Staff members at FIRA and The Furniture Ombudsman will be taking turns to cycle the 874 miles on an exercise bike, to raise money for Garden House Hospice in North Hertfordshire.

The challenge will be launched by FIRA’s Chief Operating Officer, Phil Reynolds, and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Furniture Industry Group, Stephen McPartland MP.

FIRA’s Chief Operating Officer, Phil Reynolds, who had the idea for the challenge, said: “We nominated Garden House Hospice as our staff charity for 2013 and staff members will be taking turns to cycle as many miles as they can. We are really pleased that Stephen McPartland MP joined us to launch the challenge. We will be asking our furniture industry members for support and I hope that we can raise much needed funds to help support the work of the Hospice.”

Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, said, "The staff at FIRA and The Furniture Ombudsman really are going the extra mile for the Garden House Hospice and I was delighted to launch the challenge. I will be doing a few miles myself to help hit the target and support this amazing fundraising effort."

FIRA International is the world’s leading furniture technology centre and service provider to the furniture industry and its Stevenage headquarters is also home to The Furniture Ombudsman.