Alba Facilities Services Ltd

04/06/2026

Alba Facilities Services Ltd is on the lookout for a key hire as we head into the next phase of our growth. Things are moving fast in a good way, and we’re now looking for an experienced Projects Director to help us keep that momentum going, leading delivery, driving performance, and constantly looking for smarter ways of working across our projects and client activity.

This is a 6-month role to start with, but don’t let the timescale fool you we’re looking for someone who can come in, make a real impact quickly, and leave us better than they found us. If you’re the right fit, you won’t just deliver what’s in front of you, you’ll spot what’s next, shaping future opportunities and helping us keep raising the bar operationally.

Denholm Associates

29/05/2026

Day 5 – The Final Push (aka Survival Mode Activated)

Day 5 began exactly how you’d expect with a group of grown adults questioning every life decision that led them here.
Hangovers all round. No survivors.
Some of the team had decided that a “quiet dram” the night before should extend until 1:30am and turn into what can only be described as a full whisky exploration. Exceptional whiskies, they said. Exceptional regret, we all said this morning.

We won’t name the hotel mainly for legal reasons. A full Scottish breakfast with no tea.
No. Tea. Just coffee or orange juice.

Then came the climb out of Kinlochleven.
Now technically it’s described as a “steep ascent”
In reality, it felt like someone had tilted Scotland vertically just to see how much we’d complain.
And complain we did.
The weather? Absolutely disgraceful.
Cold, wet, windy the full Highland hospitality package. Sideways rain, wind that slapped you in the face and whispered,“you’ll regret this.”
But annoyingly it was also stunning.
The kind of dramatic, moody landscape that makes you stop, stare, and think, this is incredible before immediately remembering your legs don’t work and your boots are actively filling with water.

The day rolled on with “gentle hills” which is West Highland Way code for
“you’ll hate this but we’ll pretend it’s character-building.”
A couple of tough climbs, followed by an even tougher descent into Fort William, one that tested knees, patience, and friendships in equal measure.
By the last 2 miles, the energy had shifted from “this is amazing” to simply:
“just. let. it. end.”
The final stretch into Fort William was underwhelming.
A bit like finishing a marathon in a B&Q car park.
But by that point, no one cared. We’d have finished in a layby and still celebrated like Olympians.

Douglas summed it up perfectly:
“The best worst week of my life.”
Which, to be fair, should probably be printed on all West Highland Way merch.

As we approached the finish line we were questioning not just the walk, but the entire group chat that started it.
But the best bit? We all crossed the finish together.
No one left behind.
No one finishing solo.
(Although a few looked like they’d happily have been airlifted.)
And just like that… it was done.
An unbelievable week.
Unreal laughs.
Outstanding banter.
Proper camaraderie.

And a very clear shared feeling across the group:
We are absolutely delighted it’s over.
The photos below - the smiles say it all! 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

29/05/2026

Day 4: Thursday – West Highland Way vs Alba
Sub text: Character Building (Apparently)

Day 4 wrapped up with high hopes, full stomachs and bold but flawed decisions. We kicked off with a cracking breakfast at Inveroran Hotel and a gentle stroll that briefly had us believing we were elite endurance athletes, akin to the Scotland Football Team! ⚽️

Morale was high… despite the revelation that only Douglas and Ian made it to the end of the night (again), heroically polishing off yet another bottle of Merlot. Leadership, in action. 🙌

Bryan meanwhile kicked off his morning like a man starring in his own comedy sketch, lost sunglasses, broken hydration pack, and a bag that simply refused to close. A strong start. 💪

The Glencoe stretch was stunning and absolutely roasting. By Kingshouse, we’d earned a pint well, a few. Ian even treated everyone to “skip hats” from reception in an attempt to prevent us all resembling lobsters. Minutes later, he knocked a pint over and spent 10 solid minutes cleaning it up, true attention to detail.

Then came Devil’s Staircase. Misleading name. Not a staircase. Just relentless misery in hill form. The climb felt like it took a lifetime, but we all made it with high fives, some victory whiskies, and a shared sense of “never again” until tomorrow.

The descent into Kinlochleven was no kinder. Apparently, going downhill counts as “easy” after 18 miles. Knees disagreed strongly. By the hotel, feet were in bits, with Ian frantically begging for an emergency podiatrist appointment as a rescue mission on Monday.

Evening entertainment didn’t lift spirits, the singer proudly announced he was from Milngavie, to which Douglas replied, “Did you walk up?” 🚶‍➡️
Whisky flowed until midnight (obviously), with Allan and Douglas tapping out early like amateurs.

