At a glance
- GFG Alliance’s property arm, JAHAMA, owns land across the world; including in the Scottish Highlands.
- The GFG Alliance is responsible for the stewardship of more than 40,000 hectares of land around Fort William, Kinlochleven and Laggan in Scotland.
- Through JAHAMA, we are ensuring that the River Spey’s salmon population is better equipped to thrive despite the challenges of climate change.
The GFG Alliance’s property arm, JAHAMA, owns land across the world; from the red industrial planes of Whyalla, South Australia, to the lush, green hills and lochs of the Scottish Highlands.
GFG Alliance is, in fact, the fifth largest private land holder in the UK, and responsible for the stewardship of more than 40,000 hectares of land around Fort William, Kinlochleven and Laggan in Scotland. The land, Glenshero, Killiechonate and Mamore estates, was placed under the stewardship of the GFG Alliance in 2016 with Liberty’s purchase of the Fort William Aluminium smelter, and surround the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
The estates have a great history and play an important role in providing water for the nearby hydropower scheme, which in turn provides energy to the Fort William smelter as well as the grid.
The smelter and hydropower scheme were built in the first half of the 20th century by The British Aluminium company, or “The BA”, as the locals call it. At that time, water was diverted from the estates to supply the hydropower station and create a sustainable energy source.
The villages of Kinlochleven and Inverlochy originally grew to provide housing for the workers from the Fort William and now-closed Kinlochleven smelters. Kinlochleven was the first village in Scotland to have energy from a hydropower station.
The estates have been an integral part of a unique and sustainable partnership between land, industry and community – a partnership that the GFG Alliance preserves and continues today. Our role is to manage the property and make sure it remains sustainable for generations to come.
Under our stewardship is the twisting and pristine River Spey, which runs through the Glenshero estate, and the countless species that call its waters home: otter, salmon, freshwater pearl mussel and sea lamprey.
Through JAHAMA, we are ensuring that the River Spey’s salmon population is better equipped to thrive despite the challenges of climate change. We have been hard at work with extensive planting along the banks of the river, with around 90,000 trees, including birch, willow, alder and Scots pine which now guard the Spey’s waters.
The newly planted trees will provide needed shade for the salmon spawning grounds and for the river itself in the face of rising temperatures.
Our work to maintain the Scottish Highlands, which we steward, is ongoing. From woodland regeneration and conservation to agriculture, we are working to ensure that when the time comes, we leave the land even better than how we found it.
