it is pretty surreal actually.”
As for the gin itself, the unmistakable taste of juniper provides that quintessential gin essence, with citrus notes of orange and lemon following, offering a zesty height that invigorates the senses.
The unexpected twist of pink peppercorns introduces a mildly spicy and aromatic nuance which is mellowed by the gentle presence of bay. Finally, an infusion of Japanese cherry tea adds a delicate flavour that adds a layer of complexity with subtle floral notes.
As these flavours begin to meld, the finish is beautifully punctuated by a gentle sweetness, reminiscent of a serene twilight. This lingering sweetness offers a counterbalance to the spice, wrapping the experience in a velvety embrace. The journey of savoring Golden Road Gin remains etched in memory long after the glass is empty.
Former chef and co-founder Jennifer Wheeler concludes: “We knew what we were aiming at insofar as quality and taste but it took quite some time to design the perfect profile.
“The goal was to create a craft gin that evokes a feeling of relaxed adventure and refreshing smoothness and I think we’ve done just that.
“It has been so exciting to share our gin with people and hear that others really love it too but to go before the panel at the Great Taste Awards was a little nerve wracking.
“Thankfully, they loved it, which we hope many more people will too, whether they are staying with us as guests, just fancy a cheeky G and T which they can buy from our online shop or if they want to pop by our stand 2752 at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair this month.”