Final day on Friday. Only 16 miles. Easy apparently.
Forecast: rain, blisters, and blind optimism.

Huge Thank to our 91 (yes 91) supporters that have donated a whopping £4,536 for the www.beatsoncancercharity.org a charity very close to all our hearts ❤️.

Incase anyone still wants to donate here is the link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/afs-beatson-whw

28/05/2026

Day 3 Wednesday – West Highland Way vs Alba

So day 3 started with 6 broken Scotsmen leaving the Drovers at 8:30am with 3 of them surviving on less than 2 hours’ whisky fuelled sleep. Allegedly they “returned to room 115 for a quiet nightcap” which in whisky terms appears to mean “considerably more than sensible humans should consume.”

Meanwhile, the responsible adults (we use that term loosely), Ian, Douglas and Allan set off early, quickly realising this was, in fact, NOT a 5 day pub crawl. Who would have thought? 🫢

The scenery was outstanding, the walking easier than day 2 but with 22 miles still to go, it was very much a “character building” kind of day (translation: every step hurt and everyone questioned their life choices on a minute by minute basis).
We regrouped at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for a couple of well earned beers and a very serious, tactical discussion whether to go round the mountain or over it.

Naturally, Allan, Ian, Douglas and Bryan chose “over the top” because clearly the suffering levels weren’t high enough yet.
To be fair, they were rewarded with absolutely stunning views across Rannoch Moor in the evening sun, which almost made up for the pain. Almost.

As usual, we rolled into the hotel late (on brand now) and missed dinner. But in true Highland style, we were handed an incredible cheese and meat platter with a bottle of Merlot.
Douglas and Ian were absolutely delighted. (Possibly the happiest they’d been all day, if we’re honest.)

Also worth saying, the amount of good luck messages, comments and encouragement we’ve had has been unbelievable. It genuinely feels like we’ve got the Tartan Army behind us like a group of elite Scottish footballers.
Just slightly slower, slightly more broken and significantly more whisky involved. 😆

Day 4 pending, pray for us and keep believing akin to believing that Scotland are going to win their first 3 games at the World Cup 😊.

27/05/2026

Day 2 Tuesday - West Highland Way vs
• 22 miles 🚶
• Known as “the hardest day” 🫩
• Legs already questioning leadership decisions 🧐
• Morale fragile 😞
• Bryan still carrying unrefrigerated chicken pizza 🍕
And honestly… it lived up to the reputation.

The only way to describe it is brutal. Tough sections, technically difficult, and like trying to play life-size Tetris when your ankles are fully aware they’re one bad move away from resignation. It was absolutely roasting too, on a scale Scotland normally only reads about in books.

Sadly, the heat got the better of Gary and he fell over. In normal comradery that is our style we all rushed for our phones, so pictures to follow🤣 . By the final 14 miles, the rest of us were looking at Gary like he was some kind of enlightened prophet. 🙌

Special update from the medical team: Bryan is delighted to report that he ate the pizza and is currently doing fine. Even more impressively, he remains in possession of unrefrigerated chicken pizza, which at this stage deserves its own sponsorship deal.

We dragged ourselves into the Drovers 5 minutes after the kitchen had closed, which felt like the final insult, but the staff there were absolute heroes and sorted us out with soup and sandwiches that tasted like they’d been prepared by Michelin starred angels.

From there it was straight into recovery mode: copious amounts of beer, whisky, and pretending we’d all be absolutely fine in the morning. We eventually got kicked out of the bar at midnight, still needing showers, blister inspections, and a full debrief on whose idea this actually was.

To top it all off, we met some Americans in the bar who had somehow demolished a bottle of Loch Lomond 12, moved on to something considerably rougher, and then invited us all to Boston for the World Cup.

Your comments online & support mean the world to us – Thank you!

So aye, 22 miles, shattered legs, fragile morale, one medically questionable pizza, and somehow still a cracking day!

26/05/2026

West Highland Way – Day 1: A Documentary of Questionable Decisions

Yesterday will go down in history as the day we confidently set off on the West Highland Way… and were immediately shown who was boss.
First headline of the day: Lesley and Craig casually turning up at the start of Conic Hill… having already climbed it once.
Yes, while the rest of us were still negotiating our laces and life choices, they’d decided one ascent simply wasn’t enough. Overachievers or absolute lunatics, still undecided.

