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Snowdonia Travel "acquired' by Cityfox

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richw

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Brilliant. He's became director of a non trading company!

Page 2 of 4/11 confirmation statement confirms snowdonia as a nontrading company!
 

richw

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Interesting they have an o licence. Are you sure it's the same company and not a slight name variation? The one you've linked on companies house is 100% a non trading company according to the company house.
 

swifty

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The livery on the website looks very much like the Hallmark livery inverted, another Rotala inspiration!

But, if, this is the real deal then fair play to them!
 

carlberry

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The website appears to be a good example of what happens when nobody reads a web site before publishing it.

The top and title says 'Splendour but the first paragraph says 'Snowdonia Travel' then the next bit of text says it started life as 'Snowdonia Travel' and the text hasn't even been run through a spell checker (experianced/ refregirator ?)

I'm not sure how many people in North Wales would be convinced by the 'operating from North Wales' bit when they have to call a Bristol telephone number (The same number out of hours as office hours)!
 

RhysHand

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The website appears to be a good example of what happens when nobody reads a web site before publishing it.

The top and title says 'Splendour but the first paragraph says 'Snowdonia Travel' then the next bit of text says it started life as 'Snowdonia Travel' and the text hasn't even been run through a spell checker (experianced/ refregirator ?)

I'm not sure how many people in North Wales would be convinced by the 'operating from North Wales' bit when they have to call a Bristol telephone number (The same number out of hours as office hours)!

Thank-you for your comments. No offence to you, and I do genuinely appreciate you've taken time to highlight these issues but the website was made within an hour as was the brand. It was created to give us a base for the re-brand of what is a very small operation.

EVERY business person is on a learning journey. I'll ensure this is sorted.

Thanks again.
Rhys
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
The livery on the website looks very much like the Hallmark livery inverted, another Rotala inspiration!

"""But, if, this is the real deal then fair play to them!
"""

Thank-you for your positive comments. Appreciated.

Rhys
 

THarris123

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Thank-you for your comments. No offence to you, and I do genuinely appreciate you've taken time to highlight these issues but the website was made within an hour as was the brand. It was created to give us a base for the re-brand of what is a very small operation.

EVERY business person is on a learning journey. I'll ensure this is sorted.

Thanks again.
Rhys
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
"""

Thank-you for your positive comments. Appreciated.

Rhys

Can you reveal any plans regarding Snowdonia Travel Mr Hand? Vehicles? Services, etc? Or is it a bit too sensitive at the moment?
 

RhysHand

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Can you reveal any plans regarding Snowdonia Travel Mr Hand? Vehicles? Services, etc? Or is it a bit too sensitive at the moment?

There is already work such as Rail Replacement that Snowdonia is authorised to do. We will be submitting tenders and looking to develop the new Splendour brand.
 

ooo

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Is there any reason for the rebrand other than as a fresh start? Was the Snowdonia Travel name tainted or anything?
 

RhysHand

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Is there any reason for the rebrand other than as a fresh start? Was the Snowdonia Travel name tainted or anything?

No, they've carried out Private Hire work with that name for a while. Personally, I wouldn't be proud to own a business that has boring words like 'Travel' or names that restrict where the business can be. So that was the thought and decision behind the new brand.

Rhys
 

RhysHand

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So what's next Ryhs?

Continuing to expand the taxi business in more locations, I've got a good Operations Manager who manages Day to day issues. Allows us to focus on expansion.

Looking for further acquisitions either bus or coach or taxi.

We are doing a lot of consultancy work for a number of operators, so we will continue with that too.
 

nesw

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Plymouth Council have a licence checker so that might reveal something.

The Plymouth operations registered address is the usual Bristol one however, their Facebook has a Plymouth address which is the same as that used by Plymouth Taxis Limited. Cityfox Plymouth phone no. is also 606060. Now, do they answer the phone as Plymouth Taxis (registered as active at Companies House with its own Directors) or as Cityfox Plymouth? It's tempting to call them.
 
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richw

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Can't check the licence by company name. It's options are drivers name, vehicle make/model and registration number, although made an 11k profit, and around 90k assets in Plymouth

None of the photos on Facebook of taxis are in plymouth
 
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RhysHand

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Route One are giving the latest venture plenty of publicity. The article is more or less copied from the press release. Of interest is that Mr. Stockley is temporary working for HCT group.

http://www.route-one.net/articles/Business deals/CityFox_expands_from_Bristol_to_North_Wales

As we have said before, CityFox provides consultancy at daily rates. This is exactly what is happening with HCT. Mr Stockley is carrying out consultancy work for HCT from CityFox.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I'm sure Mr Hand will be able to confirm everything

Good afternoon,

Our Plymouth Taxi business is on a marketing agreement with Plymouth Taxis Ltd. There are only actually 3 taxis branded as CityFox there at the moment. We planned to launch our own competitive business in Plymouth but took the opportunity to work with an already established firm rather than stretch the supply of customers thinly across several taxi firms. We have had the opportunity to acquire two taxi companies in Plymouth, but we took the decision to continue with what we already have set up there. Of course, this could change in the future.

