It is with great sadness that I have to report that my father, Adrian Lamb, passed away on 12 October.

He was a great man and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of love, support and respect that have flooded in over the last few days. I am very proud of him and the business he created, and feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with him for the last three years.

For those of you who wish to attend, the funeral will take place next Friday (27 October) at 2pm in Kirkby Lonsdale. If you do wish to attend, please let me know so that we are able to consider catering and other logistics.

I appreciate that this news may have come as a shock to many of you who knew him.

Adrian was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive and largely untreatable form of cancer in late December last year. In true Adrian fashion he fought to the very end and exceeded all doctor’s estimates. It was his wish that the fact that he was ill was kept to only a very limited number of people. Many who were very close to him were not told and I sincerely hope that none take it personally. In truth I don’t know exactly why he wished it to remain a secret, but I (and others) had to respect his wishes.

However, I want to reassure you that as a business we have been preparing for this for some time and it is not something that has come out of the blue. Over the past few months I and my fellow directors Darren Stalker and Byron Tyson have been working hard to ensure continuity and a smooth transition, and I was lucky enough to spend lots of time with my Dad throughout the year, and he often wanted to discuss the future of the business.

In accordance with Adrian’s wishes, I will be taking over as Managing Director. I appreciate that I am young to be taking on such a position, but I relish the opportunity to make him proud. I make no secret of the fact that I will be relying heavily on the excellent team at ALA for help and support as we look to build on Adrian’s impressive legacy in the future.

Finally, my Dad always one for a good story. He was truly a larger than life character and I am sure many of you have your own funny tales to tell. If you do, I would love to hear them.

I am likely to be in and out of the office over the next few weeks, but please feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will reply when I can.

All the best

Tom Lamb