A Milestone of Giving: Ten Percent Group Marks 25 Years with a £25,000 Gift to Cure Parkinson’s. To commemorate 25 years in business, the group’s charitable arm — the Ten Percent Foundation — has donated £25,000 to Cure Parkinson’s, the UK charity dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. This is our largest donation to date.
For us, this isn’t just philanthropy; it’s personal.
A Donation For Memory
The Ten Percent Foundation has supported Cure Parkinson’s annually since 2017. This year’s £25,000 donation, however, holds special poignancy. One of the Foundation’s trustees, John Fagan, passed away in 2016 after living with Parkinson’s. His memory continues to inspire the group’s ongoing commitment to the cause.
“This donation means more to us than simply celebrating 25 years in business,” said Jonathan Fagan, founder of the Ten Percent Group. “It honours John’s memory and supports a cause we care about deeply. From the beginning, our goal has been to show that business can be a force for good. Giving 10% of our profits to charity is part of that. But this donation is special – it’s about family, memory, and hope.”
Jonathan and Clare Fagan, founders of the Ten Percent Group, along with trustees Anna Gresty and Jeremy Fagan, recently visited Cure Parkinson’s’ London headquarters. There, they met with the charity’s team to learn more about the research their donation will support.
Supported Project – Probucol: Slowing Parkinson’s
The Probucol and Chlorogenic Acid Project is part of Cure Parkinson’s International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) Pipeline Research Acceleration Programme. This initiative supports early-stage studies that have the potential to move promising treatments closer to clinical testing for people with Parkinson’s disease.
The project, led by Dr Poonam Thakur and her team at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Thiruvananthapuram, began in April 2024. It aims to uncover whether two compounds — probucol and chlorogenic acid — could protect dopamine-producing brain cells from damage, potentially slowing or stopping Parkinson’s progression. The Ten Percent Foundation donation has gone towards filling a funding shortfall in the project. Probucol is a medication used to treat high cholesterol. It has been found to potentially reduce inflammation and improve issues with cell energy production.
The total cost of the project has been £128,000 and will take 2.5 years. It started in January 2024.
First Cure Parkinson’s Project in India
This study is notable for being Cure Parkinson’s first funded project in India, reflecting the charity’s commitment to international collaboration. It is also bridging the gap between preclinical findings and real-world therapies. If the results confirm that probucol is safe, brain-active, and neuroprotective, it may well become a strong candidate for future clinical trials in people living with Parkinson’s.
Cure Parkinson’s: A UK Charity with a Global Vision
Founded in 2005 by four people living with Parkinson’s, including one diagnosed at just 26 years old, Cure Parkinson’s was born from frustration that research into treatments to slow or halt Parkinson’s was being neglected. A lot of research was being spent on alleviating symptoms. Leading neurological surgeons advised the founders that they were wasting their time looking for a cure. Two decades later, that determination has evolved into a powerful international movement.
The charity has since invested more than £25 million in research projects worldwide, funding work that pushes the boundaries of neuroscience and drug discovery. Their goal is to find new treatments that can slow, stop, or reverse Parkinson’s.
Unlike organisations that focus on symptom relief, Cure Parkinson’s pursues what they call disease-modifying therapies — treatments that target the root causes of the condition. The charity has recently enjoyed backing from music legends Black Sabbath, who pledged part of the proceeds from Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert to Parkinson’s research.
Parkinson’s: The Facts
Parkinson’s affects around 153,000 people in the UK, and every hour, two more people are diagnosed. It is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world.
While medications can help manage tremors and stiffness, no current therapy can halt the disease’s progression.
The average age of diagnosis is around 60, but up to one in 20 people are diagnosed before 50, with some cases emerging even earlier.
The condition affects movement, balance, and coordination, often accompanied by anxiety, fatigue, and cognitive changes.
A Partnership with Purpose
Helen Matthews, CEO of Cure Parkinson’s, expressed deep gratitude for the Ten Percent Foundation’s ongoing commitment:
“We are so grateful for the support from the Ten Percent Group, which they give in honour of John, one of their trustees who passed away with Parkinson’s. Their £25,000 donation to mark their 25th anniversary is especially significant. Their continued support is helping us accelerate research that will stop, slow or reverse Parkinson’s.”
The relationship between Cure Parkinson’s and the Ten Percent Group is an example of how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can create lasting, global impact. Clare Fagan reflected on this ethos:
“We are only a small group of companies with a turnover of £1 million. But does it matter? We don’t think so. Whatever size a company is, we can all make a difference to the communities around us through charitable giving.”
Cure Parkinson’s continues to push scientific frontiers, with new clinical trials and research collaborations expanding across Europe and beyond. Their mission — to conquer Parkinson’s in our lifetime — is ambitious but not impossible. Every donation, from individuals to SMEs like the Ten Percent Group, accelerates that mission. Each pound funds the next study, the next breakthrough, the next glimmer of hope for people living with Parkinson’s.
Further Information
Cure Parkinson’s website – https://cureparkinsons.org.uk/
Ten Percent Foundation website – https://tenpercentfoundation.org/a-milestone-of-giving-ten-percent-group-marks-25-years-with-a-25000-gift-to-cure-parkinsons/
What is this all about?
Ten-Percent Legal, Interim Lawyers, and Jonathan Fagan Business Brokers donate 10% of annual net profits to charity via the Ten Percent Foundation, a charitable trust set up by our group of companies to distribute monies to charities in the UK and Africa. We have been doing this for over 25 years. The Foundation never incurs any administration costs (other than Triodos bank charges, which are minimal). All monies donated are distributed to charities and community organisations. www.tenpercentfoundation.org
Why do we donate?
We set up our companies over 25 years ago with the intention of being ethical in everything we do. As part of this, we decided that a percentage of our profits should always be earmarked for charitable work and set the rate at ten percent. A sudden burst of inspiration meant we called ourselves the Ten Percent Group.
