A businessman is swapping the boardroom for the open road as he tries to raise £100,000 for children’s charities.

David Lench, managing director of Kent-wide independent estate agents Ward and Partners, is in training for a gruelling 1,000-mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in September.

He has already raised £27,000 for Action Medical Research, which funds research into children’s diseases and disabilities, and for chYps, which provides hospice-at-home support for chronically ill children in areas including Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley.

Over the past few years, Mr Lench has tackled an impressive list of charity challenges.

These have included climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and completing the Three Peaks Challenge – which involves climbing the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours.

He says his latest escapade is the most challenging yet.

He said: “It involves cycling approximately 70 miles a day for the best part of two weeks.

“But the worst part is all the hill climbing. On some days, it means climbing a total of 5,000 to 6,000 feet.

“While this is reasonably straightforward for a keen cyclist, it’s rather more of a challenge for someone like me, who only took up cycling relatively recently.”

Mr Lench, who lives in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, is following a training regime which includes cycling around 60 miles every weekend, plus three visits to the gym each week and will include a training ride from London to Paris in July.

He will be joined on the epic ride by friend Kevin Hafner, and the support vehicle will be driven by David’s wife Vivien.

You can make a donation by logging on to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/LenchLEJOG

Ward & Partners, which is based in Faversham, is part of the Arun Estates Group, which has 120 offices across the South East.

Over the past 10 years, the group and its chairman Paul Rooney have given £9 million, predominantly to children’s charities.