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Early on Tuesday 19th April, 24 cars left the Nest in Norwich and embarked on a 1800 mile round trip to the Scottish Highlands and the iconic North Coast 500 route to raise money for the Community Sports Foundation.

With many businesses having had to reduce workforce over the last 18 months due to the pandemic, we were concerned whether people would support it to the same extent as our first Canaryball Rally back in 2019, but we actually increased the number of cars participating from the original 15 to 24 this time and should increase the final amount raised for the charity to exceed £150,000 across the two! It’s also inspired some of the businesses who participated to do additional fund-raising to support the great work of NCSF.      

Along the five day trip, the teams were given a scavenger hunt, where they had to find areas of interest, pick up items and take pictures for evidence. The competition was fierce!

However no one was upset by these challenges as we were greeted with clear blue skies, Lochs that shimmered in the sunshine like mermaid tails and scenery that literally took your breath away.

On the final day the cars travelled through the famous Applecross pass with its astonishing views and many have vowed to return again to show others what amazing places there are in Scotland.

On the last evening we held a presentation evening at the Hotel and Team ‘Comfortable Numb’ which comprised of team members Paul Youngs, Karen Wightman, Nick Hovey and Mandy Hovey were announced as winners of the Canaryball Rally 2.

Back in Norfolk and reflecting on the rally, we spoke to a few team members on what they thought..

“Thank you to all of you for a superbly entertaining few days, can’t wait for the next one”

“And we made it! Thanks everyone for such an amazing rally, what a lovely bunch!”

“Thank you for a cracking week with a tremendous amount raised, until next time..”

“Guys, can’t thank you enough for making it such a great week! Some fantastic laughs, memories and hang overs!”

“It’s been emotional guys, we had the best week, with the best people, hope to see you all soon”

Ian Tims, Managing Director at Credo Asset Finance, said: “The rally has been incredible! We would like to thank the many local companies that sponsored and supported the rally. “Simon Gray, the founder of Credo, who we tragically lost to cancer in 2020 would be very proud of the money raised. It was fitting one of the teams competing was Simon’s wife Tracy and son Will in a team called ‘Simon’s Sidekicks’.

We would like to thank all those that sponsored, supported and donated their time, money and expertise to the event. Without you the rally could not have been as successful as it was.

On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak presented his Spring Statement, outlining how he will support the economy against a backdrop of rising inflation and a squeeze on the cost of living.

Businesses and households across the country will benefit from a 5p/litre cut in fuel duty to take the pressure off rocketing petrol and diesel prices – a welcome move, particularly for the many companies that depend on the transportation of their goods and services.  A number of additional measures may help to ease the burden on SMEs as they recover from the effects of the pandemic and grapple with rising prices: 

• Increased Employment Allowance

The Employment Allowance, which gives relief on employer National Insurance contributions for smaller businesses, will rise in April from £4,000 to £5,000.

• Green Reliefs for Business Rates

The Chancellor is bringing forward the introduction of targeted business rates exemptions for eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage, and a 100% relief for eligible low-carbon heat networks. These measures will now take effect from April 2022, a year earlier than previously planned.

• Retail and Hospitality Business Rates

The previously announced business rates discount scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure, providing 50% relief on rates, will start in April as planned, giving these sectors a welcome boost.   

• Annual Investment Allowance 

It was confirmed that the temporary Annual Investment Allowance providing tax relief for plant and machinery investments up to £1m will continue to 31 March 2023, to further stimulate business investment and help businesses grow.

• Help to Grow: Digital

The government is also helping firms to adopt new digital technologies, with Help to Grow: Digital, offering eligible SMEs a 50% discount on approved software worth up to £5,000.

Contact us here to discuss how we can help keep your business moving forward or call us on 01603 381 955

Owning a classic car is like taking a trip down memory lane. Turn back the clock, relive your youth and wallow in motoring memories.

Nostalgia is a key driving force for owning a classic car.

It stirs the emotions whether childhood memories of holidays in the family car, a love of the style, feel and even smell of old cars or a desire to own a car you craved, but could not afford, when young.

So little surprise there is so much interest in cars from the 1980s and 90s.

They are the modern classics so many owners grew up with and prices are growing along with demand.

We are talking iconic hot hatches such as the Ford Fiesta XR2 and Escort XR3, Volkswagen’s Golf GTI which kicked off the fast family car craze, the Vauxhall Astra GTE and Peugeot 205 GTi.

Japanese sports cars, such as the Toyota MR2 and Celica, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan Skyline, also fire fans’ fantasies.

Porsche 911s and BMW E30s, the second-generation 3 Series, are also popular.

These are cars for enthusiasts, rather than speculators, who are spending spare cash on hobbies and passions rather than holidays during the Covid crisis.

Ian Robertson, owner and publisher of Classic.Retro.Modern. magazine, said the prices of 1970s cars had gone up considerably and 80s and 90s cars were also rising.

While prices of highly-prized, iconic hot hatches from the big brands are soaring you can still pick up more affordable cars from some of the less sought-after brands.

“Japanese cars have also gone up in value but not as much as hot hatches.”

These 80s and 90s cars also appeal to drivers as they can be reliable daily drivers when the weather is good.

“You can have one as a second car and a lot of people do,” he explained.

“They also make good project cars and you can upgrade them with features from later models.”

His advice is to start looking at cars from the early 2000s now because they too will become more popular and expensive as time passes.

They may not be 25-year-old classics yet but their day will come.

On Saturday, 11 of the 23 teams from the Canaryball Rally which is taking place from 19th April – 23rd April 2022 came to the Nest to see where their fundraising efforts will be making a difference.

The rally teams were privileged to take part in a fun football session with the Down Syndrome team, and everyone who took part had a great time and were so grateful to meet some of the people their fundraising adventure will be supporting.

The Community Sports Foundation state ‘We use the power of sport to support and inspire our community. Our charitable objectives are driving inclusion for people with disabilities, boosting mental health and wellbeing, and supporting disadvantaged people to raise their aspirations.’

Everyone enjoyed the morning and came away with a real sense of purpose and even more reasons to raise money for this amazing charity.

If you would like to help us reach our fundraising target then please click here to donate