Marquee of success as firm filled gap in market

For Jason Mace, however, the reverse proved to be true.

In 1999 he spotted a gap in the market providing marquees for Millennium night celebrations, as fears pubs would raise their beer prices to outlandish levels prompted more and more Britons to hold their own events at home.

He thought it would be a short-lived business as the demand for such parties dropped off. More than a decade later, however, Gala Tent is still going – a £5m turnover business which has designed a series of products and provided marquees for celebrity parties such as those put on by David and Victoria Beckham.

For Mr Mace, who had previously run several companies including a joinery business, the inspiration for Gala came when he was working behind the bar of a Barnsley workingmen’s club run by his parents, a former lorry driver and hairdresser. He had a business booking entertainment for pubs and clubs and, when he realised hire companies had been inundated with requests for Millennium night, he saw a space to develop a business. “There was a lot of hype. It was going to be £10 a pint and £50 to get into your local pub. I had the idea of bringing in some marquees.

“I carried on going through the Yellow Pages and it became apparent that practically nothing was left for the Millennium and there was a market there.

“I look round for a suitable product and sourced it from China. It was a massive hit and we sold thousands. The rest is history.”

After the excitement of the new Millennium – and the realisation that the Y2K ‘bug’ had not triggered the devastating meltdown in IT systems some had feared – Mr Mace had a platform for developing Gala. The success of the Auditorium Millennium Marquee had left him with a database of clients across the UK.

“What I thought would be a quick hit for the Millennium has turned out to be the beginning of the business.

“I picked it up as I went along and I saw the ways in which the industry could be improved. Until Gala Tent came along nobody really saw what could be done.”

Now the business provides items including marquees, tents, pop-up and garden gazebos and pagodas to families hosting parties, businesses and wedding organisers as well as the AA and the RAC, St John Ambulance, the police and the NHS.

It sells 10,000 structures a year and 90,000 optional extras which include flooring, heating and lighting and believes it is the UK’s largest mail order marquee business. Gala products have been used at parties run by the Beckhams, Liz Hurley, former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker and chef Marco Pierre White. They are not clients of the firm but it works with events management companies which have provided equipment to the stars.

Gala, which has 22 staff, is currently moving from its current base, an office and 25,000 sq ft warehouse in Barnsley to a 53,000 sq ft site in the Dearne Valley in Rotherham.

The move has been conceived over the last three years, when plans to expand were put on hold and Gala decided it would use the economic slump to improve the internal workings of the business.

“As soon as the recession hit we decided this would be a positive opportunity to concentrate on our systems. Turnover and profit flatlined for the next two years.”

Mr Mace, managing director, also plans to set up a franchise operation in Europe.

Gala currently uses re-sellers in Ireland, France, Spain, Holland and Russia and Mr Mace would like to set up franchise operations in all these countries, as well as expanding into America.

The firm is taking on between four and six staff in warehousing, office and sales this year and expects to increase turnover to £6m. Sales were up 20 per cent in the first quarter of this year, Mr Mace added, and he wants the firm to reach £10m by 2012.

“We have got the infrastructure in place and the systems. The only thing that could hold us back is if we cannot manufacture it quickly enough.”

Innovation the key

GALA Tent has created a series of new products designed to save money for clients.

The folding banqueting chair will halve the space needed for storage and transport, according to Jason Mace, managing director of Gala Tent.

The firm has also launched a range of circular banqueting tables that can be delivered in flat pack, reducing transport costs, and are easier to assemble. This means the tables can be purchased in single units. It has also launched Gala Shade-Pro, a range of commercial gazebos which can be erected quickly and have been used to replace traditional market stalls.

They can also be used for motor sports events, exhibitions and trade fairs.