What Rubb Buildings Ltd. does

Rubb Buildings Ltd is a UK-based designer, manufacturer, and installer of engineered tensile fabric-clad steel-frame buildings, founded in 1977 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Norwegian conglomerate Zurhaar Industries AS. Its core technology combines post-fabrication hot-dip galvanized structural steel (BS EN ISO 1461:1999, 25-year warranty) with PVC-coated polyester membrane cladding and the patented Thermohall® insulated cladding system, delivering clear spans from 3m to over 100m, relocatable and permanent configurations, and climate tolerance from -51°C to +49°C. The proprietary EFASS (Expeditionary Forces Aircraft Shelter System) line and the patent-pending SolarFlex solar-integrated envelope, developed in partnership with Alotta, extend the platform into rapidly deployable military hangars and on-site clean-energy generation.

The company operates a direct enterprise field-sales motion selling custom and pre-designed buildings via quote-based multi-year contracts, supplemented by a rental channel through sister company Renthall UK (12-month to 5+ year terms) and a refurbished-sales channel for pre-owned buildings with a 12-month warranty. Customers span aviation (easyJet, Turkish Technic, British Airways), military and government (UK MoD, RAF, Lithuanian Air Force, NASA, Welsh Government), energy (E.ON), marine (Harland & Wolff), industrial (Nifco), and sports (Sunderland AFC, Newcastle United FC), with five regional entities (USA, MEA, Norway, Sweden, Poland) supporting global delivery. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; growth is anchored by a six-year UK MoD single-source contract awarded in March 2026 and ongoing NATO RPAS deployments, with full lifecycle maintenance, relocation, and re-sheeting services providing recurring engagement on the installed base.

Name

Rubb Buildings Ltd.

Legal name

Rubb Buildings Ltd.

Website

https://rubbuk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Rubb Buildings Ltd designs, manufactures, and installs engineered fabric-clad steel-frame buildings (3m to 100m+ spans) for aviation, military, storage, sports, energy, and marine customers, serving as a wholly-owned UK subsidiary of Norway's Zurhaar Industries AS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineered Fabric Buildings

NAICS

Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing (332322)

SIC

Prefabricated Metal Buildings & Components (3448)

akta.pro primary industry

Cold-Formed Steel Framing & Studs (IMADACAF)

Keywords

• Engineered fabric buildings
• Aircraft hangars
• Military shelters
• Temporary warehouses
• Insulated structures

Headquarters

HQ city

Gateshead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. New Building Sales: Custom-designed and pre-designed fabric buildings sold to enterprise customers across aviation, military, sports, storage, ports, energy, and other sectors. Buildings can be purchased outright with full ownership.
2. Rental (Renthall UK): Buildings available for rental through sister company Renthall UK with flexible terms ranging from 12 months to 5+ years. Monthly rental covers delivery, installation, with dismantling charge at end of contract. Option to purchase at end of rental period.
3. Refurbished Building Sales: Pre-owned buildings collected after rental periods, refurbished at Gateshead HQ, and sold at reduced cost with 12-month warranty. Stock includes THA shelters, EFASS hangars, and NV buildings.
4. Maintenance Services: Comprehensive lifecycle services including responsive care, service plans, cleaning, upgrades, extensions, re-sheeting, and relocation services for existing buildings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rubb Buildings Ltd designs, manufactures, and installs engineered tensile fabric-clad, steel-frame buildings spanning from 3m to over 100m for aviation hangars, military shelters, storage warehouses, sports facilities, ports, marine, energy, and other industrial sectors. The core portfolio includes the Fabric Structures Range (pre-designed and custom models), the EFASS rapid-deploy military hangar system, the patented Thermohall® insulated cladding system, and the patent-pending SolarFlex solar-integrated building envelope. Buildings are sold outright, rented via sister company Renthall UK, or supplied as refurbished units, with full lifecycle maintenance and relocation services.

Product overview

Rubb Buildings Ltd offers a portfolio of engineered tensile fabric-clad steel-frame buildings that serve as an alternative to traditional construction. The core product line includes the Fabric Structures Range (with pre-designed models PDS, PDM, PDL and custom types BVR, BVI, BVE, BVC, BVL, BLE, NV, THA, RDS, CXB, and Rubb Hall), the specialized EFASS military hangar system, and add-on modules Thermohall® (insulated cladding) and SolarFlex (solar panel integration). Buildings are available for purchase, rental, or as refurbished units, with full lifecycle services including maintenance, relocation, and re-sheeting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EFASS: Expeditionary Forces Aircraft Shelter System - rapidly deployable military hangars designed for quick erection anywhere in the world
• SolarFlex
• Thermohall
• Renthall UK

