Praise for ViewHR after advising Trunki on its HR for sale to Heroes

ViewHR provided employment law advice and hands-on HR support to Trunki on the sale of its Magmatic business to e-commerce firm Heroes.

The internationally-known children’s travel products brand, which was given the thumbs-down for investment on TV’s Dragons’ Den, was established by Rob Law.

Trunki has gone on to create hours of travelling fun for children – and parents – through its wide range of children’s ride on suitcases and other travel products.

Heroes is a UK-based e-commerce company that acquires, operates, and scales consumer brands in the baby, kids and maternity sectors.

It has bought over 30 brands since being founded in 2020.

Heroes has said that it plans to support Trunki’s growth, investing heavily in the North American market along with further expansion in Europe.

Hampshire and Dorset consultancy View HR advised and supported Magmatic on the HR and employment law aspects of the sale.

Gemma Murphy, Director and Solicitor at View HR, who worked on the acquisition with Robin Watson, said: “Aside from being a huge Trunki fan-  my children love them – we have thoroughly enjoyed supporting Trunki on its HR and employment law matters over the past few years.

“To be part of the next phase of Trunki’s journey has been an honour and we are excited to see what comes next for Trunki and the Heroes team.

“In the field of HR and employment law, it is a particular pleasure to work with parties who share a common passion for the success of the business and its people.”

The Trunki team.

Trevor Bell, Chair of Magmatic Limited, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to work with ViewHR on the sale of Trunki.

“In addition to guiding us through every step of the complex details of the relevant legislation, they were at our side throughout the process, including working closely with Heroes.

“They provided an invaluable resource without which we would not have been able to complete the transaction on the timescale that we did.”

• viewhr.co.uk

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New retailers join line up of independent businesses at KINGLAND

Four new independent businesses are to join the line-up of retailers in Poole’s KINGLAND, the high street neighbouring The Dolphin.

They are:

• Jay & Co, opening its first bricks and mortar store in collaboration with Restored Retro on March 13. The reclaimed, restored and reimagined furniture retailer was founded by popular television presenter, Jay Blades MBE. It will take over the old Pen Gallery unit with the adjoining wall removed for the two businesses to co-habit a larger space together.

• Boiler Room Records, which opened its first store at 27, High Street, Poole, in 2020. Mark Northey, Owner, said: “Our second store in Poole will differ slightly from the Old Town branch by concentrating on new vinyl, merch, and hi-fi, both vintage and new. Throughout summer we will also put on live music events and feature instore DJ performances. We hope to offer Poole a true Indie music experience.”
• Titanium Flower will offer shoppers a variety of unique, handmade jewellery when it opens in April. The store will also feature a craft space for the public to create their own jewellery designs.
• Dorset-based clothing brand, Brakeburn – announced in December – which will stock new season women and men’s clothing ranges in time for spring. Brakeburn has previously only been stocked online and in local boutique stores.

John Grinnell, pictured right, Centre Manager at The Dolphin, said: “I’m confident that 2023 is going to be a hugely successful year for the town centre.

“I’m looking forward to these new additions enhancing The Dolphin, KINGLAND and the high street’s retail offering.”

Grounded Coffee, Wild Roots, Greenslade Fish, and Restored Retro all continue to trade at KINGLAND.

The new line-up of retailers replace Bare Necessities, ånd fragrance, and Paintshop Studio while HUX Customs is also closing its doors after two years of trading.

The unit is currently available for a new independent business to take over from the end of this month.

The original ten businesses at KINGLAND benefitted from no rent or business rates to be paid for the first two years.

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Ticket sales exceed expectations for the Bournemouth Writing Festival

Ticket sales for the Bournemouth Writing Festival are exceeding expectations, say organisers.

Some sessions are already over 50 per cent subscribed, with bookings from as far away as Birmingham, Watford and even the United States.

One woman is flying over from New York especially for the weekend to enjoy the mix of more than 70 free and paid-for events and activities, involving experienced writers and professionals.

Designed to foster inspiration, networking and stimulate creativity, TV & film screenwriters, best-selling authors, poets, journalists, publicists, writing coaches, editors and publishers will be imparting their advice through talks and practical workshops.

The specially crafted Literary Walk of Bournemouth and ArtfulScribe’s Bringing Characters to Life are nearly sold out.

‘Genre breakfasts’ to help local writers find their writing tribe, taking place in independent cafes within Bournemouth Town Centre, are filling up fast whilst the networking event at Street Goose is almost at capacity.

Dominic Wong

A flurry of entries for the Open Mic event on Saturday April 22 and the free poetry hunt have been received with the end date for submissions fast approaching.

Music artist and performer Timo Peach will close the festival with a keynote speech about the future of words.

Additions to the programme include architect of The Shard, broadcaster and author Roma Agrawal, talking about her new book, Nuts & Bolts, with Arts University’s Anna Farthing and a special creative writing session for adults with learning difficulties in association with Christchurch Connect.

Dominic Wong, Festival Co-founder, said, “We’ve only recently launched the tickets and already sales have exceeded our expectations.

“Many people are taking advantage of our 15 per cent discount for Early Bird tickets which expires at the end of February as well as registering for our free events.”

Fellow Co-Founder Ildiko SpinFisher, pictured right, added: “Writers are really getting involved – not just in the talks and workshops to improve their writing, but also the many networking events to find like-minded authors.

“The most popular events have been our self-publishing, short stories, memoir and getting published talks.”

The Bournemouth Writing Festival is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 21 to 23, at venues in Bournemouth Town Centre.

Paid events start from £7 with an early bird discount available until the end of February when signing up for the newsletter.

All events have a limited capacity so booking in advance is essential.

Sponsorship, advertising and volunteer opportunities are available.

For more information and to book tickets, visit the festival website at BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk.