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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 made two strategic promotions to bolster its building consultancy team as business demand grows.


Partner Chris Davies has been named as the firm’s national head of building consultancy and Holly Vos has been promoted to partner.


Chris takes over from experienced partner Jeremy Firth who headed the discipline for six years and remains with the firm as an integral part of the building consultancy team. Chris leads a team of more than 20 experienced chartered building surveyors and project managers across the UK supporting clients from pre-acquisition surveys to the end of occupation or disposal – and everything in between.


Based in the firm’s South Coast region, Chris has 30 years’ experience as a chartered building surveyor and specialises in the provision of building and project consultancy services. He advises a range of corporate and private clients across all aspects of commercial building surveying and project delivery, representing landlords, tenants, investors and developers.


Chris also has experience working with public sector clients including local and central government and higher education. He worked on several multi-million-pound commercial schemes in the UK and overseas, ranging from the refurbishment of heritage buildings to the new build of commercial and industrial buildings. Chris said:

“I am excited and humbled to be taking over from Jeremy, who is a hard act to follow – and will be doing my utmost to ensure that the firm’s renowned second-to-none customer service is maintained and exceeded."

“My strong background in professional building surveying work on the client and consultancy side, as well as previously managing my own businesses, has given me significant commercial and business administration skills which I intend to continue to put to good use."


“At Vail Williams I have highly skilled and dedicated building consultancy colleagues who routinely go the extra mile for clients. It is a personal honour to be leading such an excellent team.”


Holly Vos, who joined Vail Williams in 2021 after working for major consultancy firms in the City, leads the building consultancy team in Surrey. A chartered building surveyor, she is experienced in providing building consultancy services to investors, landlords and occupiers of commercial property, including offices, bank branches industrial and retail units.


Based in Woking, she is experienced in providing pre-acquisition advice to purchasers and also specialises in strategic dilapidations advice and the negotiation of financial settlements for both occupiers and landlords. Holly said:

“I am thrilled to have been promoted. My role is to lead the Surrey team in genuinely adding value for our existing and future clients across the whole range of building consultancy services.”

Vail Williams managing partner Danny George said:

“Chris is an excellent addition to our senior management team. He is renowned for strategic thinking and for building trusted relationships with clients by providing honest straightforward advice in a timely manner."

“His experience in growing and managing building surveying teams has not only provided a great sense of achievement and satisfaction over the years but has also allowed him to support those entering into the profession."


“He has a big role to play in our future as we continue to expand our building consultancy offering and increase market share across the regions."

“Holly’s promotion is well deserved. She is adaptable and able to apply her skills and previous experience to individual client requirements across a variety of asset types, taking pride in always being open and honest with client, building working partnerships which stand the test of time.”

Vail Williams has also announced two other promotions. Natalie Furtado (agency, Surrey) has been promoted to Surveyor Level 3 and Freddie Worth (valuation/agency/occupier advisory, London) has been made surveyor level 2.


The firm’s 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.


Photo: New Roles - Chris Davies, right, and Holly Vos have both been promoted by property consultancy Vail Williams as the firm continues to grow its building consultancy offering

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