Market stalls since 2002
The stall that turns up two hundred times a year.
Built, printed and repaired in Cornwall for council markets and private operators. More than 4,500 supplied to over 35 councils and operators since 2003.
- Made in Cornwall
- 35+ councils supplied
- 4,500+ stalls since 2003
- Spares usually next day
4,500+
Market stalls supplied to councils and private operators since 2003.
2 min
Frame and canopy up. Five minutes for frame, canopy, three walls and weights.
300+
Stalls in our Sister companies rental fleet, so we find the faults before you do.
29kg
Frame weight. 34kg with a polyester canopy, 37kg with PVC.
Why us
We do not just sell market stalls. Our Sister company runs three hundred of them.
Most suppliers ship a box and hope. Our sister company Instant Marquees Events Ltd keeps a rental fleet of more than 300 pop up gazebos in constant use, which means every fault, every weak bracket and every worn canopy shows up on our own kit first.
That is where the neoprene jackets came from, and the oval scissor tube, and the rubber king-post cap. None of it was designed in a meeting. All of it came from taking stalls apart after a hard season and asking what broke.
Since 2010 almost everything we sell is made in-house, using EEC sourced materials. It means we can build to your specification rather than to whatever came in the container, and it means a repair is a phone call rather than a supply chain.
Component by component
The devil is in the detail.
Six decisions that cost us more to make and cost you less to own. Every one of them came out of a stall that came back off a market.
01
51 x 51mm square upper legs
The largest section of square tube on any pop-up gazebo available in the UK. An aeronautical design engineer calculated these legs as 30% stronger in bending than the 50mm hex or 42mm square tubes everyone else uses. Lower legs are 42mm square.
02
Welded aluminium foot-plates
A 100 x 100 x 6mm plate, welded to the upstand and fastened to the leg by four high-tensile rivets rather than the roll pin used on most imported pop-ups. That system has been in place since 2014 with no reported failures. A 20mm hole takes a serious peg on soft ground, and the plate can be laser-cut with a keyhole for our ground anchors.
03
Forged stainless brackets and lockable levers
Where everyone else fits a simple pull-ring, we had a lever made that locks in the fully open position - quicker and easier to rig, and a great deal easier solo. The brass button is 12mm across rather than the usual 8mm, so it does not chew the leg tube. Slider brackets carry tolerenced plastic inserts, which removes the wobble common in cheaper frames.
04
Neoprene jackets on every upper joint
PVC and polyester do not mix well with metal brackets, especially folded and thrown in a van. Every upper joint on our frames wears a neoprene jacket as standard, and has done since 2005. In our experience they add years to the life of a canopy. As far as we know we are still the only UK company fitting them as standard.
05
Oval scissor tubes that do not act like scissors
A 40 x 20mm oval profile, which over twenty years has proven to do far less damage to a canopy when the stall is folded. The 2022 extrusion keeps the same dimensions but puts more aluminium where the bolt holes are, so it wears more slowly. The new end cap is held captive by the bolt, cannot fall out, and doubles as a bearing.
06
Bolts and bungs, which sound dull until they fail
Low profile button head male and female bolts with built-in friction material, so they cannot snag the canopy when folded and do not work loose. Profiled rubber bungs at the top of each leg spread the canopy load at the highest stress point. The king-post cap is unbreakable rubber, when the plastic ones snap in cold weather, they wear a hole straight through the canopy.
Specification
51mm Ultra Heavy Duty market stall.
The full sheet, as supplied to councils on tender. If your procurement team needs something that is not here, ask and we will send it.
| Manufactured in | Cornwall, UK |
|---|---|
| Frame weight | 29kg. Frame and polyester canopy 34kg, frame and PVC canopy 37kg |
| Rigging time | Frame and canopy: 2 minutes. Frame, canopy, three walls and weights: 5 minutes |
| Walk-in height | Adjustable through 200mm, from 1.95m to 2.15m |
| Upper leg | 51 x 51mm square, 6061 aluminium, silver anodised |
| Lower leg | 42 x 42mm square |
| Scissor tube | 40 x 20 x 2mm oval, with captive end caps that act as bearings |
| Frame joints | Extruded aluminium and forged stainless steel |
| Foot-plates | 100 x 100 x 6mm welded aluminium, riveted to the upstand with four high-tensile rivets |
| Canopy | Welded PVC, 500gsm, EEC sourced, anti-UV and anti-mould treated. Polyester also available |
| Fire certificate | UK and European |
| Ground anchors | Yes, two systems. Foot-plates available with a laser-cut keyhole |
| Weights | Cast iron jigsaw weights, 15kg halves locking together to 30kg, handles both ends |
| Gutters | 3m PVC, attached by velcro |
| Joiners | Quick-fit rapid joiner system |
| Canopies | Removable for washing |
| Spare parts | Every component, usually next day |
| Instructions | Supplied on video and as a PDF |
Predicted life in market use: we have seen the Professional series run eight years and more on heavy market duty. The Ultra HD is built to better it.
The important decision
PVC or polyester?
There is a right answer, and it depends on whether we are talking about the canopy or the walls. Here is how we would advise you.
Canopies
For a market, PVC.
Our PVC is high-frequency welded rather than stitched on the main seams, so it is genuinely waterproof. EEC sourced, 500gsm, treated against mould and UV, with a UK and European fire certificate. In market use it lasts around twice as long as polyester.
It is the more expensive cloth and we still recommend it, because a canopy you replace half as often is the cheaper canopy.
PVC for the roof. Proven on markets since 2006.
Walls
For walls, usually polyester.
When you store, transport and rig two hundred 3m walls every market, weight decides it. Polyester is lighter, sits better on the frame, prints better and is kinder to the velcro that holds it on.
Our polyester is Korean cloth, not the PVC-backed material that comes out of the Far East and traps moisture behind the proofing.
Polyester for walls. PVC where a wall takes real weather.
A quick word on imported PVC: we have had first-hand experience of PVC canopies from China tearing because the substrate is barely there. We doubt they would pass a UK fire certificate.
Walls, windows and awnings
What goes round the outside.
Markets are not all the same shape, so the wall system is where most of the specifying happens.
Type 3 walls
The neat one
Zip-free, wraps around the legs, and gives you a continuous graphic with nothing breaking it up. Other than entrance doors we do not think zips belong on walls at all - they jam, they damage, and they were never designed for the loads wind puts on them.
Market walls
The economical one
A simpler proposition, designed to be cheap to make and to work reliably on a market. Considerable savings over the Type 3 system, and for a lot of markets it is the sensible choice.
Windows and doors
Specify what you need
Small market windows at 135 x 100cm, full windows for stalls sitting in front of shops that would rather not be hidden, and single or double zip doors where you need to get in and out.
Awnings
1m of cover, front of stall
Increasingly the first thing traders ask for. A metre of awning protects the customer and the goods from sun and rain, fits quickly and is very strong. It is the difference between someone stopping and someone walking on.
Gutters and joiners
Two stalls, one dry aisle
The 3m PVC gutter attaches by velcro in seconds and has held out weather we would rather not describe. Available with velcro on both sides so one wall can subdivide two stalls. The rapid joiner sets the spacing and pulls everything tight with a webbing buckle in seconds, no screwdrivers required.
Keeping it on the ground
Three ways to secure a stall.
Weights work, and they are the traditional answer. But moving tons of iron to every market is a cost most operators would rather not carry.
Option A
Ground anchor to foot-plate
The neatest solution. The anchor attaches straight to the foot-plate through a laser-cut keyhole, and the stall goes on or off in seconds. At the end of the day you drive the anchor back into its socket with an electric screwdriver and our key. Flush with the ground, sealed against water and debris, maintenance free. In use on markets since 2014.
Option B
Tang and strap anchors
For markets that need flexibility of layout, or that run stalls from more than one supplier. A keyhole tang connects the anchor to a ratchet strap. Not as tidy as Option A, but more secure and far easier to live with than weights - and the lateral stability takes the bending loads off the legs. This is the system to use with the Octagonal series.
Option C
Cast iron weights
Our 30kg jigsaw weight comes as two 15kg halves that lock together, so it can hold one, two or four legs. Stackable singly or in pairs, handles at both ends, and at 15kg per item it sits inside H&S lifting guidance. Ask us for our wind limit guidelines, we will send them free.
Order
Stalls, and the bits that keep them working.
Whole stalls are quoted to your sizes, canopy choice and print. The accessories below you can buy off the shelf.
Ultra HD market stall
PVC or polyester, any size, printed or plain.
Made to orderRequest a price
Get a price
PVC rain gutters
Velcro on in seconds. 3m, all sizes.
From£27
Buy now
30kg jigsaw weight
Two 15kg halves that lock together.
From£80
Buy now
Quick-fit joiner
Sets the spacing, pulls it tight, seconds.
From£14.50
Buy now
Stability bars
Frame reinforcement, all sizes.
From£30
Buy now
Walls, all sizes
Branded or plain, market or Type 3.
From£69.95
Buy nowRunning a whole market? Send us the layout and pitch sizes and we will come back with a price, a plan and a rigging time.
Print and artwork
Printed in the same building.
Four dye-sublimation printers, in-house since 2002, and we have printed tents for some of the biggest brands in the world on them.
Polyester for all-over print
If you want the whole canopy covered, polyester is the better choice. The colour goes into the fibre rather than sitting on top of it, so it does not flake or crack.
PVC, keep it to the pelmet
Printing on PVC is more limited and less durable. Our advice is to keep PVC print to logos on the pelmets, which is where people read it from anyway.
Artwork is free
We lay out simple logos and messages at no charge. Send us EPS, vector PDF or .ai files and you will get a visual back before anything is committed.
Tell us about your market.
Markets
Pitch sizes, how many stalls, what the ground is and how windy it gets. We have kitted out enough markets to know the questions worth asking, and we will tell you honestly where you can spend less.