Business

Multi-award-winning restaurateur Andy Lennox, inset, is bringing his Nusara Thai brand to Wimborne. He’s signed a 15-year lease on a two-storey building in Crown Court, just off The Square. Twenty-five new jobs, a mix of full and part-time, will be created with the opening of Nusara Wimborne in August. It joins ‘sister’ Nusara restaurants in Christchurch and Poole. Both have proved highly popular, scoring 5/5 and 4.5/5 respectively on TripAdvisor, based on 190 customer reviews. Nusara Wimborne will have a total of 115 covers, 75 inside and 40 outside. Offering in-house dining, takeaway, delivery and private dining, Nusara promises to ‘combine the age-old tradition of fire grilling alongside time-honoured recipes with a balanced Thai menu of meat, fish and plant.’ It ends a 10-year search by Andy for a suitable location in the town. He said: “We want to make this a leafy, gardenesque courtyardstyle restaurant with a small cocktail bar and an upstairs Treehouse-style restaurant. We want to get it exactly right.”

Andrew Diprose is the founder and editor of dorsetbiznews.co.uk, the No.1 business website in the county with more than 25,000 unique users

Creating a new Thai in town

In excess of £150,000 is now being spent on the building, which was previously a Chinese restaurant. But Andy, who lives in Wimborne, said: “It’s just aesthetic. I love a new site, it’s the fun part of the whole thing.” The 35-year-old also revealed plans to launch a version of his Zim Braai

South African restaurant in Wimborne.

Currently he has Zim

Braai restaurants in

Ashley Cross and

Bournemouth.

He said: “We’re looking to bring a version that we think could fit well.” Nusara, Zim Braai and also The Old Thatch Wimborne are part of the Fired Up Collective. Formed in December 2020, they’re a collection of boutique hospitality brands in Dorset. Andy said growth plans included introducing additional brands. Nusara has been presented with Thai Select Signature status, the highest accolade for Thai Food by the Royal Thai government. It also received the highly covetedAmbassadors Choice by the Thai Ambassador to the UK in a recent ceremony.

Southwest solicitors sponsor major Thomas Hardy exhibition

A legal firm with a 300 year history in the West Country is sponsoring the major new exhibition, Hardy’s Wessex. Battens Solicitors, which has six offices in Somerset and Dorset, was founded at Church House in Church Street, Yeovil, in the 18th century, before moving to its current HQ in Princes Street. The branch would have been open in 1876 when Thomas Hardy and his wife Emma lived in lodgings at 7 St Peter Street, Yeovil. The couple stayed there from March to July, during which time Hardy corrected the final proofs of his novel, The Hand of Ethelberta. Battens’ sponsorship has helped Wessex Museums create this major exhibition – the largest collection of Hardy objects ever displayed at one time. Harriet Still, the exhibition curator, said: “We are hugely grateful to Battens for their sponsorship. It is especially fitting our sponsor is so rooted in Wessex where Hardy found his inspiration.” Managing director of Battens Solicitors, Ceri Stephens, said: “Battens has a long history of supporting the arts both as a company and also through its charitable trust. We are delighted to sponsor this event which celebrates both Hardy’s talent as a writer and the wonderful Wessex countryside and community.” Hardy’s Wessex spans the four Wessex Museums partners – Dorset, Poole, Wiltshire and Salisbury Museums. Each explores a different Hardy theme. Find out more on the Wessex Museums website: wessexmuseums.org.uk/ hardyswessex.

Peter steps down from funeral business

After a career that has seen him work around the world, the chairman of a well-known Dorset business has stepped down from the board of directors. Peter Douch, 75, right, has been involved in the family funeral business since 1994, after a career as a chartered accountant. Founded by 1909 by Peter’s grandfather Fred in Wimborne, what became known as Douch Family Funeral Directors was initially a furniture and furnishing business. Furniture led to coffins and coffins led to funerals and when Peter joined as finance director in 1994 it had just two of its furniture shops left and three funeral branches. It is now dedicated to funerals with seven branches across Dorset and an award-winning funeral plan. The business employs about 50 staff. After leaving school Peter trained as an accountant in Poole and secured his first post-qualification job in St Lucia. It was there he met his wife Josephine, a nurse. In 1976 they were married and he became manager in Dominica of accountants Coopers & Lybrand. Peter secured a job back in St Lucia in 1978 with the local brewery, where the couple lived with their four sons, Dweyn, Nick, Quentin and Andrew, until a move to England in 1988. The family settled in Yorkshire and Peter worked for a management consultant in Bradford. In 1994, Peter’s father Jack ran the family business and he moved down to join as finance director. Later he became managing director and in 2011 when his son Nick took on that role, he became chairman. Peter said: “My father ensured I worked in all aspects of the funeral business so I would know it inside out - from arranging and conducting funerals to coffin bearing. “It is a grounding that was important and one that I impressed on my children. “The business is in good health and with Nick as managing director I can now step back and spend more time between here and St Lucia.“It is also gratifying to know that two of my three grandchildren work in the business - the fifth generation.”

Florence on the up

Rising star Florence Newton spent the length of the pandemic qualifying with Wimborne law firm Ellis Jones Solicitors. The ‘rule of six’ for social gatherings, a return to working from home and a 10pm curfew for hospitality had just been introduced when Florence, below, started her training contract in September 2020. Now she has become among the first solicitors in the area to qualify – and all while combining her training with duties as vice-president of Bournemouth and District Junior Lawyers Division. Florence is based in Ellis Jones’ dispute resolution team and works closely with commercial property colleagues. Nigel Smith, managing partner at Ellis Jones, said: “Florence is one of our rising stars and I am convinced she has a very bright future.” Florence graduated with a first class honours degree in law from Bournemouth University before passing her LPC legal practice qualification with a commendation. She said: “I am sure the experience of training in different departments during a pandemic will stand me in good stead for the future. “I’m looking forward to progressing my career and supporting the firm’s many valued clients.”

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