As I have said before, I am more than happy (within reason) to answer questions.

Rhys
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Plymouth Council have a licence checker so that might reveal something.

The Plymouth operations registered address is the usual Bristol one however, their Facebook has a Plymouth address which is the same as that used by Plymouth Taxis Limited. Cityfox Plymouth phone no. is also 606060. Now, do they answer the phone as Plymouth Taxis (registered as active at Companies House with its own Directors) or as Cityfox Plymouth? It's tempting to call them.

You'd be welcome to call them. I have explained how the Plymouth operation works. Unless you are planning to book a taxi with them, please don't waste their time.
 

nesw

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'Waste their time'? Sounds like I've hit a raw nerve, good to see the usual professionalism is alive and well.

I'm rather surprised that Route One haven't done their homework and just copied a press release and taken it on face value.

It's all very well for someone to be ambitious and want to be successful however, one might be forgiven for being sceptical following the numerous aborted ventures over the years.
 

RhysHand

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'Waste their time'? Sounds like I've hit a raw nerve, good to see the usual professionalism is alive and well.

I'm rather surprised that Route One haven't done their homework and just copied a press release and taken it on face value.

It's all very well for someone to be ambitious and want to be successful however, one might be forgiven for being sceptical following the numerous aborted ventures over the years.

Suggesting you'd just call them is a waste of time. For your information, the press release to Route One didn't come from us.

'want to be successful' is a funny comment. I think what I have built up so far is rather successful and a lot of top industry people think the same, no offence, but their opinions mean more to me than yours.

On another note, how many ventures have people like Richard Branson and Alan Sugar, Philip Green, First, Stagecoach etc etc tried that failed? Lots. It's called entrepreneurship.
 

Robertj21a

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I still find it rather strange that Phil Stockley is involved. A bit of this is niggling me and saying that something really doesn't add up. There must be a bit more to all this story.
 

THarris123

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Suggesting you'd just call them is a waste of time. For your information, the press release to Route One didn't come from us.

'want to be successful' is a funny comment. I think what I have built up so far is rather successful and a lot of top industry people think the same, no offence, but their opinions mean more to me than yours.

On another note, how many ventures have people like Richard Branson and Alan Sugar, Philip Green, First, Stagecoach etc etc tried that failed? Lots. It's called entrepreneurship.

Indeed it is entrepreneurship and for someone as young as yourself it is so far a good success. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.
 

PhilStockley

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I still find it rather strange that Phil Stockley is involved. A bit of this is niggling me and saying that something really doesn't add up. There must be a bit more to all this story.

Well here I am, so let me see if I can help.

By way of background, it may help you to understand that I'm not motivated by working my way up the greasy pole of a large organisation, and much of my career has evolved as a result of a desire to seek different challenges and expose myself to new experiences.

I am very fortunate to have enjoyed a largely successful career in senior management roles in several of the large PLCs, as well as working for smaller companies and of course running my own business - with mixed fortunes in the end, but certainly with more good experiences than bad - for several years.

For reasons that will remain private for the time being, I reached a point earlier in the year where I wanted to move on from Wellglade, and didn't want to move back into PLC life.

Rhys and I found ourselves discussing his achievements to date and his plans for his businesses, and I felt that I could do something to help. I found Rhys to be a very open and impressive individual, with incredible drive and determination. He was open about both the good and bad points of the story so far, but for someone of 21 I felt he had achieved a huge amount, and as he himself has said, very few people of that age haven't made a few mistakes along the way.

Whereas most people of 21 are content to sit in a steady job or look for an easy life, I felt that Rhys had shown massive courage and bravery in putting his head above the parapet and taking responsibility for his own business (and the livelihoods of others in the process) and if my experience can contribute to that, then so much the better.

So that's why I'm involved. The Group can benefit from my skills and experience not just in helping to plot our own development, but also by earning income from doing outside consultancy work, and I'm gaining lots of interesting new experiences in the process.

In an industry where the concept of 'total transport' is a new and emerging growth area, we are already attracting attention for the fact that we are integrating buses and taxis within the same organisation, and that's just the start of it, so watch this space.
 

nesw

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Without getting into a discussion, I think it's interesting when someone becomes defensive when asked about their business.

