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The council said the acquisition was part of its homelessness support strategy

Cardiff Council has acquired a 40 apartment building as part of efforts to tackle homelessness in the city.

In a multi-million-pound deal, the exact value of which has not been disclosed, the council has acquired Lime Tree Mansions on Whitchurch Road in the Maindy area of the city.

The council has bought the apartment scheme from JCPS Homes. Law firm Hugh James acted the council on the deal.

Lynda Thorne, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “Cardiff continues to face significant housing and homelessness pressures, which is why we have been exploring a wider range of delivery options alongside our new-build programme to help meet the urgent need for affordable housing.

“The acquisition of Lime Tree Mansions represents an important investment that will enable us to provide additional temporary accommodation for households in need, while supporting our wider efforts to improve housing outcomes across the city.

2We are grateful to Hugh James for their expert support throughout the transaction, helping us secure this acquisition and take another important step towards delivering the homes and housing support that Cardiff residents need.”

The apartments are currently vacate.

The Hugh James team was led by senior associate in the firm’s commercial property team, Kylie Underhill. She said: “We are proud to have supported Cardiff Council on the acquisition of Lime Tree Mansions.

This was an important transaction for the Council and one which required a focused and collaborative approach to meet the required timeframe. It is always rewarding to support public sector clients on acquisitions which have the potential to deliver real benefit to local communities.”

The deal further reinforces Hugh James’ experience in advising local authorities and public sector bodies on strategic property acquisitions, including residential, regeneration and investment-led projects.

Caroline O’Flaherty partner in Hugh James’ commercial property team said: “This is a fantastic result and reflects the strength of our Commercial Property team’s public sector expertise. We are proud to have assisted Cardiff Council in its continuing strides to provide vital housing across the city.”

Last year the council acquired the former prime office Scott Harbour building in Cardiff Bay from Rightacres.

In a £28.5m investment Cardiff Council has provided 78 apartments as permanent tenancies. The apartments are mainly occupied by families as part of its strategy of addressing a critical shortage of affordable homes.

LONDON — Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, may be among the most recognizable royals in the world, but according to a former palace employee, staff members saved their contact information under a set of far less regal nicknames, alongside details of how heavily the royal family has relied on WhatsApp to stay in touch with relatives and staff.

Jack Stooks, a former royal gardener who worked for King Charles at Highgrove for decades, shared the details in an interview with GB News, describing how the royal family communicated privately both with each other and with staff. “The Royal Family are big WhatsApp users,” Stooks said, describing a range of group chats used across the family, including one for friends and a separate family group that included Prince William, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

According to Stooks, senior royals shared their personal phone numbers with trusted members of staff to allow for more practical, direct communication. He said both William and Prince Harry actively encouraged aides to contact them through the messaging app whenever needed, rather than relying solely on more formal channels. To protect their privacy, however, staff reportedly avoided saving the royals under their real names, instead using coded nicknames. Stooks revealed that William was listed in staff phones as “Bobcat,” while Harry went by “Baz.” Following Kate’s marriage to William, she was reportedly added to contacts as “Mrs Bobcat.”

Beyond the nicknames themselves, Stooks offered a broader account of William’s working style with palace staff, describing him as considerate of employees’ existing workloads. He said the Prince of Wales made a habit of checking whether staff members were already busy before asking them for additional help, and that William would often thank staff afterward by telling them, “You’re a legend.”

Stooks also reflected on King Charles’ relationship with technology during his time working at Highgrove, describing the monarch as considerably less engaged with mobile devices than his sons. According to Stooks, Charles owned a simple mobile phone but rarely used it regularly during that period. Stooks said William and Harry frequently encouraged their father to embrace newer technology, but that Charles generally preferred a more traditional approach and showed limited interest in using his phone on a consistent basis.

The account offers a rare glimpse into the more informal, day-to-day dynamics between senior royals and the staff who work closely with them, a side of royal life that rarely receives public attention given the family’s general preference for formality in public-facing communications. The described use of WhatsApp for both personal and work-related messaging reflects a broader pattern common across many modern workplaces and families, even as the specific coded nicknames used to protect the royals’ identities in staff members’ phones point to the particular privacy and security considerations that come with working in close proximity to some of the world’s most closely watched public figures.

