Daily help for family firm in the vanguard of teepee design

Richard and Amanda Monaghan set up PapaKåta, a teepee-style tent business, in 2006, after struggling to find suitable equipment for their own wedding.

The North Yorkshire firm, which uses tents pioneered by the Sami people of Lapland, has grown and worked with a series of major music festivals as well as weddings and private parties.

Now it has signed a deal with commercial vehicle firm Iveco for a larger van, making it easier to transport its tents around the country.

Richard Monaghan, joint director, said the vans would give them greater versatility and make it easier to get into tight spaces.

“The majority of our work is within about three hours’ drive of Yorkshire, but our expertise with teepees mean we can be booked for jobs across the UK and Ireland.”

Customers hiring Kåta tents have included Mark Owen, the Take That star, who got married in Inverness, as well as corporates such as Peugeot and foreign exchange company Travelex, and chef Jamie Oliver, who hired a tent for use in recording his television programme as well as for his birthday party.

PapaKåta has put on more than 600 events since it was founded, and turned over £750,000 in 2009. Mr Monaghan said the business had expanded in 2010 although it has not yet filed its accounts at Companies House.

“We went further afield when the recession hit but this year we have seen more demand closer to home.”

The firm, which is owned by Mr and Mrs Monaghan and based in Acaster Malbis, outside York, has eight permanent staff and takes on between 25 and 30 temporary workers at peak times of year.

It was set up when the couple were making arrangements for their own wedding and were not happy with that they had seen.

“We were living in London and wanted to get married in Yorkshire,” said Mr Monaghan.

“We looked at marquee companies but nothing was setting our world on fire. We saw the giant teepees and fell in love with them, but the only way we could hire them for the wedding was to start a company.”

Mr Monaghan, 36, is a former designer and proof-reader at investment banking giant UBS, and his wife, 30, previously worked for branding consultancy Futurebrands.

The firm’s tents, which Mr Monaghan said are made using as many natural materials as possible, are hired mainly for weddings but they have also been hired for outdoor events such as backstage at the Leeds Festival, V Festival and Download Festival.

In Yorkshire, their clients have included Harewood House, Castle Howard, Whirlow Hall Farm Trust and Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

The deal for Iveco Daily vans will help PapaKåta to carry larger loads. It had previously relied on a fleet of 3.5-tonne panel vans and 4x4s operating with trailers, but, as demand grew, needed to transport more in a single vehicle.

The chassis has been mounted with a curtainside body, which has been manufactured by Martin Williams, of Hull, making it easier to carry teepees and materials like staging, tables and chairs.

The tents are created in Moskosel, a town of just 300 people, in northern Sweden, with the poles made using 100-year-old timber from the Arctic Circle.

The wood is chosen because it is long and straight and is ideal for the poles needed by PapaKåta, which are up to 35ft long.

Our friends in the north

Richard Monaghan, from Northern Ireland, said neither he nor his wife, from York, had been afficianados of Scandanavian culture before they opened the business but they had subsequently developed an interest in the region.

“I have renewed respect for the Scananavian way of life – seeing how they cope with the harsh climate. We have developed close ties with the manufacturers, and Stockholm is a fantastic place to go.”