‘SKY’S THE LIMIT’
Phoenix Group, Europe’s largest life and pensions consolidator announces today that it has extended its focus on air ambulance charity partnerships, by collaborating with two further life-saving services within the UK.
The Group originally partnered with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and London’s Air Ambulance Charity in April 2014, serving the communities in which our core offices were based. This year the Group will commence its sixth and final year with these two charities, but in addition will support Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. This is largely in recognition of its newly acquired sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Basingstoke, and the desire to implement a common fundraising theme across the UK operation.
Partnerships with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and London’s Air Ambulance Charity have been mutually-beneficial and strategic, with charity representatives being considered an extension to Phoenix’s workforce. Since partnership commencement in 2014, in excess of £730,000 has been donated. The Group has joined in celebrating two key event milestones across the partnership; London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s 30th anniversary this year and Midland Air Ambulance Charity’s 25th anniversary in 2016.
Colleagues from across the UK will now join forces to support their local community air ambulance, by fundraising in a range of ways, offering their support through skills-based volunteering or by simply raising awareness of the charities’ life-saving missions.
Clive Bannister, Group Chief Executive, Phoenix Group commented: “Phoenix welcomes these two new air ambulance charity partners to our community programme. Together we can create increased value, opportunity and benefit for all. I look forward to supporting all of our charity partners across the year, and making that all important difference to lives within our community.”
Louise Robertshaw, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at London’s Air Ambulance Charity commented: “Over the past five years, our partnership with Phoenix has been invaluable to our charity. We have been delighted to see staff from across Phoenix Group get stuck in and challenge themselves, both in and out of the office, to help keep our service flying. It’s therefore wonderful to hear that our friends at Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance will now benefit from this same outstanding support. Thank you to Phoenix for supporting our services to provide life-saving care, both in London and across the UK.”
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Regional releases have also been released:
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance
Enquiries:
Shellie Wells
Head of Corporate Communications
Phoenix Group
020 3735 0922 / 07872 414 137
shellie.wells@thephoenixgroup.com
Lucy Symonds
Corporate Responsibility Manager
Phoenix Group
0203 567 9154 / 07725 735 922
lucy.symonds@thephoenixgroup.com
Notes to editors
Phoenix Group
Phoenix Group is Europe’s largest life and pensions consolidator, specialising in the acquisition and management of closed life insurance and pension funds – known as heritage books. Phoenix is the largest consolidator of heritage life insurance books in Europe but also runs an open book underpinned by a strategic partnership with Standard Life Aberdeen. The Group is a member of the FTSE 250 index, and has over 10 million policies and £240 billion of assets under management – including the recently acquired Standard Life Assurance business. With operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany, the Group has four operating life companies which hold policyholder assets, and a distribution business, SunLife Limited. www.thephoenixgroup.com
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
Midlands Air Ambulance is the charity responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. This constitutes the largest air ambulance operating region in the UK. Since 1991, the charity has responded to more than 42,000 missions averaging 2,000 per year, making it one of the longest established and busiest air ambulance organisations in the UK. www.midlandsairambulance.com
London’s Air Ambulance Charity
London’s Air Ambulance Charity operates in partnership with both Barts Health NHS Trust and London Ambulance Service. Barts Health employs and remunerates the advanced trauma doctors who are seconded to the service, as well as providing some direct financial support and the helipad facility for the charity’s operation. London’s Ambulance Service (LAS) similarly provide paid paramedics who are seconded to the service. A London’s Air Ambulance advanced trauma paramedic operates from the LAS control room and is responsible for dispatching help to the most critically injured people in London, 24 hours a day. The charity serves the 10 million people who live, work and travel within the M25 in the moments of their greatest need. www.londonsairambulance.org.uk
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance is based at Perth Airport. They can be airborne within five minutes of receiving an emergency call and can reach 90% of Scotland’s population within 25 minutes. Working in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), SCAA is an integral part of Scotland’s frontline emergency response network, responding to trauma incidents and medical emergencies across the country, covering an area of more than 30,000 square miles. As Scotland’s only charity air ambulance, SCAA is funded by the people of Scotland, primarily through donations, fundraising, events and life-saving lottery. www.scaa.org.uk
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance provides an advanced Critical Care Team to the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when they need it most. Highly skilled crews of doctors, paramedics and pilots can be at the scene of an incident within minutes, ready to deliver the same level of care that you would expect from a hospital emergency department. The service is available day and night, 365 days a year. www.hiowaa.org