CEO Sleepout raises £177,000 for homeless charities

CEO Sleepout London has raised £177,000 for local charities supporting the homeless.

Over 100 chief executives and business leaders, including many from the hospitality industry, slept outdoors at Lord's Cricket Ground for the fundraising event on 21 November.

Participants included Martin Williams, chief executive of Gaucho and M Restaurants; Andy Hornby, chief executive of the Restaurant Group; Una O'Reilly, group chief of people at Caprice Holdings; Tony Sophoclides, public affairs and media practitioner at UK Hospitality; and Yishay Malkov, chief executive of Various Eateries.

Henrik Muehle, managing director of Flemings Mayfair Hotel, topped the fundraising charts with £24,000.

The event took place after CEO Sleepout reported there had been a 23% rise in the number of people sleeping rough compared to 2021.

CEO Sleepout has partnered with local charities including SHP, Walking With The Wounded, Charity Begins at Home, Borderline, Only a Pavement Away, London Irish Foundation, the YES Charity, Depaul UK, Haircuts For Homeless, and Sutton Night Watch to ensure the majority of funds stay in the London area.

The charity was founded in 2013 by Andy Preston and its events have since raised £3.2m, with funds being donated to charities tackling poverty and homelessness across the UK.