Month: July 2021

It’s been a while since our Westgrove Brand Ambassador, Alex Staniforth took on his last challenge, but he’s at it once again with another crazy idea! 

This time, Alex is taking on the “Bob Graham Round” in the Lake District in early August – which involves running 66 miles, 42 peaks, 27,000ft of ascent – all within 24 hours and to make it even more challenging, he’s attempting it entirely solo without pacers or a support crew so it’s just Alex with his mind and body versus the elements.

Alex said: “I’ve never ran for 24 hours before but I’m excited to be taking on such a classic challenge and testing my limits in the mountains all day, albeit climbing almost the height of Everest!” 

Having a positive focus has been really helpful as we move out of lockdown and Alex is doing the challenge to raise money for his Mind Over Mountains charity, to support others to restore their mental health through nature. Alex counts himself lucky that he’s had access to the Lake District for the last year to keep his well-being in check but realises that not everyone has been so fortunate.

The Mind Over Mountains charity aims to bring together hill-walking and mindfulness in nature, alongside time with experienced coaches and counsellors in an unpressured, unhurried setting.    

Click here to read more about Alex’s challenge on his blog.

And visit Alex’s fundraising page, here, to support the Mind Over Mountains charity and the amazing work they do.

The Westgrove Team wish Alex the best of luck with this latest challenge, keep an eye out on our Twitter feed for further updates and a live tracker!

Fast growing facilities management company, The Westgrove Group has secured over £1M business with contract awards in Yorkshire, Cheshire, Suffolk and Greater Manchester. 

Further strengthening their position as a leading total facilities management provider, The Westgrove Group have recently been awarded contracts with The Piazza Centre in Huddersfield, The Arc in Bury St Edmunds, Novelis Recycling in Warrington plus secured a three-year contract extension with Arcades Shopping Centre in Ashton-Under-Lyne.  The contract awards follow competitive tender processes which involved a number of market leading facilities management companies.  

At The Piazza Centre, Westgrove were appointed as the chosen partner to provide total facilities management including cleaning, security and planned and reactive maintenance services.  With a mix of covered and open-air shopping, this vibrant, cosmopolitan retail destination hosts 35 retail stores. 

The Arc contract award includes security, cleaning and ground maintenance services.  This shopping destination offers a stunning shopping experience in a market town rich in heritage. 

At Novelis Recycling, the largest producer of aluminium beverage can sheet and the world’s largest recycler of used beverage cans, Westgrove have been awarded the cleaning contract.

The company also successfully retained their contract for a further three years with Arcades Shopping Centre, managed by Munroe K.  The contract covers cleaning and security services in a 2-storey shopping centre set in the heart of Ashton-Under-Lyne.

Claire Mckinley Smith, Managing Director at Westgrove said “We are delighted to welcome over 70 new colleagues into our business and we’re looking forward to working with our new Partners and developing our business relationships further”.

Westgrove provide security, cleaning, maintenance and customer service to shopping centres and mixed-use destinations, corporate offices, business parks, manufacturing and airports throughout the UK.  Following a successful 22-year history, the company expanded in 2020 to add hard services to enhance its well-established award-winning soft services provision. 

The Westgrove Group has also recently secured a Total Facilities Management contract with Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull valued at over £10m. The company, based in Warrington, was founded by Group Chairmen Simon Whittle and Steve Fives.