What MGF does

MGF (MGF Trench Construction Ltd) is a UK-based specialist provider of excavation safety support equipment, founded in 1981 and operating for over four decades. The company designs, manufactures, hires, and sells temporary works systems used by civil engineering and infrastructure contractors to stabilize excavations, including trench shoring, manhole boxes, hydraulic braces, road plates, and culvert installation equipment. Its portfolio includes proprietary branded systems such as UniShore, a modular hydraulic shoring system, and GRiPSHORE, alongside a broader catalogue of steel and hydraulic supports developed and maintained in-house.

The company's commercial model is built around equipment hire as the primary revenue stream, supplemented by outright sales, with logistics supported by a national network of 13 UK depots and a dedicated export division serving overseas customers. Its end-customers are B2B contractors operating across utilities, rail, highways, and general construction, with sector-specific accreditations (RISQS for rail, UVDB/Achilles for utilities) qualifying it for regulated infrastructure frameworks. Pricing is project-and-duration based, typical of construction equipment hire, with revenue spread across a long tail of project engagements rather than concentrated in a small number of anchor contracts.

Operationally, MGF is privately held and founder/family-led, with 251-500 employees and active product development evidenced by a cluster of launches in 2025-2026 covering a hybrid-powered culvert puller, an updated manhole box, safe-lift road plates, larger hydraulic brace variants, and UniShore accessories. The competitive position rests on a combination of proprietary product design, national depot coverage enabling rapid delivery, and accumulated safety and sector accreditations that are difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly.

Name

MGF

Legal name

MGF Trench Construction Ltd

Website

https://mgf.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

MGF is a UK-based specialist provider of excavation safety support equipment, manufacturing and hiring temporary works systems (trench shoring, hydraulic braces, manhole boxes, road plates) to civil engineering and infrastructure contractors via a 13-depot national network and export division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Excavation Support Equipment and Temporary Works

NAICS

Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing (3331)

SIC

Construction Machinery & Equip (3531), Fabricated Structural Metal Products (3440)

akta.pro primary industry

Temporary Works & Shoring (Sheeting, Bracing, Cofferdams) (IMAFAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Attachments & Work Tools (Buckets, Augers, Hammers) (IMAHAAAM)

Keywords

• Excavation support equipment
• Temporary works solutions
• Modular propping systems
• Construction equipment hire
• Shoring and bracing

Headquarters

HQ city

Kent

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Equipment hire: Primary revenue stream: hire of shoring, structural support, lifting and safety equipment from a 13-depot UK network to construction contractors, with related technical and engineering support.
2. Equipment sale: Sale of trench sheets, sheet piles, GRiPSHORE products and other temporary works equipment (e.g., sheet piles marked as 'Sale Item Only' with 'Buy Back Offer Available'), generating transactional hardware revenue.
3. Engineering and design services: In-house temporary works design, standard solutions, research & development and major projects engineering services delivered by qualified engineers, often bundled with equipment hire/sale.
4. Exports: Dedicated export division supporting customers across the globe with temporary works requirements, supplying MGF-designed and manufactured equipment internationally.
5. Lifting by Design service: Bespoke tailored lifting solution design service providing customers with complete flexibility for lifting operations on construction projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Core offering

MGF designs, engineers, manufactures, hires and sells proprietary temporary works equipment — including the UniShore modular propping family, GRiPSHORE GRP shoring, hydraulic bracing frames, trench sheets, sheet piles, manhole boxes, culvert pullers and lifting/safety ancillaries — to construction contractors across the UK and select international markets, supported by in-house engineering and design services.

Product overview

MGF delivers comprehensive temporary works solutions for the UK construction industry through a portfolio of physical equipment products and in-house engineering services. The offering is structured as a unified solution spanning three product pillars (Excavation Solutions, Lifting & Safety, and Structural Support) plus an Engineering Services capability. Within Excavation Solutions, products such as Trench Sheets (Standard, L8, KKD 600/6, KKD 600/8, FLP), Sheet Piles (GU 8N/13N/16N/21N, AZ12-770/18-700/26-700, PU 28-1/32-0.5), the GRiPSHORE range (GRP Trench Box, GRP Modular Box, GRP Mini Trench Box, GRP Ladders, GRP Sheets and Walers, Edgesafe-GRP, Edgesafe-Mesh, GRP Vertishore, Stackshore), Box Systems (Manhole Box, Utility Trench Box, Aluminium Trench Box, High Clearance Trench Box, Drag Box), hydraulic Bracing (203 UC, 203 UC+, 254 UC, 305 UC, 406 UC, Manhole Brace, Aluminium Manhole Brace), Bracing Struts (200, 300, 600, 1000 Series), and ancillaries (Road Plates, Epoxy Coated Steel Ladder, Battery Impact Wrench, Excavator Mounted Compactor Plate, Quick Release Pitching Shackles, Extractors, Auger, Piling Hammer) work together as a hire-and-sale hire fleet. Lifting & Safety encompasses the 14t and 18t Hybrid Culvert Pullers, Manhole Ring Lifter, AL5 Adjustable Lifting Beam, Chain Slings, Hoisting Blocks, Winches, Crane Site Equipment, Forklift Equipment, Heavy Lifting, Portable Gantries, Stone Handling Equipment, and safety systems (Laddersafe, Wall Bridge, Crossingsafe & Walksafe, Endsafe Panels, Lightweight Aluminium Davit System, Edgesafe). Structural Support centres on the proprietary UniShore modular propping system (UniShore Light, Medium, Heavy, GS2, UniShore Bracing, UniShore Needle & Grillage Beams, UniShore Lifting Pin) – CE marked and Eurocode compliant – designed and manufactured in-house. Supporting services include Engineering Services, Lifting by Design, Exports, Major Projects and Research & Development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UniShore: MGF's proprietary modular shoring and propping system range, designed and manufactured in-house. Includes UniShore Light, Medium, Heavy, GS2, Bracing, Needle & Grillage Beams, and Lifting Pin product lines.
• GRiPSHORE
• Lifting by Design

