Farewell To Elmer

Early this month we said goodbye to Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool, which was sponsored by Blackhurst Budd.

This fantastic event has been a huge success, attracting locals and visitors from across the country whilst raising vital funds for Brian House.

Whilst the trail has been on Blackhurst Budd have embraced the themes each week with activities including:

     🐘Elmer Bingo

     🐘An in-house health and wellbeing session

     🐘An elephant inspired playlist

     🐘A litter pick at Stanley Park as part of Environment week

     🐘Dress down day which included an Elmer lookalike!

The patchwork elephant sculptures which have featured in the public art trail were gathered together for a farewell weekend at Blackpool Tower on 22nd and 23rd June before the designs are auctioned off on Thursday 27th June in Blackpool Tower, with proceeds raised going to Brian House Children’s Hospice.

As part of the firm’s sponsorship we ran a free prize draw via the Elmer app to win £300 or a set of Apple Airpods and been amazed to have had over 1600 entries!

Sharon Emslie, Director commented:

“I’m so glad we have been involved in this wonderful project which has brought smiles to so many faces in the town.

I’d like to thank all of the staff at Blackhurst Budd for being good sports and getting involved in our many elephant themed activities.

The volume of entries to our competition has been a real surprise and shows the level of engagement visitors have had with the event. Thanks also to Linzi Warburton and her team at Brian House for bringing Elmer to Blackpool and giving us the opportunity to show our support.”

Blackhurst Budd Embrace Health & Wellbeing

Each week the Elmer Trail Blackpool has a unique theme and as sponsors we have been keen to show our support.

This week’s theme has been ‘Health & Wellbeing’ which is also highly topical. On Wednesday 15th May we organised a session with Rick Cardwell, a local therapist and counsellor.

Rick has over twenty years’ experience working with all aspects of stress, anxiety, depression and relationship breakdown. He ran an excellent seminar about the importance of mental health wellbeing in the workplace and beyond. 

Rick offered his time free of charge and to thank him, we will be giving a further donation to Brian House.

Sharon Emslie, Director commented:

“A huge thank you to Rick for taking the time out to deliver a great session at our offices. Health and wellbeing is something we are always trying to improve in the workplace and the feedback we had from the attendees has been fantastic.”

Further information on Rick’s services can be found at:

http://www.rickcardwell.co.uk/

New Head Of Private Client At Blackhurst Budd

Blackhurst Budd is delighted to announce that Suzanne Leonard will take on the role of Head of Private Client at the firm from 1st June.

Suzanne has worked in private practice since 2003. She became a Chartered Legal Executive in 2007 and in 2020 she qualified as full member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

STEP is the global professional association for those who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning. Members of STEP are highly trained and experienced in this complex area of law.

Suzanne specialises in all aspects of planning for the future including Wills, Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney. She also deals with probate matters and Court of Protection.

Current Head of Private Client, Ian Bentley, retires later this year and this crossover period will allow time for complete handover.

Suzanne commented:

“I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge, developing the services we offer and expanding the team.”

Warren Spencer, Managing Director added:

“This is a well deserved promotion for Suzanne who has shown all the of qualities needed to fulfill the role. She provides an outstanding service to our clients and has a wealth of experience in private client matters.”

Pictured L-R Suzanne Leonard, Warren Spencer

Blackhurst Budd Donate £6K to Homestart Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre

Blackhurst Budd have made a donation of £6K to Homestart Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre

Homestart is a network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times.

This donation comes from the firm’s charity account, which comprises of many small sums of money (residual balances), that our generous clients have agreed to donate.

Pictured: Warren Spencer, Managing Director of Blackhurst Budd with Tracy Breen, Fundraising Manager from Homestart.

Blackhurst Budd are proud sponsors of Blackpool’s first ever public art trail

Blackhurst Budd meet Elmer L-R Suzanne Leonard, Warren Spencer, Alex Smith, Julie West, Ian Bentley, Briony Haley

Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool will see at least 30 large Elmer sculptures, each individually painted by artists and illustrators, placed in key locations around the town. It will create a free family-friendly eight-week trail this spring, boosting Blackpool’s economy, celebrating everything that makes the town diverse and raising vital income for its children’s hospice, Brian House.

Blackhurst Budd have invested in the trail and will have its branding on their very own sculpture located in Blackpool town centre. They have chosen a beautiful design by Lucy Hebden inspired by the Blackpool coast. The sculpture will then be auctioned along with all other Elmer sculptures on the trail at the end of the event to raise money for Brian House.

Blackhurst Budd has supported Brian House and Trinity Hospice for many years and has said:

“Brian House and Trinity Hospice are fantastic local charities providing much needed care and support for children and their families. We have supported both charities over many years. Most recently we donated £10,000 to Trinity Hospice from the firm’s charity account, which comprises of many small sums that our generous clients have agreed to donate.

We are delighted to continue our support by sponsoring a sculpture on Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool, which is a great way to raise awareness and funds whilst bringing a unique attraction to Blackpool. Anyone who visits our sculpture will also be able to enter a free prize draw to win £300 or a set of AirPods.”

Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool will take to the streets of Blackpool from Saturday 13th April 2024. It is expected to bring more than 250,000 visitors to the town as they take part in the trail and could contribute more than £1.5 million to the local economy. It is hoped it will raise more than £110,000 for Brian House.

Brian House’s Corporate Partnership Manager, said: “Blackhurst Budd has been a wonderful friend to Brian House and Trinity Hospice helping to raise much-needed funds so that we can provide outstanding care to the local people who need us, wherever they are.

A sneak preview of the Blackhurst Budd Sculpture design

“With their continued generosity, our art trail will truly allow us to showcase our town while supporting the vital work our teams do at Brian House for local families.

“By sponsoring our art trail, Blackhurst Budd is helping us to celebrate our town and everything that makes it really special – just like the children we are privileged to care for. We are so grateful to them for their continued support for our charity and for helping us to bring a mammoth amount of fun to Blackpool.”

Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool is being brought to the town by Brian House in partnership with Wild in Art and Andersen Press. The Elmer sculptures are inspired by David McKee’s beloved children’s books, each uniquely decorated to create a truly unique experience for locals and visitors to discover and re-discover Blackpool.

For more information about Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool, visit www.elmerblackpool.co.uk and follow @elmerblackpool on social media.

Blackhurst Budd Sponsor BFC

We were delighted to be Match Sponsors at Blackpool Football Club on 10th February against Oxford Utd.

Pictured here is Tom Fielding, Solicitor in our Property Department, presenting the Man of the Match award to Albie Morgan.

Blackhurst Budd Donate £20K To Local Charities

Blackhurst Budd have made two donations of £10K each to Trinity Hospice and Blackpool Carers.

These donations come from the firm’s charity account, which comprises of many small sums of money (residual balances), that our generous clients have agreed to donate.

Warren Spencer, Managing Director at Blackhurst Budd commented: “We are delighted to be able to support these two fantastic local charities who provide such valuable services in Blackpool.

I must also thank the hard work of our accounts team to ensure that the correct processes are undertaken to identify these balances and meet our compliance requirements before we can make any donations.”

Terry Hodkinson, Head of Business Development and Fundraising at Blackpool Carers Centre with Warren Spencer Managing Director at Blackhurst Budd.

L-R Warren Spencer (Managing Director Blackhurst Budd), Janet Atkins (Corporate Partnership Manager at Trinity Hospice), Ian Bentley (Director at Blackhurst Budd).

Blackhurst Budd Sponsor Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool

Blackhurst Budd Solicitors are proud sponsors of Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool in support of Brian House Children’s Hospice.

The firm is sponsoring an Elmer sculpture, which will form part of an art trail featuring 30 large Elmer the Patchwork Elephant sculptures and will be live across the town from Saturday 13th April until Sunday 9th June 2024.

As well as bringing people to the town and celebrating the diversity of local communities, the event will be raising much needed funds for Brian House. Each large sculpture will be uniquely decorated by established and up and coming artists, creating a parade through the town that will be enjoyed by visitors and locals for eight weeks.

A herd of smaller Elmers will accompany the trail, decorated by local children and young people through schools and youth organisations. They will be displayed inside some of the town’s tourist, cultural and leisure locations.

Blackhurst Budd have said:

“We have supported Brian House and Trinity Hospice for many years, fantastic local charities providing much needed care and support for children and their families.

Elmer’s Big Parade is a great way to raise awareness and funds whilst bringing a unique attraction to Blackpool.”

Over £1m Raised For Cancer Research UK

Helen Soutar presenting Ian Bentley & Suzanne Leonard with a Certificate of Thanks from Cancer Research UK.

Ian Bentley & Suzanne Leonard from our Probate team were presented with a Certificate of Thanks by Helen Soutar (Legacy Partnership Manager at Cancer Research UK) at our offices last week.

We are proud to say that we have raised over £1,000,000 in Gifts in Wills through the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Free Will Service since becoming members in 2016.

Conveyancer Retires after 55 Years

Blackhurst Budd have said a fond farewell and happy retirement to our longest serving member of staff, Anne Swarbrick, who has amassed an amazing 55 years with the firm.

She joined J K Lawson & Co on Monday 8th April 1968, which merged with several other prominent local firms and ultimately formed Blackhurst Budd in 2009. She began her career in conveyancing but also had extensive experience dealing with wills and probate.

Anne officially retired on the 28th of April and says she wants to apply for the job dressing up as a bird to scare the seagulls at Blackpool Zoo!

“It has been a fantastic experience to have worked for the same firm for so long. There have been a huge number of changes in the legal world during that time, but what has remained the same is the need to look after your clients. I have been lucky enough to have clients that have been with me since the 1960s and I have, in some cases, acted for three generations of the same family.

It is a wrench to leave and I will miss the firm, the people and the daily interactions with everyone but the time has finally come to say goodbye.”

Briony Haley, Director and Head of Property commented:

“We would like to thank Anne for her dedication and loyalty to the firm. Over the years she has helped many families in Blackpool the Fylde Coast buy and sell properties and support people with the loss of a loved one when dealing with probate matters.

Her dry sense of humor and quick wittedness will be sorely missed by all at Blackhurst Budd and no doubt by her clients too. We wish her all the very best in her well-deserved retirement.”