What to Look for in a Temporary Event Structure Supplier
Choosing a temporary event structure supplier is one of those decisions that looks simple on the surface. In practice, it is one of the most important calls you will make for any event. Get it right and your guests walk into a finished venue that feels effortless. Get it wrong and you are dealing with delays, a brief that has not been followed, or a build team on site who are not quite sure what they are supposed to be doing.
At Mar-Key Group, we have been supplying temporary event structures across the UK since 1991. Our clients range from Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and The R&A Open to the Southampton International Boat Show, Cheltenham Festival and the America’s Cup World Series. The checklist below reflects what we have learned from three decades of getting this right, and occasionally seeing others get it wrong.
Do they manufacture their own structures?
This is the question most buyers do not think to ask. Many temporary event structure suppliers are distributors. They source products from overseas manufacturers and sell them on. That works well enough when everything is straightforward. When your site does not match a standard size, when something needs changing at short notice, or when a part fails and needs replacing quickly, a distributor is as dependent on their supply chain as you are on them.
We design and manufacture our own structures at our facility in Christchurch, Dorset. It means we can build to your exact specification rather than the nearest available option, and it means we can resolve problems ourselves rather than waiting on someone else. You can read more about our marquee manufacturing capability and why it matters.
Have they worked at your scale before?
There is a significant difference between an event marquee supplier with experience at garden parties and one who has delivered hospitality structures at Royal Ascot, managed multiple concurrent builds at a major sailing event, or supplied the media centre at The Open Championship. The complexity, the timelines and the consequences of getting things wrong are not comparable.
When evaluating temporary event structure suppliers, ask for specific case studies at a comparable scale. Our own portfolio includes Royal Ascot, The R&A Open, Cheltenham Festival, the Southampton International Boat Show and the America’s Cup World Series. The Cheltenham client wrote to us after the event: “The knowledge and expertise your team brings, from build through to de-rig, is invaluable. It brings me a huge amount of comfort to know I have people around me I can turn to.”
That level of confidence in your supplier is not a luxury. At high-profile events, it is a necessity.
Do they use their own installation teams?
Some temporary structure companies subcontract installation, and if we are being straight with you, most suppliers do this to some degree when they are busy. The question worth asking is not whether they ever subcontract, but how they manage it when they do.
What you want to know is whether the people on your site, regardless of who employs them, have been briefed properly, know the product, and are being managed by someone who is accountable to you directly.
We use our own teams wherever possible and manage all installation work directly, which means there is always a clear line of accountability back to us. After a complex venue build at the Honourable Artillery Company in London, the client told us: “Every favour asked of the team was fulfilled without complaint and promptly. Their timekeeping, behaviour and can-do attitude really helped us through a difficult period.”
Ask any supplier how they handle busy periods, who is responsible for the team on site, and who your point of contact is if something needs resolving quickly. The answer will tell you a lot.
Can they genuinely build to your brief?
Not within their standard range. To your brief. Your dimensions, your layout, your finish requirements, your access constraints.
A lot of suppliers will tell you they can accommodate bespoke requirements. The difference with us is that we have an experienced in-house design team who work with you from the initial concept through to the finished build. They are not adapting an existing product to fit your brief. They are designing to your brief from the start, which is a meaningfully different thing.
Because that design capability sits alongside our own manufacturing operation, there is no gap between what gets drawn up and what gets built. We can accommodate non-standard footprints, bespoke internal layouts, branded PVC, glazed facades and multi-storey builds, and our design team will work through the detail with you before anything goes into production. Our bespoke celebration structures, exhibition spaces and bespoke festival work for Jägermeister all started as briefs that a catalogue supplier could not have answered. Ask any potential supplier not just whether they can build to your spec, but who is actually doing the design work and how much experience they have doing it.
What are their safety credentials?
A temporary event structure is a building in every meaningful sense. It needs to be engineered correctly for the site, built to the right standards and certified appropriately. When evaluating any event structure hire company in the UK, the accreditations to ask for are MUTA full supplier status, SafeContractor, CHAS, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BSI certification.
We hold all of them. Details are on our about us page. Any supplier who cannot produce current documentation for these warrants further questioning before you commit.
Can they scale with your requirements?
Your event programme will develop. Structures may need to be larger next year. You may run multiple events concurrently. The brief will become more complex. The temporary event structure supplier you appoint now needs to be capable of supporting where your work is going, not just where it is today.
Our structures range from compact pagodas to 60m wide clear-span buildings with eave heights to 14m. We work across sporting events, graduations, exhibitions, ice rinks, hospitality and full venue installations. We have also delivered temporary event structures internationally, including projects in Australia and Bermuda, so if your events take you beyond the UK we can support that too.
Two things worth knowing
We take sustainability seriously and can provide documentation for clients who need it for their own reporting or tendering requirements. Our approach is set out on our quality and sustainability page.
We also offer flexible payment options including phased payments and leasing. It is worth discussing these early rather than at contract stage.
Our case studies cover a wide range of event types and scales, and our testimonials page reflects what clients say about working with us in practice. If you would like to discuss a project, get in touch to speak to an expert.