Samaritans' Christmas appeal receives timely present

Dec. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- An annual Christmas appeal that sends millions of gifts to disadvantaged children around the world was again helped out by a Bristol industrial estate landlord.

SEGRO, which owns the Bristolworks cluster of commercial and industrial parks in and around Bristol, donated a warehouse to the Samaritans Purse, Operation Christmas Child annual appeal - the largest children’s Christmas appeal in the UK.

Having helped for the past two years, the appeal asks people to pack a shoebox with small, inexpensive gifts suitable for a boy or girl and wrap it in Christmas paper ready to open on the big day. They are then collected and sent to children in countries all over the world.

Jenny Lippiatt, who runs the warehouse for the Operation Christmas Child appeal said: “I’d again like to thank Segro for donating a warehouse for this year’s appeal. We had approximately 14,000 boxes which needed storing before being collected for distribution, so without Segro’s help it would have been logistically difficult to get the operation completed.”

The deal to let the warehouse to the charity was struck by the joint agents for the warehouse, Jonathan Allen of Colliers CRE and Thomas Maltby of King Sturge.

Jenny Lippaitt added: “We would really like to thank everyone at SEGRO, Colliers CRE and King Sturge for everything they have done to ensure that this year’s Christmas appeal was a success. We collect boxes from all over Bristol and the West and without anywhere to store them we don’t know what we would have done.

“This year the gifts collected by people in Bristol and surrounding areas will be going to Belarus in Eastern Europe and I’m sure the children that receive the gifts will be very happy.”

Jonathan Allen, associate director at Colliers CRE said: “The Operation Christmas Child appeal is a really worthwhile cause and we are more than happy to help out. Colliers CRE and King Sturge work as joint agents on this warehouse and to be able to arrange this deal was a real pleasure.”

Chris Davies, leasing manager at SEGRO added: “Seeing the hard work that all the volunteers are putting in to the appeal – and the response that it has brought from the people of Bristol, it would have been a great shame if they had nowhere to store these gifts.

“The warehouse, which is on the Pucklechurch Trading Estate, is perfect for them with great access to the motorway network making it easily accessible for their volunteers delivering boxes.”

SEGRO owns and operates four industrial estates under the BristolWorks banner – the Beeches, in Yate; Ashton Vale in South Liberty Lane, Ashton; Emerald Park, Emersons Green and Pucklechurch Trading Estate. In total the estates offer more than one million sq ft of industrial space and the success of the Bristolworks brand has assisted SEGRO and their agents in securing successful lettings.

SEGRO operates an active management policy, making it easier for occupiers to move within the group to find the units that meet their precise requirements.