Tough cookies! Broadband executives raise over £7k for charity across pair of extreme challenges

It all started when they sponsored a couple of local firefighters to row across the Atlantic, raising £16,000 for Solent Mind and The Fire Fighters Charity.

Since that moment in early 2023, CEO Nick Parbutt and CFO Mike Banwell of Portsmouth broadband company toob have been looking for more ways to make a positive difference.

It was Mike who started things off, gathering together eight fellow rugby coaches to raise funds for their chosen charities while also honouring a dear friend.

The ‘Petersfield Plodders’, as the group named themselves, signed up for the Jurassic Coast Walk – an extreme 100km trek and 2360m climb in which participants must push on through the night to make the distance within a 30-hour timeframe.

Mike said: “The Jurassic Coast Walk was a tough challenge for the Petersfield Plodders, but we pulled together and supported each other.

“I’m so proud of the whole team and delighted that we could help support the important work of Mind, an organisation that helps people when they need it most.”

Seeing Mike’s weeks of intensive training with the Plodders, Nick was not to be outdone.

He ended up deciding on his own challenge: to abseil 100m down Portsmouth’s iconic Spinnaker Tower.

Although the wind was not on his side – but very much at his back – Nick’s daring descent was a great success on the day, and his efforts combined with those of the Petersfield Plodders have so far raised £7,331 and counting for charities like Mind.

Nick added: “The work of Solent Mind is invaluable.

“Mental ill health can, and does, affect people from all walks of life, and Solent Mind works so hard to support people suffering from mental ill health and the people surrounding them.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our work to fundraise for such a worthy cause.”

Meanwhile, it’s been onward and upward at toob’s Portsmouth HQ, as the company recently secured £160 million in funding – which could grow to £300 million over time – to expand its broadband network and customer base throughout the South.

toob’s full-fibre network already covers around 140,000 premises across Southampton and other towns along the coast.