Renowned industry trainer and EYE contributor Julian O’Dell is hosting his extraordinary annual fundraiser event Catfest which has raised over £200,000 for cancer charities.

The event has been supported by many of Julian’s estate agency client firms and industry suppliers, including Kerfuffle, Agency Express, Rightmove, Drivers & Norris, Abbey New Homes, Manning Stainton, Moneypenny, Kingshill Estate Agents, Peter Clarke, Anthony Pepe, Property Personnel, The Depositary and EYE itself.

Catfest is named after Julian’s wife Cat whose 12 year cancer journey finally ended last year.

Julian says: “As a family, we are slowly moving forward day by day after losing Cat in October. She was my soul mate for 36 years. She was also the best estate agent I ever worked alongside by a country mile and the driving force in Thomas Morris for over 20 years. Lots of our female staff saw her as a role model given her success as a woman in something of a male-dominated environment.

“Catfest was something of which she was fiercely proud and we are running it again in August as a tribute to her. I know she will be there in spirit.”

Every penny raised at Catfest goes to Action Against Cancer, a small charity which funds crucial research into causes and cures for the disease.

If you’d like to help support Catfest, you can do so by providing raffle prizes or auction items (which already include holiday home stays in Spain, Portugal and elsewhere, a mega/VIP experience for a Tottenham Hotspur match of your choice, original artwork by Soundwaves and much more).

You can buy raffle tickets or simply make a donation by emailing Julian at julianodell@live.co.uk or phoning 07718 634235.

Julian points out “If everyone reading this article donated £5, it would swell the coffers considerably.

“We raised in excess of £52,000 at our last Catfest and are desperately keen to beat that figure this year. Thanks in advance for anything your readers do to help us achieve that goal.”