Welsh rugby star, James Hook, arrived in Crickhowell to officially open a brand new office in the town last week, bringing a new business to the high street and a new hub for those in the care sector.

The long established homecare provider, Abicare, enlisted the support of the former Wales fly-half and fifth-highest all time points scorer for the special occasion, with the British and Irish Lion teaming up with the deputy mayor of Crickhowell, Mike Goodman, to cut the red ribbon and declare the new branch now open.

“It’s great to see that Ian (Abicare Chairman) is putting jobs into the Welsh community,” Hook said at the official opening at Clarence House, Beaufort Street.

“I’m more than happy to support that as a fellow Welshman because it is important to make sure, in every walk of life, that community is at the heart of what we do. There’s a lot of similarities between sport and business and I have learned more about the business world since retiring. It’s my pleasure to be here in Crickhowell.”

The providers is already serving South Wales with a selection of bespoke visiting and live-in care packages from its current branch in Pontypool. But it says the new branch in Crickhowell signifies Abicare’s future growth and expansion in Powys and brings care closer to home for people in nearby towns such as Abergavenny.

As well as its ability to deliver a comprehensive suite of both complex care and also reablement services to patients in their own homes across the region.

Abicare’s new branch in Crickhowell will open five days a week, with a team of three already in place, headed up by Mark Chandler.

A further 10-15 new care professionals is the target to reach in the coming months and into 2026. As a company aiming to grow across Wales, there will be further opportunities for other positions in line with its commitment to promote its care professional's career development.

Chairman at Abicare, Ian Talbot, was there on the night.

“The opening of the new branch in Crickhowell is an important milestone for the company as we gear up for growth in Powys and the surrounding areas,” he said.

“It complements our established branch in Pontypool and enables our team to deliver more weekly care hours across the region for those needing quality homecare packages.”

“We are thrilled James Hook and Mike Goodman were able to attend and officially open the Crickhowell branch for us, joining the Abicare team and guests in the celebrations.”

Abicare has delivered more than five million hours of care to thousands of patients in their own homes since it was established 20 years ago, and they say their Crickhowell is just the start of the company’s ambitious plans for future growth, recruitment and further geographical expansion.

Registered with both the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England and Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), Abicare has the skills, expertise, diversity of provision and unique understanding to deliver high quality, bespoke and dependable homecare solutions for a wide range of healthcare issues. For further information, please visit www.abicare.co.uk