Acorn

What Acorn does

Acorn is a UK-based specialist in temporary structures and staging for the live events, festival, broadcast, and cultural sectors, founded in the mid-1990s by Andy and Rebecca Nutter and headquartered in Sherburn In Elmet, Leeds. The company operates one of the largest Layher modular event scaffolding inventories in the UK and has developed a proprietary product range including the Mega Structure, Ultra Stage, Ultra Wall, Space Roof, Dome Stage, Mega Roof, Arc Roof, Sonic Stage, Midi Stage, and Sonic Studio. Acorn employs approximately 100 staff year-round, scaling to nearly 200 during peak festival season, and serves festivals, concerts, film and television productions, sporting events, exhibitions, arts and theatre venues, and winter festivals.

The company's revenue model is anchored in short-duration hire and installation contracts — rental of proprietary staging and temporary structures, design/build installation services, and integrated power and electrical solutions — with pricing custom-quoted by project scope. Its commercial footprint is concentrated in the UK and Ireland, with selective projects in Europe and the Caribbean. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales to event promoters, festival organizers, and production companies, supported by long-standing repeat relationships (10+ years with Creamfields, 9 years with Victorious Festival) and a portfolio of industry certifications (ISO, safecontractor, CHAS, ESITS) and technical qualifications across roughly 30% of the crew base.

Technically, Acorn differentiates through capital-intensive Layher inventory, an in-house design team, and proprietary engineered products — most notably the £5 million R&D investment behind the Ultra Stage launched in 2025. The company has extended beyond pure temporary hire into permanent studio infrastructure via the Meridian Water Studios project (2021) and the Sonic Studio product (2023), and co-developed the ESITS industry training scheme with Simian (2022), embedding itself in the sector's safety and skills standards.

Name

Acorn

Legal name

Acorn Construction (Yorkshire) Ltd

Website

https://acorn-structures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Acorn is a UK-based specialist in temporary structures, staging and scaffolding for festivals, concerts, film and TV, sport and cultural events, serving enterprise promoters and broadcasters across the UK, Ireland and selective European and Caribbean markets from a founder-owned fleet of proprietary Layher-based products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Structures & Staging

NAICS

Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)

SIC

Fabricated Structural Metal Products (3440)

akta.pro primary industry

Staging & Rigging Services (MPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scenic Fabrication & Set/Stage Carpentry (MPAGAKAG), Staging, Scenic & Set Fabrication (Stages, Backdrops, Scenic Builds) (THAHAEAC), Event Fabrication & Scenic/Set Build (Custom Builds, Installations) (BPAFAGAK)

Keywords

• Temporary event structures
• Event staging solutions
• Modular scaffolding hire
• Festival staging systems
• Grandstand installations

Headquarters

HQ city

Sherburn In Elmet

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Temporary Structure Hire: Rental of staging, scaffolding, and temporary structures to festival organizers, event promoters, and production companies. Structures are delivered, installed, and removed.
2. Installation Services: Design, build, and installation of temporary structures and staging. Includes in-house design team and experienced supervisors overseeing onsite installation and de-rig.
3. Power and Electrical Solutions: Temporary power, lighting, and distribution services for events. Generator provision with bio fuel, LED lighting installation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Acorn designs, manufactures, and installs temporary indoor and outdoor event structures, staging, roofs, grandstands, platforms, scaffold systems, access and gantry solutions, and bespoke structures for festivals, concerts, film and TV productions, arts and theatrical productions, sporting events, exhibitions, and parties. The company maintains one of the UK's largest Layher event scaffold inventories and combines this with in-house design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities to deliver complete event-build solutions.

