UK Tents · DIY Marquees · Midland Marquees | 2×2 layout (12m × 24m, ~288m²) at Lymm Rugby Club | all prices inc. VAT | updated 13 Jun 2026
Each is one 6×12m unit, drawn to spec. DIY Commercial and Midland are near-identical braced frames; UK Tents Elite is heavier (50mm bolted poles) and taller.
Diagrams are schematic, built from each supplier's published spec to show the relative amount of frame. Bay spacing is indicative, not an engineering drawing.
All prices inc. VAT. Green − = removable to save · Red + = not included / to confirm.
| Factor | DIY Marquees | Midland Marquees | UK Tents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model / tier | Commercial 500gsm | Heavy-Duty / Commercial 500gsm | Elite PVC 1400 |
| Price each (inc VAT) | £2,022 | £2,020 | £2,204.99 |
| Configuration | 4 × 6×12m | 4 × 6×12m | 4 × 6×12m |
| Pole diameter | 38 / 42mm | up to 42mm | 50mm (largest) |
| Pole wall thickness | 1.3mm | 1.3mm | 1.35mm |
| Pole connectors | Galv. steel fittings | Simplex (2 pole lengths) | 54mm bolted (strongest) |
| Roof braces | Included | Included (vert + horiz) | Included (reinforcement) |
| Eaves braces | Included | Included | Not listed separately |
| Mid / intermediate purlin | Included (braces tie to it) | Included | Not listed |
| Ground bars / frame | Included | Included | Bolted ground frame incl. |
| Gable uprights | Included | End panels in 2m sections | Gable panels (removable) |
| Stands without side guys? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Side (eave) height | 2.05m | ~2.0m | 2.6m (tallest) |
| Apex / ridge height | 3.1m | ~3.1m (20° pitch) | 3.7m |
| Clearspan (no inner poles) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PVC weight / strength | 500gsm Duracoretex, 1707N | 500gsm Duracoretex rip-stop | ~550gsm, 1400N tear |
| Fire certificate | Yes — BS5438 & BS7837 | Yes — BS5438 & BS7837 | ? Get cert in writing |
| Gutters (join units) | Free (multi-buy) | £108 per section | + Not yet priced |
| Tie-downs | Free (perimeter) | ~13 prs @ £13 = ~£169 | Pegs + guy ropes incl. |
| Storage bags / boxes | + £151 ea (optional) | + ~£335 / set (optional) | + Sold separately |
| Weight per unit | ~350 kg | commercial frame | 384 kg |
| Warranty | 12 months + spares | 12 months + spares | 10-yr spare-parts avail. |
| Delivery | Free | Free, 2–3 days, in stock | Free, 1–3 days, in stock |
| Discount offered | 10% (+ sponsor talk) | 5–10% | 10% |
| Supplier | Stock for your dates | Delivery | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Marquees | Confirm Not yet confirmed — proforma states "all equipment is subject to availability until payment is received" | Free | Proforma, 08 Jun |
| Midland | In stock Confirmed in stock by email | Free · 2–3 working days | Email 09 Jun + site marked in stock |
| UK Tents | In stock Listed in stock; same-day collection offered | Free UK mainland · 1–3 days | Elite product page |
Only Midland has confirmed stock for the festival by email. UK Tents shows in stock online but hasn't quoted in writing yet. Ask DIY to confirm availability for the 6 July delivery before paying — their proforma only reserves stock once paid.
Storage bags excluded from totals (see cost-cutting below). 10% discount applied to each, as offered. UK Tents and the DIY Commercial re-quote still need confirming in writing.
| Line | DIY (Commercial) | Midland (Commercial) | UK Tents (Elite) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6×12m marquee | £8,088.00 | £8,080.00 | £8,819.96 |
| Ground bars / frame | incl. | incl. | incl. |
| Gutters (2×2 joins) | free | ~£216 (2 × £108) | to confirm |
| Tie-downs (perimeter) | free | ~£169 | incl. |
| Delivery | free | free | free |
| Subtotal | £8,088.00 | £8,465.00 | £8,819.96 |
| Less 10% discount | −£808.80 | −£846.50 | −£882.00 |
| Total inc VAT (no bags) | £7,279.20 | £7,618.50 | ≈ £7,938 + gutters |
| Storage bags if added | +£604.80 | +£670.00 | + extra |
| Possible further savings (no guy ropes needed) ↓ | |||
| Reduce spec / config | Buy 3 now, 4th in 2027: −£1,820 → £5,459 216m² (−72m²) | 2 × 6×24m instead: −£1,249 → £6,369 (same 288m², harder build) or buy 3 now: −£1,818 → £5,800 (216m²) | Step to Premium tier: −£1,458 → £6,480 (lighter PVC, still rigid) or buy 3 Elite now: −£1,984 → £5,954 |
| Across any supplier | Skip storage bags −~£600 · borrow / cheap festoon lighting −£300–475 · land the £2,500 sponsor · or spread the cost via UK Tents finance or a 0% purchase credit card cleared from bar takings (borrowing, not a saving). | ||
You're buying, not hiring, so the real cost is what you pay minus what you can sell them for afterwards. Used commercial 6×12m PVC marquees in good condition sell privately for roughly £900–1,300 each — the galvanised frame holds value, the PVC cover is what fades. Figures below are inc VAT, bags excluded, and are market estimates rather than guarantees.
