Pictured above: Tim Hulse 

Guests helped to raise £4,000 for the Support Dogs charity as accountancy practice Piper Hulse celebrated a move into new offices.

Tim Hulse launched the firm in his home town of Eccleshall 18 months ago.

Now the business has cemented its commitment to the Staffordshire town by opening a larger office on Eccleshall's High Street.

Piper Hulse marked the move by hosting a charity evening on behalf of Support Dogs. The charity provides highly trained dogs to support disabled people. The daughter of one of Piper Hulse's clients suffers from severe epilepsy and has had her life transformed recently after receiving her own support dog from the charity.

Guests tried to out bid each other in a charity auction with the star prize being a VIP day at the internationally known Silverstone circuit and a chance to sit in the passenger seat of a Porsche GT2 Le Mans racing car for a thrash around a test track with a professional driver.

Tim, 42, took the fund raising effort past £5,500 by completing the London Marathon for the Support Dogs charity.

He said: "Raising funds for such a good cause was a great way to celebrate our move with our clients.

"The practice was set up to provide an accountancy service for local businesses and private clients.

"Having worked in industry in Stoke-on-Trent and then in Birmingham for KPMG - one of the country's largest accountancy firms - I wanted to provide a close to home, customer centred business for clients who would benefit from a hands-on local accountant with experience in business as well as accountancy and tax.

"We strive to support our clients on a regular basis, offering advice on all financial matters. We are not simply a once-a-year service based around the annual tax return."

Piper Hulse has taken on offices in the renovated former HSBC Bank building.

The frontage - now restored to its Georgian glory - is home to The Artisan, a coffee and fine foods shop, with Piper Hulse taking the office premises at the rear of the building.

Guests at the opening event were able to see the Porsche racing car which is raced by one of Piper Hulse's clients.

Tim said: "People were very generous at both the auction and in helping with sponsorship for my marathon attempt."

The months of training paid off as Tim finished his first marathon in 3:14.27 - guaranteeing him entry into the 2012 event.

"To get a guaranteed entry next year, runners in my age group have to achieve at time of 3 hours,15 minutes. This is considered to be a good time for my age group and means I will not have to go into the public ballot in 202," explained Tim.