Pictured: (l-r) Andrew Barrow (AMB Insurance), Dickie Chester-James (Staffordshire Women's Aid) and Claire Pigeon (AMB Insurance)

Insurance broker AMB Insurance celebrated its move into new offices in Wolstanton, Staffordshire this month with a launch party which raised over £350 for a local charity.

The AMB Insurance team relocated from Stone, Staffordshire to Hillcrest House in Wolstanton, Newcastle-under-Lyme early this month, following the completion of an exceptional restoration of a historical building, once the home of nineteenth-century local architect Absalom Reade Wood who is famed for designing Tunstall Civic Centre and Town Hall, and many local pottery factories.

The launch party was attended by over 100 local business people and a charity raffle was held on the night raising over £350 in aid of Staffordshire Women's Aid, a local charity which provides support and refuge for women and children across Staffordshire who are living with or escaping domestic or sexual violence.

Chief Executive of Staffordshire Women's Aid, Dickie Chester-James said: "We are very grateful for the money raised this evening and thank everyone who bought a raffle ticket, the funds will go towards helping us maintain the vital service we offer.  Claire Pigeon who is a Director of AMB is very supportive of our charity and is also one of our many great volunteers."

AMB Director Claire Pigeon commented: "Wolstanton is becoming a real hub in the professional community with accountants, solicitors and banks located here and we are delighted to have now moved into this attractive building. The move has allowed us to upgrade our facilities and provide more office space for ourselves and our team. As the building is so large we are also able to rent out some of the office space to small companies and help them on the first step in establishing their business."

The new building has over 2700 sq metres of office space, an increase of almost triple that of AMB's previous office based in Stone.

Fellow Director Andrew Barrow added: "The move to Hillcrest House has come after an extremely successful year. We have increased our staff numbers and seen our turnover grow and we are looking to recruit further over the coming year.

It was also great to see so many people turn out to celebrate the launch of our new offices. I'd like to thank them for their support and am now looking forward to the next stage in AMB's development."