The Myton Hospices has unveiled plans to open a further five shops before the end of this year, bringing its total number of shops in Coventry and Warwickshire to 29.

Head of retail & trading David Dyson, who has appointed Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins to handle the legal work, said the shops were a vital contributor to the £12.3 million funding needed each year to run the three hospices in Warwick, Rugby and Coventry.

He said: “We rely entirely on fundraising and the shops to raise the money. We have no government funding, save for a very welcome contribution from the NHS just short of 20 per cent of our total requirement, leaving us to find the remaining £9.6 million. We need to expand our shops to meet new targets; all part of our expansion programme.”

Nick Watts, a commercial solicitor with Blythe Liggins, who handled the last 15 leases, said that four shops had been opened last year and that Myton was looking for five additional sites in Coventry and Warwickshire, including at least one in the Stratford area.

Warwick’s Myton Hospice, which opened in 1982 and was visited by Diana, Princess of Wales four years later, is the only hospice with inpatient beds in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Last year the three hospices – which care for people with life-limiting illnesses – supported more than 1,800 people and their families through the patient & family support services, and in the community through Myton at Home.

Ruth Freeman, chief executive officer, said: “We have touched the lives of thousands of people across Coventry and Warwickshire – both patients and their families – and as a consequence there are very few people living locally who haven’t been touched by Myton, or know someone who has.”

 

Caption: David Dyson, The Myton Hospices head of retail & trading, with Nick Watts from Blythe Liggins Solicitors.