Cheffins raises over £270k for Cambridge Children’s Hospital and several charities

Chairman Bill King reveals that a total of £212,000 is going to Cambridge Children’s Hospital to fund a new playroom and that a further £58,596 has been donated to other charitable causes. Cheffins has also donated over 200 toys to the Addenbrooke’s Hospital Play Team to make its 200 years of existence.

As King says, it is a lasting legacy and tops by £70k the original fundraising target of £200k. The haul has been raised from a year-long programme of community events and match funding and underwrites a tangible, long-term impact for children and local families.

The new children’s hospital is bringing together mental and physical healthcare with world-leading life sciences research in a whole new way, treating mind and body as one. It will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England - to dater the only region in the UK without one.

The remaining £58,596 has been distributed to a range of local and national charities, including LEAF, Dementia UK and through the Cambridge Community Foundation.

Cheffins originally pledged £100,000 to ACT (Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust) during its bicentenary year but by more than doubling that amount, the extra funds raised will provide a significantly larger, purpose-built playroom in Cambridge Children’s Hospital which will become a space to support the wellbeing of children undergoing treatment for decades to come.

In addition to the financial contribution, Cheffins has also donated a toybox containing more than 200 toys, symbolising each year of the firm’s history. Collected across all Cheffins offices and donated by staff, the toys will be used by play teams at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the toybox itself will take pride of place in the Cheffins playroom once completed.

Founded in 1825 in Saffron Walden, Cheffins has grown over two centuries into a market-leading professional services firm, specialising in property, land, fine art, antiques and agricultural machinery. While the business now operates nationally and internationally, it remains proudly independent and deeply rooted in the communities it serves.

Bill King said: “Celebrating 200 years in business gave us a unique opportunity to reflect upon our heritage and more importantly, to look forward and ask what kind of legacy we want to leave behind. We have been overwhelmed by the support our bicentenary campaign received.

“Our staff showed extraordinary energy, creativity and commitment throughout the year and thanks to them – alongside the generosity of our clients, partners and the wider community – we have been able to raise more than double our original target for the Children’s Hospital. The extra money raised means we can provide a significantly larger, purpose-built playroom which will have an even bigger impact for children and their families from the region and across the UK.

“From the Saffron Walden Carnival and Newmarket Bake Sale to the Cheffins Cycle Ride, charity tractor sale and countless personal challenges, this campaign brought the whole firm together behind a shared purpose. While our bicentenary year may have ended, our commitment hasn’t. We will continue to fundraise throughout the hospital’s construction to ensure we make a meaningful difference when construction is complete in 2030.”

Shelly Thake, Chief Executive of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, said: “Working as closely as we have done with Cheffins this past year has been a fantastic experience for us and left us all with a lot of fond memories. Not only have they managed to exceed their ambitious fundraising target of £200,000 - but they have done so by throwing themselves into everything they’ve done with both passion and creativity.

“As attitudes towards healthcare provision continue to grow and evolve, we see more and more importance given to the mental wellbeing of patients. This pioneering new children’s hospital will be the first in the world to fully integrate the treatment of children’s mental and physical health, alongside world-leading research.

“By making this very generous donation to ACT, Cheffins will be part of an important legacy for years to come, and we would like to thank everyone who was involved in fundraising for all their hard work and for taking us on what has proved to be a fun and memorable journey.”

Today, Cheffins employs more than 180 staff and operates from offices in Cambridge, Ely, Haverhill, Newmarket and Saffron Walden.The firm runs Europe’s largest monthly agricultural machinery sale alongside internationally recognised fine art and antiques auctions.