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Garden Centres Raises More Than £100K For Martin House Children’s Hospice



Yorkshire Garden Centres has reached a major fundraising milestone after raising more than £106,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice since the partnership began in April 2025.


Across its seven branches, colleagues and customers have thrown themselves behind the partnership, from bake sales and raffles to running, cycling and dragon boat racing. Each branch has its own charity champion and fundraising target, while the Pennies initiative gives customers the option to add 25p to their purchase at the checkout.


Staff have taken on individual challenges, including Dry January and the Great North Run, while CEO Mark Farnsworth has organised and joined cycling challenges. Colleagues also entered two sunflower-themed teams into Martin House’s Dragon Boat Race and took part in an in-store spinathon, cycling the equivalent distance from their stores to the hospice.


Last year, the company played a major part in Martin House’s 36-hour giving challenge for THE BUILD, raising more than £7,000.


Support has gone beyond fundraising too. Staff have donated items to Martin House’s retail team, contributed prizes to the Glitter Ball auction and donated Lego to the hospice. The company has also provided table centres for Martin House Ladies’ Lunches and welcomed children and families to Christmas events and the opening of its Otley Grass Hopper play centre. The partnership will run until June 2027.


Mark Farnsworth, CEO of Yorkshire Garden Centres, said:

“Reaching more than £100,000 is a fantastic milestone and is down to the enthusiasm of our colleagues, customers and charity champions across all seven of our centres.”

“Martin House does incredible work for children and families across Yorkshire, and our teams have really embraced the partnership. Whether it’s taking on a personal challenge, jumping into a dragon boat or simply asking customers to add 25p at the till, everyone has found their own way to get involved.”


“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together so far and look forward to continuing our support.”


Hannah Finan, Partnership Manager at Martin House, said:

“We’re hugely grateful to everyone at Yorkshire Garden Centres for reaching this incredible milestone. What makes the partnership so special is the sheer variety of ways their teams have chosen to support us. From major fundraising challenges to donations, events and welcoming the families we support, their commitment has reached right across Martin House."

“More than £106,000 is an amazing achievement and will make a real difference to the children, young people and families who rely on our care.”


Each year, Martin House supports more than 550 children and young people with life-shortening conditions, and their families, across West, North and East Yorkshire.


Its specialist teams provide care at the hospice in Boston Spa, in hospitals and in families’ own homes, including planned short breaks, symptom management, emergency care and end-of-life care.


Providing this specialist care costs Martin House around £13 million every year, with the majority coming from voluntary donations and fundraising.


For further information about Martin House Children's Hospice and how to support it, visit here.

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Property consultancy Vail Williams has hired an experienced lease advisory specialist to bolster its Surrey and London regions as business demand continues to grow.


Frank Perri has joined the Lease Advisory team in the firm’s Woking and Soho offices at Partner level after more than six years at the Lorenz Consultancy in London. He is one of three new partners announced by Vail Williams.


Frank will focus primarily on working with clients within the Surrey and London market, working across all the major property sectors to provide clients with strategic lease advice. He also has a responsibility to exploring new business development opportunities for the firm.


Frank’s key specialisms include lease renewals, rent reviews, lease restructuring, acting as an expert witness in arbitration and independent expert disputes and also acting as an expert witness in court disputes. He commented:

“I am thrilled to have joined Vail Williams in Surrey and London and being part of such a progressive team in an area where there continues to be a tremendous amount of commercial property activity."

“There are exciting times ahead and I am aiming to play my full part in ensuring Vail Williams’ ongoing commitment to providing clients with a second-to-none service is fully achieved."


“Throughout my career, I have acted for a wide range of clients from a food manufacturer occupying more than 250,000 sq ft to a high-end fashion brand occupying less than 500 sq ft. Whoever the client, I enjoy achieving the best possible outcomes and lease terms for them."

Surrey Regional Managing Partner Geoff Fallon said:

“We welcome Frank as a great addition to our lease advisory team as business continues to expand. He is a hugely experienced operator brimming with exceptional ideas and I am expecting him to thrive in his new role."

“With 10 years’ experience supporting clients with their lease advisory needs, he is widely considered to be an expert in his field and has experience working across all principal sectors, including offices, medical, industrial, retail and leisure.”


 In London, Sarah Isherwood, who has been promoted from Associate to Partner, is hugely experienced in planning consultancy, and whose key projects have included healthcare facilities, town centre brownfield developments and suburban greenfield developments since joining Vail Williams as a graduate in 2014.


James Lacey, Vail Williams Regional Managing Partner for London, said:

“It is great to see the well-deserved promotion of Sarah. She leads a number of key client accounts and works closely with a variety of design teams with panache."

“Sarah continues to show commitment to her own personal development and of others. Also, the London/Planning team continues to grow with a variety of career opportunities on offer currently.”


 In Birmingham, building surveyor and project management specialist Craig Fillingham who has been promoted to Partner, has more than 20 years’ experience specialising in building, leading and managing multi-disciplinary project teams in the office, industrial and insurance claims management sectors.


Birmingham Regional Managing Partner Carole Taylor said: “Craig is an extremely experienced building surveyor who covers our patches in both Birmingham and the north of the country. He has gone from strength to strength since joining us."


“This promotion is richly deserved. He is a really good team player and provides an excellent service for clients who think of him highly, as well as having a mentoring role to support junior members of the team.”


Vail Williams’ full-service property advice includes commercial agency, investment and development advice, building consultancy, property valuation, planning, lease advisory, property asset management, business rates and occupier consultancy.


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