ENTREPRENEUR Alan Revie yesterday became the first corporate partner to sign up with Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres since The Herald launched its campaign to recruit "friends" of the charity.

ENTREPRENEUR Alan Revie yesterday became the first corporate partner to sign up with Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres since The Herald launched its campaign to recruit "friends" of the charity.

Ayrshire-born Mr Revie, who owns National Tyres and Autocare, presented the organisation with an initial £25,000 cheque, raised by his company's 1400-strong workforce.

The money will be used to support the work of Maggie's centres across Scotland and contribute to the charity's plan to open up a network of six units across England and Wales by 2012.

The father-of-two has supported the charity on an informal basis for the last two years, and spoke of his motivation for signing up as a corporate Friend of Maggie.

"I've been very impressed by the charity's fantastic practical support. And, as a company, I believe we have a corporate responsibility, not only to our own employees - who will all have been touched by cancer one way or another - but to the wider community."

Mr Revie's mother, Una, has been battling cancer for 22 years, and his father, David, died of the disease 20 years ago.

Following a tour of the charity's Glasgow centre, Mr Revie said: "What I saw here today were people adapting and coping with some of the toughest challenges anyone will ever face. The staff and volunteers at the centre were an inspiration."

The charity's logo will also appear on National Tyres advertising campaigns for two periods of three months every year to help raise awareness of the charity's work.

Calling the tie-up with National Tyres "very important", Jodie Rees, corporate partnership manager for the charity, added: "Having our logo on the UK-wide advertising campaign will hopefully generate more awareness of Maggie's. While we're well-known across Scotland, we would like to raise our profile elsewhere in the UK."