A FINANCIAL company which left Wales a year after establishing in Caerphilly has been asked to repay grants of around £700,000 back to the Welsh Government.

The firm – Guardian Wealth Management – closed its office in Caerphilly in June last year, blaming low demand.

 Shadow Minister for the Economy William Graham AM questioned the Welsh Government’s focus on “low-end” financial services firms and called for guarantees that public funds would be recovered.

He said: “Taxpayers will rightly question whether the Welsh Labour Government’s investment in projects of this kind represents value for money.

“Unfortunately, the recent past is littered with examples of sizeable grants having been given to firms which haven’t succeeded in delivering the expected boost in new jobs – some of which have even folded despite considerable backing.

“It is extremely important that the Welsh Labour Government is able to recover these funds.

“However, broader consideration must also be given to their policy of picking which projects to back. One would hope that after 16 years in government, Labour would be able to aim higher than low-end financial services companies.”

A Welsh government spokesman said: "A first payment of around £700,000 was made to Guardian Wealth Management in March 2013 when the firm had met our targets for jobs created.

"Those staff were subsequently absorbed into other parts of the group when Guardian Wealth Management later decided to relocate to premises outside Wales.

"We are in negotiations with the company to recover the grant paid."