Then there was Bryan, our inhouse motivational speaker, who for approximately 4–6 working hours kept reassuring everyone:
“It’s just a solid 7 miles to go.”
It became less of an update and more of a spiritual mantra. At one point I’m fairly sure we’d already done 7 miles, and yet… somehow still had 7 miles to go.

Gary vs Conic Hill deserves its own chapter.
What started as a determined climb slowly evolved into what can only be described as a National Geographic documentary on heatstroke. There were moments we considered building a cairn in his honor halfway up. To his credit, he made it over, but not before giving us all a genuine appreciation for shade, water, and life itself.

Dinner at the Oak Tree Inn was nothing short of magnificent. Conversations at the dinner table mainly centered around ‘To burst or not to burst’ with Bryan giving advice on what runners would do to which there was a resounding response from the group ‘We are not running anywhere!’ Morale restored. Spirits lifted. Legs still barely functioning.

And then… Bryan struck again.
In a move that will either be called “forward planning” or “a gastrointestinal crime scene,” he gathered up all the leftovers including, crucially, chicken pizza and proudly announced they were tomorrow’s snacks.
We now all await the inevitable. There is a quiet sense of anticipation in the group less about tomorrow’s 22 miles, more about when Bryan will fall ill.
Despite the chaos, exhaustion hit hard.

We managed a heroic four pints (frankly a miracle) before the entire group folded like deck chairs and were in bed by 10:30pm. Rock and roll.
The thermal massage gun, however, was the unexpected hero of the evening. Limbs pounded back into something resembling functionality. Temporary delusion restored that this was a great idea.
And finally, the midges…
Perfectly well behaved all day, only to unleash absolute carnage post dinner, driving us back inside like frightened villagers.

26/05/2026

And they're off!
This morning, lan McCall, Allan McCall, and Douglas MacLeod and friends, began the full 96-mile West Highland Way challenge to raise funds for Beatson Cancer Charity, a cause very close to all of us at AFS.

As a Glasgow-based family business, we've seen first-hand the incredible support The Beatson provides to patients and families across Scotland.
We'd really appreciate any support for this amazing charity and for Team AFS as they take on this challenge.

The guys are well on their way to hitting their £4000 target but any help that could be given would be appreciated.
Donate here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/afs-beatson-whw

Good luck team, we're behind you every step of the way!

12/05/2026

Last month, Allan McCall, on behalf of Alba FS, arranged a generous donation of sports equipment and art supplies to the Tannahill Centre to support its Easter Kids Camp.

This kind contribution made a real difference to the children taking part.

We remain committed to helping groups deliver positive opportunities for children and young people in our area.

As a business, we are grateful to everyone who gives their time, resources, and energy to support local children and families.

05/05/2026

A team from Alba Facilities Services takes on the West Highland Way for Beatson Cancer Charity! 25th-29th May.

This May, Ian McCall, Allan McCall, and Douglas MacLeod will be walking the full 96-mile West Highland Way over 5 days to raise vital funds for Beatson Cancer Charity, a cause that’s deeply personal to all of us at AFS.

As a Glasgow-based, family-owned business, we’ve seen first-hand the incredible support The Beatson provides to patients and families across Scotland through their Wellbeing Service, Specialist Health and Work Service (SHAWS), and Bereavement Support.

Sadly, too many of us have lost loved ones or supported family members through cancer. That’s why we’re proud to give something back.

We’d be incredibly grateful if our suppliers, clients, colleagues, and friends could spare whatever you can to support this fantastic local charity.

Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/afs-beatson-whw?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Please send Team AFS all your support and good wishes as they take on this tough challenge. Let’s cheer them on every step of the way!

hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag

02/03/2026

At AFS, our vision is clear: to lead the facilities management industry in sustainability and achieve Net Zero by 2035, ten years ahead of Scotland’s 2045 target.

Guided by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, we established our 2024 baseline emissions at 280 tCO2e across Scope 1, 2 and relevant Scope 3. With Scope 1 accounting for 90% of emissions, our focus is on meaningful, measurable reductions.

Our targets are ambitious but achievable:
• 12% annual reduction in Scope 1 & 2
• 30% reduction by 2030
• Net Zero by 2035

This commitment is driven by corporate responsibility, operational efficiency, innovation, employee engagement, regulatory requirements, and client expectations.

We’ve already taken action including installing solar panels ahead of our June 2026 deadline and we’re well on our way.

Sustainability and business excellence go hand in hand, and we’re committed to delivering both.