From Tuesday 15 - Thursday 17 July 2025 F.I.R.E. Consultancy held its summer team event, combining updates from across the business with a day out to come together as a team and celebrate the hard work of the year so far.

This year we headed to Hensol Castle, south Wales, which is home to an impressive gin distillery. Our team was provided with a wonderful tour filled with history and interesting facts, before being able to get behind the bar with a lesson on gin-based cocktail making from our brilliant host.

But first, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday delivering essential business updates, hearing from different parts of the team and the external staff who support our work.

Tuesday: team meeting part 1

With the team together at our head office in Swansea I began the day with an overview of the business. We looked at our current workload/projects, key deliverables and where we want to be in the future.

Later our Non-Executive Director, Kerry Hill, discussed our financials/targets for the year before Jason explained the latest changes within the wider industry, and how they affect our business going forward.

Wednesday: team meeting part 2

The team was pleased to spend the morning undertaking Expert Witness training by the excellent Penny Harper MA (Oxon) Solicitor, Director, FRSA. This virtual session gave us all a vital overview of the complexities of expert witness report writing, taking in valuable lessons from examples of best, and worst practice.

After lunch our Head of Operations, Blair Fotheringham, gave us an update on the progress of our Fire Door Furniture Company (FDFC), and we then heard from our external consultants on peer reviews and content/social media.

Thursday: Hensol Castle

Following a busy couple of days in the office it was now time for our team summer event. We travelled from our hotel accommodation to Hensol Castle, where we were provided with a detailed 2-hour tour of the gin distillery.

This was followed by a private 3-course meal then a master class of gin-based cocktail making.

I love these events where the team gets to spend some well-earned social time to get to know each other and have fun. With the team continuing to grow it’s never been more important for us to solidify that team spirit and build a work culture we can be proud of.

As always, my appreciation to everyone who joined us. We’ll keep making these memories and getting everyone together when we can, making F.I.R.E. Consultancy the best it can be.

Jason.