Products and services

• UniShore Modular Propping System (Light, Medium, Heavy, GS2) In-house designed and manufactured proprietary modular shoring and propping system for contractors; CE marked and Eurocode compliant. UniShore Light (up to 20t capacity, 220x170mm section), Medium (up to 70t, 280x220mm), Heavy (up to 150t, 360x300mm) and GS2 aluminium (up to 140kN, prop lengths 1.7m–3.8m) cover light to heavy structural support duties.
• UniShore Bracing Systems Modular Tension, Push-Pull and Scaffold bracing for the UniShore propping range; high load Dywidag tie bars and standard scaffold tubes with simple pinned CP1 connections.
• UniShore Needle & Grillage Beams Engineered beam sections (152UC37, 203UC60, 254UC107) with light and medium duty needle beam connectors; 203 and 254 beams are drilled for direct fixing to UniShore end details, with custom grillage beams available.
• UniShore Lifting Pin Accessory designed to lift Light, Medium and Heavy Duty UniShore assemblies up to 1000kg (WLL 500kg each); used in pairs with the UniShore Lifting Chain (2-Leg, 2.0m, WLL 1600kg).
• Trench Sheets (Standard, L8, KKD 600/6, KKD 600/8, FLP) Steel trench sheets providing ground support for the vertical faces of small to medium sized trenches and excavations; profiles in S275 JRC and other grades, 2m–4m lengths, with galvanising and clutch sealing services available.
• Sheet Piles (GU, AZ, PU series) Interlocking steel sheet piles (U-Type GU, Z-Type AZ Larssen interlock, and PU profiles) forming high strength sheeting systems for large excavations; grades up to S390GP, with single/double pile supply and galvanising service available.
• Manhole Box Four-sided mechanical excavation support system for installing pre-cast concrete manholes and small chambers or tanks where ground movement is non-critical; configurations from Lightweight Micro to Titan and 5.2 sizes, supporting excavations up to 5.8m deep and 5.2m wide.
• Utility Trench Box Two-sided mechanical excavation support system for utility installation and repairs in trench widths up to 4.0m and 2.5m deep; bolted high clearance struts providing 1.95m understrut clearance; installed via the excavate and lower-in-place technique.
• GRiPSHORE GRP Trench Box Lightweight Glass Reinforced Plastic shoring solution for excavations up to 1.5m deep with widths from 0.62m to 2.0m; UK manufactured to BS EN 13706; electrically non-conductive and fire retardant to ASTM E84 Class 1.
• GRiPSHORE GRP Modular Box Lightweight modular GRP shoring solution for excavations up to 2.0m deep with widths from 0.62m to 2.0m; GRP panels create a 1.5m working area with 0.57m under strut clearance; safe manual handling without excavator; manufactured to BS EN 13706.
• 203 UC Hydraulic Bracing Brace Medium duty modular hydraulic bracing system with 150kN ram for clear spans up to 9.1m; for bracing small to medium cofferdams, larger trenches and underground structures; compatible with 200 and 300 series cross struts.
• 203 UC+ Brace (Tank Brace System) Modular hydraulic bracing range with 300kN double acting power pack; tank brace system between 203 UC and 305 UC Series; extensions include shear lugs for accepting knee braces without bespoke welding; clear spans up to 11m.
• 254 UC Brace Medium to heavy duty modular hydraulic bracing system with 300kN ram for clear spans up to 13.6m; compatible with the 305 UC Brace.
• 305 UC Brace Heavy duty modular hydraulic bracing system with 600kN ram for clear spans up to 15.5m; for large/deep cofferdams, deep drive/thrust pits or basements; compatible with 254 UC and 406 UC brace.
• 406 UC Brace Heavy duty modular hydraulic bracing system with 1250kN ram for clear spans up to 15.5m; for large/deep cofferdams on major basement and deep substructure projects; compatible with 305 UC and T700 Brace.
• Manhole Brace (and Aluminium Manhole Brace) Four-sided hydraulic frame systems for bracing small cofferdams and safe construction of manholes, pipe installations, tanks and highways/footpaths repairs; steel version in sizes 1.4m–6.0m and lightweight aluminium variant (35kg per leg) for 1.5m–2.4m sheet-to-sheet.
• Bracing Struts (200, 600 and 1000 Series) Modular bracing struts for use with MGF hydraulic bracing frames: 200 Series (medium duty, up to 600kN, spans 0.62m–10.5m), 600 Series (heavy duty, up to 3500kN, spans up to 30.6m, for 305/406 UC and T700), and 1000 Series (heavy duty, up to 3500kN, spans up to 46m, with Super 1000 variant up to 55m).
• Road Plates (including Safe Lift variant) Steel road plates (standard 2.4m x 1.2m x 19mm; alternative sizes on request) in plain steel or with anti-skid surfacing approved under HAPAS.
