What WORKHAUS PROJECTS LTD does

Workhaus Projects Ltd is a privately held, UK-based specialist museum fit-out contractor founded in 2001 by Jim Ibbetson, whose background was in theatre and TV scenic carpentry. The company designs, manufactures, and installs bespoke exhibition setworks, display cases, and interior fit-outs for museums, science centres, visitor attractions, and commercial clients across the UK and Europe, with occasional international projects in the US and Greece. Its core operating model is fully in-house: the same team of joiners, metal workers, painters, prop makers, project managers, and CAD technicians that fabricates the components also installs them on site, and on larger jobs Workhaus acts as main contractor, managing sub-contractors for lighting, AV, graphics, and interactive elements.

The technology stack is advanced-manufacturing rather than software: 3D CAD design, CNC machining, and multi-material (timber, metals, Corian, Valchromat) fabrication backed by ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications and Carbon Neutral status. The company earns revenue on a project-based, one-time basis via custom quotations, with the largest disclosed contract being the £3.5 million Eureka! Science + Discovery project completed in December 2022. Customer concentration is enterprise and tender-driven, anchored by recurring work with design agencies such as Mather & Co, Real Studios, Easy Tiger, and DPM, and end clients including V&A Dundee, Warner Bros (Wizarding World, New York), the National Railway Museum, Dublin Zoo, and Paris Saint-Germain.

Ownership is founder-led: in 2020 Joe Fisher, who joined as a shopfitting apprentice in 2013, became director and majority shareholder alongside founder Jim Ibbetson. The business is profitable and self-funded, with no external investment or parent company identified. Growth signals include international deliveries (New York, Athens), ESG and quality certifications, and an enlarged reference portfolio, but no disclosed revenue, headcount, or pipeline data limits visibility into scale.

Name

WORKHAUS PROJECTS LTD

Legal name

Workhaus Projects Ltd

Website

https://theworkhaus.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Workhaus Projects Ltd is a UK-based specialist museum fit-out contractor that designs, manufactures, and installs bespoke exhibition setworks and displays for museums, science centres, visitor attractions, and commercial clients across the UK and Europe, with occasional international projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum and Exhibition Fit-Out Contracting

NAICS

Building Finishing Contractors (2383)

SIC

Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Fabrication & Scenic/Set Build (Custom Builds, Installations) (BPAFAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Joinery, Millwork & Casework Installation (Cabinetry, Built-Ins) (IMAFANAJ)

Keywords

• Museum fit-out
• Bespoke exhibition fabrication
• Visitor centre construction
• Exhibition setwork design
• Themed environment building

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, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bespoke exhibition and museum fit-out: Project-based revenue from designing, manufacturing, and installing bespoke exhibition setworks, displays, and interiors for museums, visitor centres, and commercial spaces. The company acts as main contractor and project manages entire fit-out projects, including managing sub-contractors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Workhaus Projects Ltd is a specialist museum fit-out contractor that designs, manufactures, and installs bespoke exhibition setworks, displays, and interiors for museums, visitor centres, and commercial spaces. All fabrication is carried out in-house by their team of joiners, metal workers, painters, and prop makers using 3D CAD design and CNC machining, and the same team carries out installation on site. They also act as main contractor, providing full project management including sub-contractor coordination for international projects.