Products and services

• Rubb Fabric Structures Range Engineered tensile fabric-clad, steel-frame buildings available in pre-designed and custom configurations for aviation, military, storage, sports, ports, marine, energy, and other sectors. Spans from 3m to over 100m by any length, relocatable and permanent solutions.
• EFASS (Expeditionary Forces Aircraft Shelter System) Rapidly deployable military hangars designed for quick erection anywhere in the world. Available in 11.1m, 20.4m, 25m, and 30m spans. Packed into 20ft ISO containers for transport via land, sea, and air. Features aluminium and hot-dip galvanized steel framing, operates in climates from -51°C to +49°C, and includes Trident and Heli-Door rapid aircraft deployment systems.
• Thermohall® Insulated Cladding System Patented insulated fabric cladding system featuring high-density glass wool insulation encapsulated within heavy-duty PVC fabric. Provides energy efficiency, condensation prevention, and temperature control across three insulation grades with U-values from 0.67 to 0.25 W/m²K. Used across all Rubb structure types for climate-controlled environments.
• SolarFlex Solar-Powered Building System Lightweight, patent-pending integrated solar panel system developed in partnership with Alotta using Alotta Prism technology. Enables clean electricity generation from the building envelope with a 25–30 year lifetime, available in grid-connected, off-grid, and hybrid configurations with real-time monitoring via Alotta Cloud.
• Rental Service (Renthall UK) Rental of Rubb fabric buildings via sister company Renthall UK with flexible monthly rental terms from 12 months to 5+ years. Monthly rental covers delivery and installation, with option to purchase at end of rental period. Provides customers with capital-light access to temporary or permanent structures.
• Maintenance Services Comprehensive lifecycle support for Rubb buildings including responsive care service, service plans, cleaning, upgrades and extensions, re-sheet service, and relocation services. Designed to maintain building performance and extend operational lifespan across the asset lifecycle.
• Refurbished Building Sales Pre-owned Rubb buildings collected after rental periods, refurbished at the Gateshead HQ, and sold at reduced cost with a 12-month warranty. Stock includes THA shelters, EFASS hangars, and NV buildings, offering customers faster installation at lower cost.

Quantifiable outcome

• Structures remain functional 40+ years after installation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AlottacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Norwegian company Alotta for development of SolarFlex patent-pending solar-integrated building solution. Alotta provides Alotta Prism technology enabling lightweight solar panel integration into Rubb fabric buildings. Partnership supports clean energy generation from building envelopes with real-time monitoring via Alotta Cloud.
• Taiklu UABcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Lithuanian company Taiklu UAB for delivery of EFASS military hangars to Lithuanian Air Force. Six new 20.4m x 30m EFASS structures delivered for NATO Baltic Air Policing missions.
• Renthall UKcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSister company and affiliate handling all rental enquiries for Rubb buildings. Provides flexible financing options for temporary structures with monthly rental costs. Contact via renthall.co.uk.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Losberger De Boer: Global provider of modular tent and temporary building solutions for events, sports, military, and industrial use. Directly comparable to Rubb in large-span temporary/semi-permanent structures across multiple sectors including aviation and military.
• Sprung Instant Structures: Leading global manufacturer of tensioned fabric structures serving military, aviation, and commercial customers. Directly comparable to Rubb in product technology (steel-framed fabric buildings) and end markets, including expeditionary military shelters and large clear-span hangars.
• HTS tentiQ: German-headquartered manufacturer of engineered tent and fabric structures serving events, military, aviation, and industrial markets globally. Highly comparable product line to Rubb's fabric structures range, particularly in large-span temporary and semi-permanent buildings.
• ClearSpan Fabric Structures: US manufacturer of fabric and metal building solutions for agriculture, commercial, and industrial applications. Comparable to Rubb in fabric-clad clearspan building technology, though with greater emphasis on agricultural/equestrian markets.
• Alaska Structures: US-based manufacturer of expeditionary fabric buildings with strong focus on military, government, and government-funded humanitarian deployments. Directly competes with Rubb's EFASS product line in the rapid-deploy military hangar market.
• Shelter Structures: Manufacturer of clearspan fabric structures serving events, sports, industrial, and military markets. Directly comparable to Rubb in product technology and rapid-deployment large-span fabric buildings.
• Big Top Manufacturing: US manufacturer of fabric shelters and structures for military, industrial, and aviation applications. Comparable to Rubb in fabric building technology and key customer segments including the US Department of Defense.

Broad incumbents

• Butler Manufacturing: Established US pre-engineered metal building manufacturer serving commercial and industrial construction. Broad incumbent competing with Rubb in the steel-frame building category but with a wider portfolio and conventional construction focus.
• Varco Pruden Buildings: US pre-engineered steel building manufacturer offering conventional metal building systems for commercial, industrial, and institutional projects. Comparable as a steel building incumbent but does not offer the relocatable, rapid-deploy fabric-clad systems central to Rubb's differentiation.
• Nucor Building Systems: Large US pre-engineered steel building manufacturer offering conventional metal buildings for commercial, industrial, and institutional customers. Competes with Rubb in industrial/warehouse applications but does not offer the rapid-deploy fabric-clad systems that define Rubb's niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RubbUK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RUBBUK/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rubb-buildings-ltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/rubb.buildings

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Rubb Buildings Ltd.