Partner Article

St Basils helped by pedalling property professionals

A leading charity has used small wheels to earn big cash thanks to the efforts of 100 property professionals.

LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”), one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers, organised a Birmingham to Manchester bike ride to raise money for two good causes.

St Basils homeless charity in Birmingham and Manchester Settlement are set to share the £20,000 raised by LandAid – the property industry’s charity – and LaSalle thanks to the 92-mile ride from the second city to the home of the Northern Powerhouse.

And the boss of LandAid, Paul Morrish, proved his commitment to the causes by completing the ride in less than nine hours on a small-wheeled fold-up commuter bike with only three gears – even finishing ahead of some riders on state-of-the-art carbon bikes.

Simon Marrison, CEO of Europe for LaSalle, who also completed the day, said: “It was a great effort by everyone involved. It was a very early start but fortunately we all completed the journey safely.

“It was a really enjoyable day, made so much better by the fact that we were raising money to help young people through two very worthwhile charities.

“LaSalle is active in both Birmingham and Manchester so we thought it appropriate to involve both in this year’s ride. No sooner had we finished than we were discussing what to do next year!”

St Basils and LandAid both raise funds to help young homeless people and the money from the event will be spent in the two cities.

Morrish said: “It was a pleasure to take part in the LaSalle bike ride this year. Taking on the intrepid roads from Birmingham to Manchester on a Brompton was no mean feat – but it was fantastic to see the enthusiasm and zeal of the riders taking part.

“Every penny raised today will go to two life-changing projects which we support, the first at the beginning of the ride in Birmingham, St Basils, and the second, Manchester Settlement, at the end.

“Both will provide safe, secure and affordable accommodation for young homeless people – a huge thank you to everyone who took part.”

Jean Templeton, Chief Executive of St Basils, added: “The support from LaSalle is invaluable to us. Every penny raised from every mile cycled will go towards improving the accommodation young people live in.

“That enables us to focus on building confidence, skills and belief that the future will be better for them. I just want to thank all the riders.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .