THE owner of a home improvements company is organising a charity auction in memory of his late father to raise money for two causes close to his heart.

The auction, at Peninsula, in Gaerwen, Anglesey, is being staged at an open day to celebrate the firm’s 40th anniversary and will be in aid of St David’s Hospice and the UK’s first female-only charity ultra marathon, the She Ultra.

The event, on Thursday, July 18, is the brainchild of company chairman Ken Grayson and will also see the unveiling of their new £150,000 Grand Designs-style showroom extension.

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It will be officially opened by celebrity interior designer Mandy Watkins, one of the judges on the popular BBC Wales show, Wales' Home of the Year, whose business, Space Like This, is based in Menai Bridge.

Mandy, who styled the new showroom, is offering a free, hour long consultation as one of the lots for the auction.

Other prizes have been donated by a whole host of local companies and business associates and the master of ceremonies wielding the gavel will be estate agent Dafydd Hardy, who is also a trustee of the hospice charity.

Catering for the big day is being done by one of Ken’s old school friends, Paul Withington, whose Conwy-based company, The Coconut Kitchen, specialises in Thai cuisine.

As well as being a day of celebration, it will be a poignant occasion for Ken, whose father Barrie passed away in 2020.

He said: “My dad who started the company was a big charity fundraiser who raised thousands of pounds for good causes over the years, so this is a nod to him.

“He would have been very proud of what we have achieved as we celebrate this landmark anniversary and I’m sure he’d love the new showroom extension.

“Having a charitable purpose to the occasion is very appropriate and it’s also going to be a lot of fun, especially with Dafydd Hardy running the auction.

“I’m hugely grateful to everyone for their generosity in donating some absolutely brilliant prizes.

“Both the charities we’re raising money for help people affected by cancer  and we’ve set ourselves a target of £5,000 and maybe more.”

Huw Williams, who founded the She Ultra, is also an old schoolmate of Ken’s and was diagnosed with inoperable neuro-endocrine cancer in 2019.

The first event in April, along a 31-mile course on the Llyn Peninsula, was a huge success with more than 500 women taking part, among them Ken’s partner, Majella Nicholson, who is also an ambassador for it.

According to Huw, who also organises the popular Pen Llyn Ultra races, the aim of the She Ultra is to raise money for women’s cancer charities.

Huw said: “Majella’s been impacted by cancer with losing her dad. The whole point of the She Ultra is to raise funds for women with cancer, women who live with someone with cancer or women who have lost someone to cancer.

“It’s not a race. It’s an event with no cut offs so the women can take as long as they want. We have an all-women event team with a few men on the periphery.

“It’s also in memory of the women we have lost to cancer so the next year is already sold out with 1,500 women signed up.”