Product overview

WORKHAUS PROJECTS LTD is a specialist museum fit out contractor offering a single unified service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Their core offering encompasses bespoke setworks exhibitions and displays for museums, visitor centres, and commercial interiors across the UK and Europe. The company manufactures and supplies everything in-house, then carries out installation with the same manufacturing team, ensuring high quality and attention to detail. They also act as main contractor and can project manage entire projects. Their skilled workforce includes joiners, metal workers, painters, and prop makers, along with project managers and CAD technicians. Notable completed projects include V&A Dundee (Tartan and Robots exhibitions), Eureka! Science & Discovery Centre, Wizarding World New York, and the National Railway Museum's Brass, Steel and Fire exhibition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Fit-Out Contracting Services Bespoke design, in-house manufacture and on-site installation of exhibition setworks, displays, display cases, reception desks and themed interiors for museums, visitor centres, science centres, zoos and cultural institutions. Includes main contractor and project management services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest project to date valued at £3.5 million - Eureka! Science + Discovery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mather & CocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign agency that engages Workhaus for museum exhibition fit-out projects. Workhaus has worked on multiple projects for Mather & Co including Paris Saint-Germain History Room and R&A World of Golf Museum.
• DPMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigners for V&A Dundee Robots exhibition. DPM provides design expertise while Workhaus handles fabrication and installation.
• CodsteakscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSculpture and scenic work partner. Worked with Workhaus on Eureka! Science & Discovery Centre (sculpture and interactives) and Wizarding World New York (sculpture and scenic work).
• Fusion LXcoreTechnology or IntegrationLighting, projections and AV specialist. Regular sub-contractor for Workhaus on multiple projects including Paris Saint-Germain, R&A World of Golf, Eureka!, and Leeds City College Star Centre.
• Glasshaus DisplayscoreTechnology or IntegrationDisplay case manufacturer. Provides specialist display cases for Workhaus museum projects including Paris Saint-Germain and Mandela exhibitions.
• Easy TigercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign agency for Dublin Zoo Zoorassic World and Mandela touring exhibition. Workhaus fabricates and installs their designs.
• Real StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign agency for Eureka! Science & Discovery Centre. Provided concept designs that Workhaus translated into detailed 3D CAD models and fabricated.
• Simon Leach DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigners for Brass, Steel and Fire exhibition at National Railway Museum York.
• Plaid DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigners for V&A Dundee Tartan exhibition.
• Richard RogersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation mountmakers who worked with Workhaus on Oxford Museum of Natural History biodiversity displays.
• HouseholdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign agency for Wizarding World New York project, working with Workhaus and Codsteaks.
• PLB LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigners for Catalyst Science and Discovery Centre entrance project.
• Lamda DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for Explore Entertainment Centre Golden Hall Athens project. Workhaus was contracted as main contractor by Lamda Development.
• Warner BroscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensor for Wizarding World New York flagship store. Workhaus worked for Warner Bros in close collaboration with Codsteaks.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Haworth Tompkins: Established UK architecture and construction practice with significant cultural-sector presence across theatres, museums, and galleries. A broader incumbent competing on design-build fit-out for cultural and public-sector projects.
• Casson Mann: Established UK exhibition and museum design practice with both design and realization capabilities serving major cultural institutions. Sits in the same cultural-institution supply chain as Workhaus, often as the design lead whose briefs are then fabricated by specialist contractors.
• Easy Tiger: UK cultural and visitor-centre design agency that has engaged Workhaus as fabrication and installation partner on Dublin Zoo Zoorassic World and the Mandela touring exhibition. Adjacent design-side incumbent in the same museum fit-out supply chain.
• Real Studios: Cultural design practice delivering museums and visitor centres, including the Eureka! Science + Discovery project whose concept designs Workhaus then translated into 3D CAD and fabricated. Adjacent incumbent operating in the same institutional supply chain.
• Mather & Co: UK museum and visitor centre design agency that has engaged Workhaus as fabrication partner across the Paris Saint-Germain History Room and R&A World of Golf projects. Represents the design-side incumbent in the cultural fit-out ecosystem upstream of Workhaus's specialization.
• DPM: Design studio credited on the V&A Dundee Robots exhibition where Workhaus handled fabrication and installation. Operates as a design-side incumbent in the cultural exhibition market whose briefs flow to specialist fabrication contractors including Workhaus.

Direct peers

• Stage One Creative Services: UK-based scenic construction and creative services firm fabricating bespoke sets, structures, and installations for live events, exhibitions, and themed environments. Overlaps directly with Workhaus's bespoke scenic fabrication, museum, and themed-entertainment projects, competing for the same tier of design-led briefs.
• Codsteaks: UK sculpture and scenic fabrication studio that partnered with Workhaus on Eureka! Science + Discovery and the Wizarding World New York flagship — directly comparable in providing sculptural and scenic elements for exhibitions and themed environments.
• Glasshaus Displays: UK specialist display case manufacturer serving museums and galleries, providing cases for Workhaus projects including PSG and the Mandela touring exhibition. Overlaps directly with Workhaus on bespoke museum display fabrication for cultural institutions.

Others

• Mather & Co / Casson Mann peer group (design): This grouping captures the broader cluster of cultural exhibition design agencies (Mather & Co, Real Studios, Casson Mann, Easy Tiger, DPM, Plaid Design, Simon Leach Design) that originate briefs and engage specialist fabricators like Workhaus. They are ecosystem participants adjacent to the anchor rather than direct fabrication competitors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheWorkhausProjects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theworkhausprojects

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 WORKHAUS PROJECTS LTD