Close Brothers raises more than £2,000 for BEN

Close Brothers Motor Finance has raised over £2,000 for automotive charity, BEN, by taking part in the ‘Bangers4Ben’ rally.

Each year, Bangers4Ben requires teams to buy a vehicle for less than £750, theme it as they please, and drive more than 2,000 miles over 4 days in a European location selected for the rally. At the end of the rally, vehicles are auctioned with all proceeds going to BEN. Since its inception, Bangers4Ben has raised over £500,000 for the charity.

This year, Close Brothers Motor Finance Director of Commercial Partners, John Cassidy, and Director of Partner Operations, Simon Winslow, took to the road to raise money in their topical ‘Barbie and Ken’ themed car. Alongside garnering financial contributions, John and Simon dressed and drove their banger to and around the Emerald Isle, Ireland, as part of the 15th year of Bangers4Ben, organised by BEN and The British Motor Show to raise funds and awareness.

BEN strives to support the lifeblood of the automotive industry by acknowledging that the industry is people-led and aims to provide support at every juncture. With help from the network, Close Brothers Motor Finance successfully doubled their target of £1,000, raising a total of £2,009 for BEN. Due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, many workers are experiencing hardship and some people do not have the facilities to cope. Rising inflation means people will resort to cutting down on costs to afford necessities, and may be struggling to pay bills.

John Cassidy, director of commercial partners at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: “We are committed to supporting BEN, who make a significant difference in the automotive community. We’re delighted to have taken part in this year’s event,  and go the extra mile to raise funds and awareness, and to do what we can to support automotive colleagues through difficult times. Without the support of our colleagues, friends and families, we would not be able to support BEN’s mission.

“We had great fun with the theme and decided to celebrate one of the biggest films of the year. And our Barbie themed car looked fantastic. A huge thank you to BCQ Solutions for kindly donating the stickers for our car! We combined our creativity and determination to compete in Bangers4Ben and smashed our initial target.  I’m proud of our efforts and the significant contribution we have been able to make to BEN, to allow them to continue to do vital work and make a big difference.”