Groves was one of three amateur cyclists who joined former England footballer Geoff Thomas in raising more than £350,000 towards the Centre Appeal by cycling the 10,400km ‘3 Tours Challenge’ across Europe in the summer of 2017.
Following the ride, He published Back in the Saddle, a cookbook following the journey and documenting some of the many dishes of the regions they cycled through.
Designed and produced by Face Publications and published courtesy of his employer contract caterer BaxterStorey, the book has not only won two Gourmand World Cookbook awards but raised additional money for Cure Leukemia.
Prince Edward was given a tour of the facility to witness the impact the centre has already had for patients, staff and on the global fight against the disease. A plaque was unveiled to commemorate the visit, which was organised after the centre had a £3.4m redevelopment to double its capacity for blood cancer patients, groundbreaking clinical trials and specialist research nurses in 2017.
As well as the efforts of Groves, Thomas and their co-cyclists Doug McKinnon and James Maltin, funding for the expansion came from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) which granted £2.4m towards the facility.
Groves joined the cycling fund-raising challenge to support former England, Wolves, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest footballer and blood cancer survivor Geoff Thomas, who was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2003 but was eventually cured after treatment at the centre.