Product overview

Acorn Structures is a provider of indoor and outdoor temporary structures and staging solutions for the event, arts, film, television and sporting sectors. The core product portfolio centers around staging systems (Mega Structure, Mega Roof, Ultra Stage, Ultra Wall, Space Roof, Arc Roof, Dome Stage, Sonic Stage, Midi Stage) supported by ancillary modules (Ancillary Staging Structures, Access & Gantries, Platforms, Grandstands) and custom capabilities (Bespoke Structures, Studios). The company operates one of the largest inventories of Layher event scaffold in the UK, offering both installation and hire services. Products range from modular standard packages to bespoke creations, with recent launches including the Ultra Stage (2025) and Sonic Studio (2023).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mega Structure Acorn's proprietary large-scale event scaffold structure system, used as the main staging scaffold on major festival and concert builds.
• Mega Roof Proprietary Mega Roof staging roofing system designed to cover Acorn Mega Structure scaffolding for large festival and concert productions.
• Ultra Stage Acorn's newest proprietary staging system, launched after R&D and test builds.
• Ultra Wall Proprietary wall system released with the Ultra Stage launch.
• Sonic Stage
• Space Roof Acorn's proprietary Space Roof staging product for event coverage.
• Arc Roof Acorn's proprietary Arc Roof staging product for event coverage.
• Dome Stage Acorn's proprietary dome-style staging product.
• Midi Stage Acorn's proprietary smaller-scale Midi Stage system for mid-sized event staging needs.
• Sonic Studio Acorn's proprietary broadcast and recording studio build product, part of its Studios service offering.
• Platforms Supply and installation of event platforms using Acorn's scaffold inventory and engineering capability.
• Grandstands Design, supply, and installation of temporary grandstands for sporting, festival, and public events.
• Access & Gantries Solutions for accessibility, pedestrian and crew access, and gantry structures at event sites.
• Bespoke Structures Custom-designed structures for unique event, arts, broadcast, and architectural requirements.
• Scaffold Services Event scaffold hire and build services drawing on Acorn's large Layher scaffold inventory.
• Studios Acorn's studio service line, including the proprietary Sonic Studio, for film and broadcast clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero injuries targeted through ESITS training and accreditation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ESITS (Event Structures Industry Training Scheme)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Industry training accreditation scheme co-founded by Acorn. Acorn was first event structures company to commit employees to ESITS training. Currently facilitating development of TDS Technician 10-day course pilot. Scheme addresses skills gap in temporary demountable structures installation.
• Simian (ESITS Scheme)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Co-developed the Events Industry Training Scheme (ESITS) with Simian. Andy Nutter (Co-founder/CEO) and Igor Pacejs (Technical Director) worked closely with Simian to develop ESITS qualifications for temporary demountable structures. Acorn piloted the first ESITS training courses including GECO and TDS Technician programs.
• LayhercoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary equipment supplier for modular scaffolding. Acorn maintains one of the largest inventories of Layher event scaffold in the UK. Layher system forms the basis of most Acorn temporary structures including stages, platforms, and access solutions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Neptunus Structures: Neptunus is one of the largest temporary structure providers in the UK and Europe, directly competing with Acorn across festivals, exhibitions, and sporting events with comparable modular and clear-span structures.
• Stageco: Stageco is a leading European staging and rigging specialist serving major music festivals and tours, directly overlapping with Acorn's festival and concert staging business.
• Losberger De Boer: Losberger De Boer (now part of Röder Group) is a major European provider of temporary event structures and tents, directly comparable to Acorn in festival, exhibition, and event deployments.
• Veldeman: Veldeman is a Belgian manufacturer and supplier of temporary and semi-permanent structures for events, sports, and industry, offering directly comparable products to Acorn's temporary structure portfolio.
• Wernick Event Hire: Wernick is a UK modular structures and events hire company with overlapping capabilities in temporary buildings, staging, and event infrastructure directly comparable to Acorn's offering.
• HTS tentiQ: HTS tentiQ manufactures and supplies large temporary structures and industrial tents for events, exhibitions, and sporting events, competing directly with Acorn in the temporary structure market.

Broad incumbents

• GL Events: GL Events is a large, publicly listed global events services group offering temporary structures, exhibition services, and venue management — overlapping with Acorn but at significantly broader scale and scope.
• Production Resource Group (PRG): PRG is a global event production services provider offering staging, rigging, and event infrastructure at much greater scale than Acorn, providing a broader-incumbent reference point in the same end markets.
• Sunbelt Rentals: Sunbelt Rentals is a large general equipment rental company with a UK events division supplying temporary infrastructure, partially overlapping with Acorn's event hire business at a broader scale.

Others

• Aggreko: Aggreko is a global temporary power and temperature control provider serving events, festivals, and film/TV — adjacent to Acorn's own power and electrical solutions offering and a complementary participant in the same events ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acorneventsuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBj8HmebJRvKz0uBhRTiITQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/acornevents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acorn-event-structures-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/acorn_events

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Acorn