• Laddersafe Gated ladder access platform clamping to steel trench sheets, sheet piles or box systems; complies with BS EN 13374 (2025) Class A temporary edge protection; multiple designs for boxes, trench sheets and sheet piles.
• Lightweight Aluminium Davit System Aluminium davit system for man-riding operations and fall arrest/retrieval in open excavations or pits; modular for transport; universal base clamp connects to MGF box systems, KKD/FKD/ER trench sheets and interlocking piles; complies with BS EN 795 Class B.
• Crossingsafe and Walksafe Lightweight access solution using non-slip HDPE panels forming temporary walkways and vehicle crossing bridges, with steel Edgesafe barriers conforming to highway safety standards; panels can be linked for varying lengths and widths.
• 18t Hybrid Culvert Puller Mechanical device (450kg puller, 18t pulling capacity) for fast, safe installation of pre-cast concrete culverts and pipes; hybrid power options (12V battery or MGF 70L petrol hydraulic pump); suitable for internal heights 0.6m–3.6m (0.6–1.2m requires front mount tube); corded/wireless remote options.
• 14t Culvert Puller Powerful, fast and safe method of installing pre-cast culvert units and large diameter pipes with the accuracy needed to achieve specified joint tolerances.
• Manhole Ring Lifter High capacity adjustable grab (SWL 2500kg; 95kg lifter weight) for lifting concrete manhole rings from 900mm to 1800mm nominal diameter with extension legs; attaches to an excavator lifting point and avoids the need to access the wagon bed during offloading.
• Engineering Services In-house temporary works design service delivered by a team of highly qualified engineers; provides Engineering Excellence, Standard Solutions and Research & Development to deliver risk-managed, value-driven solutions for excavation and structural support customers.
• Exports Dedicated export division with experience supporting customers across the globe with temporary works requirements, supplying MGF-designed and manufactured equipment internationally.
• Lifting by Design Service providing customers with complete flexibility and a tailored approach to lifting solutions through bespoke lifting design and engineered solutions.
• Major Projects Dedicated major projects service supporting large-scale, complex temporary works schemes across multiple sectors.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mabey Hire: UK specialist in temporary works and shoring hire, including propping, bracing and ground support systems. Directly comparable to MGF on product categories (modular shoring, hydraulic bracing), customer base (UK contractors) and hire-led business model.
• Groundforce: UK excavation support specialist operating under VP plc, offering trench shoring, hydraulic bracing and structural support on hire. Closest direct competitor to MGF in excavation support, with overlapping product lines and UK-wide depot coverage.
• Trench Shoring Company: UK specialist supplier of trench shoring and ground support equipment for hire and sale. Direct comparable to MGF's Excavation Solutions pillar, with a similar focus on trench sheets, manhole boxes and ground support systems for utility and civil contractors.
• QSIS (Quality Sheetpiling): UK-based sheet piling and structural solutions provider offering design, supply and installation services. Comparable to MGF's sheet pile, structural support and major projects offering, particularly on engineered sheet piling solutions.

Broad incumbents

• RMD Kwikform (BrandSafway): Global formwork, shoring and propping supplier owned by BrandSafway. Competes with MGF on modular propping and structural support but as part of a much wider global portfolio spanning formwork, scaffolding and access solutions.
• A-Plant (Sunbelt Rentals): One of the largest UK plant and equipment hire companies, owned by Sunbelt Rentals. Overlaps with MGF on excavation-related equipment hire and site services but operates a much broader, generalist fleet across multiple categories.
• Speedy Hire: UK-listed equipment hire provider offering tools, plant and specialist equipment to construction and infrastructure customers. Overlaps with MGF on selected categories (lifting, site equipment) but is a generalist with a national depot network and broader service portfolio.
• Altrad: Global industrial services group providing scaffolding, insulation, painting and mechanical access alongside equipment hire. Comparable to MGF on the lifting, propping and site-safety interface but operates across many additional industrial services categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance23 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MGF