SSAFA partner Pall-Ex Group sets the pace for London Marathon fundraising 

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15 February 2025

The Pall-Ex Group London Marathon team has – with just 73 days to go – already raised more than £28,000 towards supporting SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. Monies raised will go towards providing crucial welfare, health, and support services to serving military personnel and veterans, and their families. 

The team running on April 27 is made up of seven runners from across the Pall-Ex Group network, including UK Managing Director, Barry Byers, Commercial Director, Michelle Naylor, and Group Finance Director, Paul Robins, alongside Head of Hub Operations, Stuart White and Hub Manager, John Bisland. 

Pall-Ex Group’s members will be represented by Frank Gee, Managing Director of Millbray Group, and Tim Clements, Managing Director of Team C Express Logistics. 

All seven runners have now reached their fundraising target, with many already surpassing it following a fundraising campaign. 

Lizzie Rossiter, SSAFA’s Corporate Partnerships Manager commented: “Just like with their training, Pall-Ex has set a really fast pace for fundraising, and I know that this incredible effort can only get better.  

“Thanks to a generous donation of £10,000 from the Pall-Ex Group Charitable Foundation, split between the seven runners, and the fantastic success of their Annual Awards evening on the 1st February, not only are the London Marathon team well on course to exceed their fundraising targets, but they have, as an organisation and valued corporate partner, raised nearly £40,000.” 

Barry Byers, UK Managing Director, and London Marathon runner noted: "Thank you to everyone who has donated to me so far, it’s great to have already reached my fundraising target and to have raised over £8,300 on behalf of SSAFA. 

Overall, I feel very positive about the marathon. It’s for a brilliant cause and as a team, we have already raised a fantastic amount of money in support of veterans and their families. My fitness is building, I’m getting healthier and the camaraderie in the team is really encouraging."

Michelle Naylor, Commercial Director, said: "I’m really proud to have already hit my fundraising target, thanks to my family, friends and colleagues donating and with a couple of months still to go, I’m looking forward to seeing how much more I can raise. 

My training so far is going well, I’ve completed Couch to 5K, started attending my local Parkrun and worked my way up to running 12 miles. The SSAFA training day in January was brilliant, it was a great opportunity to meet all of the other runners and get some advice from the coach Alexa, who emphasised to us that although training is key, it is only truly valuable when you are eating, resting and strengthening your muscles alongside."

John Bisland, Hub Manager, also on the Pall-Ex London Marathon team, added: "So far, I have successfully raised a total of £3,158 thanks to a number of fundraising initiatives I’ve held both inside and outside of work. I’ve recently completed the ‘High Five Challenge’, which saw me running five miles, five days a week for five weeks on a treadmill in reception at the Pall-Ex Central Hub, sponsored by my colleagues. 

I’ve got plenty of plans in the pipeline to continue raising as much as I can for SSAFA. I’m really passionate about both raising money and keeping up with my training, so I’m looking forward to seeing my hard work pay off on the day of the marathon."