Award-winning caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure has pledged to raise more than £10,000 for the Severn Hospice in the next 12 months.

The Shrewsbury-based company, which has branches in Stourport-on-Severn and Machynlleth, has made a flying start to its fundraising campaign by presenting a cheque for £3,335 to the hospice.

The money was raised at the company’s recent successful West Midlands Caravan & Motorhome Show in Shrewsbury which was followed by a Trade Show. 

Most of the money was raised by a charity auction, conducted by auctioneer Henry Hyde from Shrewsbury-based Halls auctioneers, at the trade show, with prizes donated by partner businesses and suppliers.

Salop Leisure has decided to donate a sum to Severn Hospice for every caravan or motorhome sold during 2025 and company’s specialist plants centre, Love Plants, will be donating £1 for every Christmas tree it sells. Other fundraising initiatives are also being discussed.

Adopting Severn Hospice as its charity was the choice of Salop Leisure’s chairman Tony Bywater who wanted to thank the staff for their fantastic work.

“There have been quite a few staff members who have sadly had to use the services of Severn Hospice over the years and Tony wants to say ‘thank you’ for their wonderful end of life care and support for families,” said Ed Glover, Salop Leisure’s marketing manager and associate director of Salop Caravans Sites. 

“Severn Hospice is a very good, local charity and they need support. Thanks to the support and generosity of everyone who attended our shows and donated and bought prizes at the charity auction, we have made a great start to our £10,000 pledge.”

Jenny Bean, Severn Hospice corporate fundraiser, said: “We are so grateful to the team at Salop Leisure and to everyone who took part in the auction that raised such a fantastic total on the night.  

“As a charity, we must raise £2 for every £3 we spend and having such close connections with local businesses is incredibly important to us. We simply couldn’t continue to care for families living with incurable illness without generous local support.  

“We are also thrilled that Salop Leisure has chosen us as their charity of the year and are really looking forward to working with such a well-respected regional business.”

Television presenter, author, nature advocate and charity campaigner Julia Bradbury and Shropshire celebrity chef Marcus Bean were the headline stars at the West Midlands Caravan & Motorhome Show. They teamed up to give cooking demonstrations. 

New 2025 touring caravans, motorhomes, holiday homes and luxury lodges were promoted at the show where visitors were able to take advantage of great savings on remaining 2024 models.