Stooks’ comments add to a broader body of insider accounts from former royal staff members that have periodically surfaced in British media over the years, offering the public occasional windows into aspects of royal family life that differ considerably from the family’s carefully managed public image. Such accounts typically cannot be independently verified beyond the credibility of the individual sharing them, and neither Kensington Palace nor representatives for William, Kate or Harry have issued any public confirmation or denial of the specific details Stooks described regarding the nicknames or the family’s use of WhatsApp.

The revelations arrive at a moment of heightened public attention on the relationship between William and Harry more broadly, following Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the United Kingdom in late August and the more recent publication of excerpts from Charles Spencer’s memoir about Princess Diana, both of which have kept the royal family’s internal dynamics under close media scrutiny in recent weeks. Against that backdrop, lighter anecdotes such as Stooks’ account of staff nicknames and WhatsApp habits offer a notable contrast to the more serious and often tense coverage that has otherwise characterized recent reporting on relations between the brothers.

Stooks’ extended tenure working at Highgrove, King Charles’ private residence in Gloucestershire, gave him a vantage point on the family’s private habits and communications that few outside the household would typically have access to, lending a degree of specificity to his account that has helped it circulate widely since it was first published. Even so, as with most insider accounts from former staff, the details remain unverified beyond Stooks’ own recollection and cannot be independently confirmed through any official palace source.

With no official response yet issued addressing the specific claims about the royal family’s phone nicknames or messaging habits, Stooks’ account is likely to remain one of several recent behind-the-scenes anecdotes shaping public perception of the more private, informal side of royal family life, even as the family’s official public engagements continue to be defined by considerably more formal presentation.

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Communications giant seeking deals with Opus Broadband and Octopus Investments

TalkTalk has confirmed it remains in “advanced discussions” with prospective buyers of its consumer and broadband divisions as the embattled telecoms company races to secure its future.

Britain’s fourth-largest broadband provider announced it was in the closing stages of finalising sales for its two arms, amid mounting speculation that it could be headed for administration should it fail to reach agreement on deals.

It said: “The company is now in the final stages of its sales process for the business and expects to conclude both transactions imminently.”

The heavily indebted firm is reported to employ approximately 900 staff and serves around 1.5 million customers.

It is understood the group continues to progress negotiations with rival Opus Broadband over a potential deal for the consumer arm TalkTalk, alongside talks with Octopus Investments regarding its wholesale operation PXC, reportedly valued at around £300 million.

However, a period of exclusivity with both bidders lapsed in recent days, following reports that Opus had slashed its offer for the consumer arm to £100 million amid protracted negotiations, fuelling concerns that the sales could collapse and force the company into administration.

The Government has been engaging with TalkTalk over the proposed sales, given the firm’s significance as a major broadband supplier to households and businesses, as well as its provision of telecoms services to the Ministry of Defence. It is understood that national security networks are partially reliant on TalkTalk’s PXC systems, although the MoD is reported to have backup measures in place to avoid dependence on a single provider.

TalkTalk was established by Sir Charles Dunstone in 2003 as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse.

Its shareholders, including chairman Sir Charles and lender Ares Management, are understood to be engaged in negotiations and may inject additional capital if agreements with Opus and Octopus collapse.

The transactions are complicated by the consumer business’s reliance on infrastructure operated by PXC.

A transaction to offload PXC was therefore required to facilitate the sale of the TalkTalk consumer operation.

Sir Charles, who remains a significant shareholder in TalkTalk, supported a £1.1 billion deal to take TalkTalk private in December 2020, spearheaded by its then second largest investor, hedge fund Toscafund, and private equity house Penta Capital.

This resulted in its delisting in 2021, concluding an 11-year presence on the London market, but also burdened it with substantial debt.

The company has also faced challenges amid an increasingly competitive marketplace in recent years, with so-called altnet rivals emerging and undercutting many of the established operators.

Eighty-three per cent of businesses using artificial intelligence in London and the South East report greater efficiency as a result, according to new research from NatWest, which found that just 6 per cent of current business users nationally have reached the stage where AI is transforming how their organisation operates.

In London, 81 per cent of businesses using AI report stronger innovation, and around seven in 10 say the technology is contributing to higher revenue and profitability, the bank’s flagship report found.

In the South East, 75 per cent of businesses using AI report increased innovation, and around two-thirds say AI is supporting stronger commercial performance.

NatWest said the results reflect the strengths of a regional economy built on sectors such as financial services, professional services, technology, life sciences and other knowledge-intensive industries.

Across the UK, 44 per cent of businesses already use AI, according to the report, with a further 41 per cent planning to adopt it within five years.

The bank said the biggest opportunity is still ahead, pointing to the small share of users that have reached the most advanced stage of adoption.

Separately, the Office for National Statistics reported in July that around 35 per cent of UK businesses with 10 or more employees were using AI by June 2026, up from around 12 per cent in late 2023, with only 10 per cent reporting extensive use across their operations.

Other recent surveys have also measured AI adoption. Research from Simply Business earlier this month found that AI use among UK small businesses had more than doubled to 47 per cent, while PwC warned in April that UK firms risked falling behind global leaders on AI investment and returns.

The NatWest report argues that technology alone will not determine which businesses succeed, and that trust is increasingly seen as a competitive advantage.

Among NatWest retail customers surveyed, 81 per cent said the ability to reach a real person when needed is the most important trust factor, while 77 per cent said they value reliability, human oversight and transparency around data use.

According to the bank, the findings suggest that businesses which retain human judgement, communicate openly about their use of AI and prioritise customer confidence will be best placed to realise the technology’s potential.

Catherine van Weenen, chair of the London and South East board at NatWest, said: “London and the South East are already seeing the benefits of AI, with businesses reporting stronger productivity, innovation and growth. For a region with strengths in sectors such as professional services, financial services and technology, the opportunity is significant.

“But the report also shows there is much more potential to unlock. While many businesses are experimenting with AI, relatively few have embedded it across their operations.”

She added: “Realising that opportunity will require people to remain at the heart of how AI is adopted. Trust matters. Businesses want the benefits of AI, but they also want human expertise, oversight and transparency. That’s why NatWest is helping businesses build the skills, confidence and connections they need to turn AI’s potential into long-term growth for London and the South East.”

Through the NatWest Accelerator, the bank said it will deliver 5,000 AI learning and adoption engagements across the UK over the next 12 months, aimed at helping businesses move from experimentation to impact.

In London and the South East, the support includes practical training, expert support, access to finance and the bank’s regional innovation network, alongside partnerships with universities including Oxford and Brighton.

The commitment follows NatWest’s move earlier this year to put all 60,000 of its own staff through AI ethics training, developed with the University of Edinburgh.

About the author

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

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When Greg Bradley started the his gym equipment company 14 years ago, someone told him he would never sell outside the island of Ireland.

“I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to prove you wrong’,” he said. “Thankfully, we have been able to do that.”

BLK BOX is based in Newtownabbey – but it has secured contracts with high-profile customers all over the world, from sports teams like Manchester United to chains like PureGym.

Bradley is just one of many success stories, with official figures showing economic activity in Northern Ireland in the second quarter of this year grew faster than the UK and Republic of Ireland.

BLK BOX works internationally across the EU and markets like the US, Sri Lanka, Maldives, India, Australia and has grown its workforce to 180 staff.

Bradley said Covid had made people realise the importance of their health and “a lot of young people are into going to the gym”.

“We have won high profile contracts and expanding internationally across France, Spain, Germany and other countries,” he told BBC News NI.

He added that the Windsor Framework had also been advantageous compared to English competitors.

“We’ve been able to win a contract with a large French gym chain, Stade Français rugby team, so it’s actually worked out good for us and we are really doubling down on that.

“There’s still a bit of an education process with it, not everyone knows that we can ship frictionlessly across Europe, they are a bit scared of tariffs but once you explain it, everyone is really interested.”