King Sturge and Property Week host first Property Triathlon
02 July 2007
Over 1300 competitors raise £350,000 for charity.
The King Sturge Property Triathlon, co-sponsored by Property Week, took place on Friday 29th June 2007 at Dorney Lake, Eton. The event, open to anyone in or connected with the property industry, was the first of its nature for the industry, and was hugely successful with over 1300 competitors, including 194 relay teams. The vast majority were first-time triathletes and came from as far a field as Paris and Prague to compete. Building on this year’s success, it will now be an annual event. It was a sprint triathlon consisting of a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.
All entry fees for the event were donated to two charities elected by King Sturge staff: Cancer Research and The Children's Trust. Property Week Editor, Giles Barrie and Joint Senior Partner at King Sturge, Chris Ireland, presented each charity with a cheque for £50,000. However, individuals raised funds for other personal causes; including first-time triathlete Paul White of Frogmore Estates, who raised over £150,000 for The Willow Foundation. The total amount raised for charity from the event exceeds £350,000.
The idea for the Property Triathlon was first conceived by King Sturge’s Joint Senior Partners, Chris Ireland and Richard Batten, both of whom are keen triathletes. Richard previously represented the senior Great Britain team in Hawaii in 2005. Following discussions with Richard Downey at Zellus Management, King Sturge sponsored leading GB triathletes Will Clarke and Helen Tucker; and from there the idea for a triathlon for the property industry grew. Property Week was approached to be the media partner for this ground-breaking event and have been extremely enthusiastic.
Richard Batten, Joint Senior Partner said “Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in Great Britain today and the property profession has embraced it fully. There were some tired bodies at the end of the day, but everyone finished with a great sense of achievement, and given the amount of charity fundraising, everyone is a winner.”
Giles Barrie, Editor of Property Week, who is taking part in the event, said: "Hats off to Richard Batten and the team at King Sturge for raising so much money for two very good causes; Property Week loves being associated with anything new, fresh and inclusive – the Property Triathlon with 1300 participants is all of those things. We look forward to being involved for years to come."
