Charity dinner touches down for rugby charity

More than £4,000 has been raised by property professionals across the Portsmouth region at their annual charity dinner.

The black-tie event by Portsmouth Property Association (PPA) was held in honour of a charity run by a former England rugby union star.

Donations for the Dallaglio RugbyWorks, founded by World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio, will help disadvantaged local teenagers turn their lives around through fresh opportunity.

Dozens of members and guests attended the city event, held at The Royal Maritime Club, which has Prince Charles as patron.

Tom Holloway, PPA chairman, said afterwards: “Once again PPA members have touched down with their generosity and I’d like to thank them for their kindness and continued support for the PPA, which was founded 99 years ago and has stood the test of time.”

In the programme foreword, Tom stated that the “South Coast is relatively well placed to weather the possible [Brexit] storm, in part because of the diverse nature of the regional occupier base”.

Guest speaker was Hazel Irvine, a sports broadcaster for ITV and BBC for 25 years – she was the youngest-ever presenter of the BBC’s flagship Grandstand sports show.

Hazel, who regaled the audience with bloopers and funny insights from live commentaries, presented for the BBC at every Summer Olympics since Atlanta 1996, as well as seven Winter Olympics and four FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Her speech was followed by a charity auction hosted by Clive Emson, a renowned auctioneer who is chairman of one of the top five largest land and property auction firms in the country, Clive Emson.

The record auction bid on the night was £350 for horse racing at Goodwood’s May Festival. A prize raffle also saw significant amounts of money raised.

PPA’s 150 members include estate agents, auctioneers, lettings and property management agents, commercial property agents, chartered surveyors, developers, accountants, solicitors and bankers.

Established in 1920, the umbrella group promotes and maintains the highest professional ethics and integrity among its members. The PPA will be celebrating it’s Centenary next year with a calendar of special events (details to follow).

Click here and visit the gallery page to see all the photos of the evening.