Surveyors channel energy for charities

1 October 2018

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Surveyors at Cooke & Arkwright were very active in September, with teams taking part in cycling, rowing and mud-run events to raise money for our chosen charity Velindre, as well as Keep Wales Tidy and Wooden Spoon. On Saturday 8th September, Senior Secretary Emma Gwatkin and her team of Prosecco Princesses took part in the Pretty Muddy 5K run in Cardiff, braving the dirt to raise over £1,500 for Velindre Cancer Centre which had looked after Emma so well. Muddy and proud!

A week later, on 15th September, seven staff members took to their cycles for the inaugural Giro D’Capitale event, which took in a 30 mile beginner/intermediate route and a 50 mile advanced route around Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Chairman Michael Lawley, Directors Andrew West, Huw Thomas and Ben Bolton, Surveyors Rhys Davies and Caryl Howell, and Business Development Manager Charlie Dyer, contributed to the event which raised around £3,000 for Wooden Spoon. The charity supports disabled and disadvantaged children across Wales.

The next weekend, 29th and 30th September, saw us at Llandaff Rowing Club where, following several weeks’ intensive training, staff members were entering two teams of four in the annual Splash & Dash rowing regatta. Directors Ben Bolton and Nick Lawley, Associate Director Tim Lawley, Associate Ben Davies, and Surveyors Ian Newbury, Dominic Garner and Caryl Howell took part. Having received no training, Business Development Manager Charlie Dyer gamely replaced Surveyor Mark Siddons, who couldn’t make it on the day. They raised £700 towards the £5k raised for the event’s named charities, Velindre and Keep Wales Tidy.  

Time for a rest? Maybe. Watch this space!

Cooke & Arkwright have been providing rating valuation advice to The Welsh Rugby Union Limited (“WRU”) and Millennium Stadium plc for many years. They were recently successful in achieving substantial reductions in the assessments of the Millennium Stadium, covering both the 2005 and 2010 rating list. These negotiated reductions yielded savings of c.£3.5m which, crucially, allows the WRU to re-invest in rugby throughout Wales. They advise the WRU across the group portfolio including the National Centre of Excellence in the Vale of Glamorgan. The valuation issues across the WRU portfolio are complex requiring a high level of understanding of the funding and finances of professional sport in Wales. Cooke & Arkwright’s experience and understanding of these issues and application to the rating valuation have yielded these substantial negotiated reductions. The WRU and the Millennium Stadium entrust our work to organisations with the required levels in experience and expertise in dealing with these complex issues. I am glad to say we have this expertise in Wales. I would have no hesitation in recommending ratepayers making use of this Welsh based expertise.

Steve Phillips, Group Finance Director, Welsh Rugby Union Group