When a four strong team from the Manchester office of leading business and financial advisors Grant Thornton UK LLP decided to embark on a charity bike ride from Manchester to Paris, they approached Burnt Tree to supply a support vehicle for this five day fund raising event.

Burnt Tree’s Manchester depot supplied the team with a double cabbed Vauxhall Vivaro panel van that acted not just as a support vehicle providing refreshments, but also for transporting the riders through the Channel Tunnel and on the return journey home.

Led by Mike Herdman, a director at Grant Thornton, the four-man and driver team included Mark Blackman, Michael Duddle, Matt Dunham and Andrew Ward, and they set out on the 504 mile journey with the intention of completing this in five days, raising £3,000 for their nominated charity, The Christie Hospital in Manchester.

The charity cycle ride took place in the hottest week of the summer but the team still managed to reach Paris in five days. So far, the team has raised in excess of £3,200 for The Christie Hospital.

Herdman said: “The support we got from Burnt Tree was invaluable. Not only have we had the free use of one of their rental vans, which was a fantastic gesture, but when we found out that we were going through the Channel Tunnel and not by ferry, they quickly changed the specification of the van, supplying us with double cabbed model which made it far easier and more comfortable for the bikers.”

As part of the preparations, Burnt Tree also supplied the team with a full European road pack within the support van.

Herdman added: “This charity bike ride took place in the middle of the recent hot spell, and the van provided an ideal service during rest breaks for the riders and really did make a massive difference to us.

“The whole ride has been a tremendous success as we have been able to exceed our original financial target, which was helped by the fact that Burnt Tree provided a support vehicle at no cost meaning that even more of the money that was raised went directly to this worthy cause.”