| Scenario | DIY (Commercial) | Midland (Commercial) | UK Tents (Elite) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlay (after 10%) | £7,279 | £7,619 | ≈ £7,938 |
| Resale if sold near-new (≈45–60%) | £3,600–5,200 | £3,600–5,200 | £4,000–5,600 |
| Net cost — sell after the 2026 festival | £2,100–3,700 | £2,400–4,000 | £2,300–3,900 |
| Resale after ~5 yrs of use (£400–700/unit) | £1,600–2,800 | £1,600–2,800 | £1,600–2,800 |
| Net over 5 festivals | £4,500–5,700 | £4,800–6,000 | £5,100–6,300 |
| ≈ cost per festival (kept 5 yrs) | £900–1,140 | £960–1,200 | £1,020–1,260 |
Condition, completeness (all poles, sides, gutters) and a dry, clean store-down drive the resale price; mould from damp storage is the big value-killer. As a charity you can't reclaim VAT, so compare against the inc-VAT outlay. Selling privately (eBay / Facebook Marketplace) beats trading in to an ex-hire dealer. Even keeping them for a single year and reselling lands the effective cost in the same ballpark as hiring this footprint for two weeks.
You're up against the budget, so here are the levers, biggest first. Alex at DIY suggested the first two.
The roof covers already arrive in bags. For the rest, build simple wooden pole racking in a shed or stand them upright in a corner, keep the metal connectors in cheap plastic crates, and fold the side panels onto a pallet — which is what hire companies do. That avoids the bag/box sets entirely: about £600 saved on DIY (4 × £151) or £670 on Midland (2 × £335-equivalent). UK Tents bags are extra too.
Commercial festoon kits run about £119 inc per marquee (≈ £475 for four from DIY). Borrow festoons locally for nothing, or buy Screwfix 4lite 20m LED festoons at about £52–95 each. Four or five 20m runs cover the space for roughly £210–475, and you keep them.
With braced frames you don't guy the inner joins at all, and tie-downs are only needed round the outside against uplift. That keeps the tie-down count (and cost) down without touching stability.
It dwarfs every line above. DIY were open to taking the branding themselves in place of a discount; Midland could only stretch to 5–10%. Worth pushing DIY on a sponsor-style deal given they're already the cheapest.
Midland, two big units: two 6×24m instead of four 6×12m gives the same 288m² for roughly £1,250 less, because longer units cost less per square metre. They're still fully braced, so no guying — but the poles are longer and heavier and you lose the flexibility of four separate units, so it's a harder volunteer build.
UK Tents, one tier down: their Premium 6×12m (£1,799.99 inc each) keeps the bolted ground frame and rigidity but uses lighter PVC than the Elite, saving about £1,460 across four.
Buy three now, the fourth next year: three 6×12m in a row give 216m² instead of 288 — that's 72m² (25%) less floor — and defer roughly £1,800 to 2027. Worth modelling against your headcount and the bar, stage and seating plan before committing.
If the squeeze is cashflow rather than the total, UK Tents advertise finance, and a 0% purchase credit card would let you pay now and clear it from the festival's bar takings before any interest. That's borrowing, not a saving, so only where the event reliably covers it — but it can bridge the gap until the sponsor money lands.
DIY: get the written re-quote on the Commercial 6×12 (not Classic), with the 10% and free gutters/tie-downs carried over, and whether they'll do the sponsor deal.
Midland: confirm the 6×12 commercial price holds at £2,020, the gutter count for a 2×2, and the 10%.
UK Tents: get a written quote with gutters and storage priced, the 10% applied, and the fire certificate in writing for your insurer.
A marquee is a row of A-shaped cross-frames joined by horizontal purlins. On its own that rectangle of poles can rack sideways and lean over — it needs triangulation to stay rigid. You get that one of two ways: diagonal braces built into the steel, or guy ropes staked out and down to the ground doing the same job from outside.
Guy ropes are the problem in a 2×2: the four inner walls have no open ground, so a rope off them would run diagonally into the middle of the next marquee, through your bar or seating. All three options here build the bracing into the steel instead (DIY Commercial and Midland add eaves + roof braces and a mid purlin; UK Tents adds a bolted ground frame and roof reinforcement), so they stand on their inner sides with nothing crossing between units. You only anchor the outer perimeter.
Specs and list prices taken on 13 Jun 2026: