Simon Brennan

06 May 2020

It is with sadness that we share the news that our great friend and supporter, Simon Brennan, has died.

In June last year, Simon revealed he was suffering from the progressive bulbar palsy form of MND. He embarked on a series of fundraising activities, spearheaded by a cycle ride from Land's End to London with his two brothers, Mark and Paul, and his son Freddie. Supported by Sophia, Simon's wife and a great many family and friends, the team smashed through their fundraising target and had already raised funds in excess of £100,000 when they rolled into London last summer.

Simon's drive and enthusiasm was infectious and he continued to fundraise with a number of events and campaigns including the Big Boom Challenge last summer. The figure raised by Simon and his supporters is around £350,000 - a remarkable achievement while living with the devastating impact of motor neuron disease.

Simon and his brother and Sophia made the trip to the Borders in August and took part in Doddie'5 Ride without a word of complaint about the horrendoues weather! It was a great opportunity for Doddie and Kathy, our CEO Jill and other supporters to meet the Brennans who embraced the values and aims of the charity.

The City of London gave tremendous support to Simon's fundraising efforts. He was a respected and successful equity derivatives broker and joined BCG in 2018, but is best known for the years he spent at Tradition and Sunrise brokers. He founded Tradition’s Asian business and ran top ranked equity derivatives desks for both firms in London.

Jill, Doddie and Kathy all enjoyed visiting Simon and Sophia in North London in recent months and despite the serious impact of the disease, Simon was as engaging and positive as ever.

Responding to the news of Simon's death, Doddie said: "Simon and I were members of the same exclusive club, and we shared a similar approach to MND. He was so positive and full of energy, determined to live his life and do all he could to let people know about this devastating disease and help find a cure. Simon's bike ride from Land's End to London with his brothers and his son kick started a huge campaign to help our Foundation and it was very special to spend time with him and Sophia when they made the trip up to Melrose last summer to take part in Doddie'5 Bike Ride in the Borders - they never complained about the horrendous weather!" 

"Kathy and I enjoyed catching up with Simon and Sophia when we were last in London, we are so very sorry to hear he has gone and we send our love and best wishes to the whole family and thank you all for your amazing support for our Foundation."

Foundation CEO, Jill Douglas, said: "Simon's energy seemed to know no bounds - he stormed into our lives through his commitment to raise funds for research into MND and never lost the drive and determination to make a difference. When he first contacted me, almost a year ago, Simon shared his diagnosis and said that as a rugby fan (Irish!) he wanted to support our Foundation. Simon initially thought he and his family, friends and colleagues may raise around £10,000 through their plans to cycle from Land's End to North London. He smashed £100,000 midway through the ride and continued to raise significant funds - upwards of £350,000 at last count! Just phenomenal and testament to the man he was and the way he approached life and life with MND."

"Simon's visit to the Borders last year to take part in Doddie'5 Ride was a tremendous effort and it was a great pleasure to see him recently at home in Highgate - he was determined to do all he could to support us and was messaging me just last week. Sending our love and best wishes to you all."

We send our condolences and best wishes to Sophia and their three children, and the whole family at this time.