I'm not suggesting that your taxi business is unsuccessful. With respect many are somewhat bewildered by the puffs of publicity for various ventures and nothing to back it up. (Kernow Fox is one of many examples.) Surely it makes business sense to get things off the ground and then publicise it? Otherwise one might be forgiven in believing the reality of the next venture.

I understand that the Splendour Coaches venture is quite complex and whilst much of the company affairs are private, one should be able to ensure that the potential customer and the public at large are able to ensure that the correct procedures are followed and they are travelling with a legally sound and safe company.

I fully expect Mr. Stockley to also take these postings as a negative and a personal attack but that couldn't be further from the truth. Ambition and success are fantastic attributes but when one searches for Rhys Hand on search engines , the results aren't exactly complementary.

I have no reason to doubt any of what has been claimed and I'm purely taking an interest to scrutinise items in the public domain.
 

RhysHand

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Without getting into a discussion, I think it's interesting when someone becomes defensive when asked about their business.

I'm not suggesting that your taxi business is unsuccessful. With respect many are somewhat bewildered by the puffs of publicity for various ventures and nothing to back it up. (Kernow Fox is one of many examples.) Surely it makes business sense to get things off the ground and then publicise it? Otherwise one might be forgiven in believing the reality of the next venture.

I understand that the Splendour Coaches venture is quite complex and whilst much of the company affairs are private, one should be able to ensure that the potential customer and the public at large are able to ensure that the correct procedures are followed and they are travelling with a legally sound and safe company.



I fully expect Mr. Stockley to also take these postings as a negative and a personal attack but that couldn't be further from the truth. Ambition and success are fantastic attributes but when one searches for Rhys Hand on search engines , the results aren't exactly complementary.

I have no reason to doubt any of what has been claimed and I'm purely taking an interest to scrutinise items in the public domain.

I DON'T have to comment on here or answer any questions. I choose to, because actually, a lot of people are very positive about the business and what the group is doing.

Think about it from this prospective, why would you go and start a business in a flooded market when you could work with an already successful provider and receive a guaranteed reward? I could invest 100k into Plymouth for it not to work? Or I could work with a local operator and receive guaranteed profit!

Everything CityFox or any of its companies does operates 100% compliantly and legally and we have procedures and a management team in place to ensure it can't.

The fact is, people generally in life are very jealous. Most hate to see others do well, especially those that are younger. I am doing what most are scared to do and it's working - teamfox is amazing, it's doing amazing things and there are lots more to come! The developments for the next possible acquisition started today, so trust me when I say, watch this space.
 

nesw

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My final word for now on the subject. The Splendour Coaches website (it needs to be proof read), in common with other Cityfox websites , makes some very bold claims.

'OUR FLEET

Our modern, comfortable and stylish vehicles are maintained to full manufacturer guidelines by our own qualified staff. Whatever your requirement, we can find the right solution for you from our range of vehicles. All of our coaches and minibuses meet the most recent environmental requirements and boast all the essential features to deliver comfort and efficiency.'

I'm not aware that there is a fleet or a working operators centre?

There's other equally bold statements that at this stage of the Companies timeline are ambitious to say the least.
 

RhysHand

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My final word for now on the subject. The Splendour Coaches website (it needs to be proof read), in common with other Cityfox websites , makes some very bold claims.

'OUR FLEET

Our modern, comfortable and stylish vehicles are maintained to full manufacturer guidelines by our own qualified staff. Whatever your requirement, we can find the right solution for you from our range of vehicles. All of our coaches and minibuses meet the most recent environmental requirements and boast all the essential features to deliver comfort and efficiency.'

I'm not aware that there is a fleet or a working operators centre?

There's other equally bold statements that at this stage of the Companies timeline are ambitious to say the least.


Yes because every coach company's that wants to develop would write 'nackard old sheds' wouldn't they. Because that would generate positive response !!!

Vehicles do exsist under that licence.

I am not responding to you anymore, you are clearly trying to pick at faults with each of my businesses. My advise to you is, rather than be a keyboard warrior, go and try it yourself, then you'll see how difficult it is to start in business.

CityFox is flourishing and will continue to do. Yes I have made mistakes, but so does every entrepreneur, difference is, I have learned from them, hard work, determination and drive has created me a good transport business that operates at a profit and continues to expand.
 

nesw

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Well, we will have to agree to disagree on a number of aspects and if anything the tone of Rhys' responses cast further questions about the Companies. I'm reminded of Philip Green's defensive and bad tempered appearance at the select committee this year.

Rhys or Phil don't have to respond on here and are entitled to run the organisation as they see fit but if one seeks publicity, then others are going to look behind the glossy press releases and images. The term 'jealousy' is not applicable.

I and many others (within and out of the industry)certainly will 'watch this space'.

All the best.
 
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