Straight talking success

WITHIN two-and-a-half years, a Swansea firm has gone from operating in a back bedroom to reaching the UK final of a prestigious business awards.

The success of Wolfestone Translation, formed by directors Roy Allkin and Anna Bastek, is remarkable.

They are major contenders for the FSB Small Business Champions 2008 Awards in the most promising new business category.

Thousands of entries were received from all over the UK and Wolfestone, based in Metropole Chambers, in the city centre, has made the last six finalists after numerous rounds of intense judging.

Roy and Anna's entrepreneurial spirit has since seen them employ 12 people in Swansea and two in offices in Germany. They hope to shortly open new offices in France and Poland.

From being a company operating in a back bedroom, the business now provides translation services to well-known companies such as the BBC, Admiral, IBM and Unilever, as well as the Assembly and European Union.

Wolfestone is also a finalist in the South Wales Business Awards in the business services category.

Mr Allkin previously worked for people like Business Connect, while Anna, who speaks fluent English, German and Polish, is a marketing expert and recent arrival from Poland.

Asked what the secret was to their success, Mr Allkin said: "To be honest, it's the partnership between myself and Anna — our skills dovetail really well. It was just a stroke of luck meeting someone and we compliment each other really well in terms of business.

"I'm a risk-taker and Anna's more conservative.

"When taking business decisions, we meet in a happy medium. It kind of works."