Member Article

It’s Tour de Newtons as legal staff get on their bikes for charity

Staff at a fast-growing Yorkshire law firm are paying homage to the Grand Depart by holding a cycle tour of their own.

More than 20 lawyers and support staff at Newtons Solicitors Group, which has its head office in Knaresborough, are setting out on the Tour de Newtons, a 63-mile - 100km - sponsored cycle ride around its North Yorkshire and North East office network.

Tour de Newtons, on June 7, will visit the Newtons Solicitors Group offices in Darlington, Richmond, Leyburn, Ripon, Harrogate, Knaresborough, which takes in part of the official Tour de France route, and is expected to take eight hours to finish.

The event, the idea of Newtons Solicitors head of employment law and director, Tiggy Clifford, aims to raise more than £5,000 for independent charities, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Great North Air Ambulance, which must raise nearly £8m a year to keep their helicopters carrying out their life-saving work.

Those taking part in Tour de Newtons will be providing their own bicycles, a ‘Dad’s Army’ array of road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids and shopping cycles with baskets on the front and other Newtons staff will man refreshment stations at the firm’s offices en route, to offer pit-stop refueling for the cyclists and get them on the road again.

The event will finish with a celebratory barbecue at the Newtons Solicitors Group head office in Knaresborough, for those with enough strength left to eat.

Chris Newton, who founded the firm with his wife and fellow director, Sarah in 2009, says: “The event is going to be a real challenge but we want to put something back into the local communities after a very successful first five years by supporting charities which anyone could need at anytime. The team chose the two charities as they cover the same geographical area as our offices and will appeal to local people in each area.

“Our training rides are going well and we are hoping for good personal achievements across the team, whether people have committed to completing the whole ride or individual legs. The event has already been great for team building, with regular conversations in the office as training progresses.”

Those who wish to sponsor the Newtons Solicitors Group team can donate through Team: www.justgiving.com/teams/NewtonsSolicitors

Newtons Solicitors Group, which provides a broad range of commercial and private client services, has grown from a standing start to an annual turnover of £2.5m and 60 staff in five years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mike Clarke .