DONNELLY CABINS LTD

What DONNELLY CABINS LTD does

Donnelly Cabins Ltd is a Northern Ireland-based manufacturer, hirer, and modifier of temporary accommodation products, operating since 1979 from a 20,000 ft2 purpose-built factory in Toome, Co. Antrim. The company designs, manufactures, and supplies a portfolio of physical cabin and modular building solutions including Jack-Leg Cabins (budget portable units), Anti-Vandal Cabins (secure units with multi-point locking and steel shutters), Anti-Vandal Modular Buildings (heavy-duty welded-steel modules with stacked-link capability), CTX Office Cabins (flexible modular systems with interchangeable wall panels), modified Shipping Containers (Cor-Ten steel, custom-configured for offices, plant rooms, workshops, secure stores), and bespoke Secure Enclosures for equipment such as generators, heat pumps, and compressors.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining one-time product sales (purchased units), recurring hire and lease of its cabin and modular fleet (one of the largest in Northern Ireland, expanding into the Republic of Ireland), subscription-style self-storage revenue via the Donnelly Self-Store sub-brand, and professional services for transport, crane-assisted delivery, on-site erection, groundworks, and design. A direct sales team conducts on-site assessments and the company delivers using its own fleet of trucks with mounted hydraulic cranes, vertically integrating production through installation.

Customers are spread across private and public sector markets in the UK and Ireland, with named enterprise engagements spanning construction (Farrans, Lagan Construction), salt and chemicals (Wilson Salt), pharmaceuticals (Almac), higher education (Queens University Belfast), environmental services (CDEnviro), and aviation (London City Airport). The company is privately held, family-operated with no disclosed institutional investors, and operates with a headcount in the 11-50 range. Its operating divisions are marketed under the Donnelly Cabins, Donnelly Hire, and Donnelly Self-Store sub-brands.

Name

DONNELLY CABINS LTD

Legal name

Donnelly Cabins Ltd

Website

https://donnellycabins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Donnelly Cabins Ltd, founded 1979 in Northern Ireland, manufactures, hires, and modifies portable cabins, modular buildings, anti-vandal units, modified shipping containers, and secure equipment enclosures for construction, public sector, and industrial customers across the UK and Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toome

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Manufacturing and selling portable buildings including jack-leg cabins, anti-vandal cabins, modular buildings, and modified shipping containers to private and public sector customers.
2. Equipment Hire: Hire and lease of temporary accommodation products including cabins and larger modular buildings. Company holds one of largest fleets of hire cabins in Northern Ireland with increasing presence in Republic of Ireland.
3. Self-Storage: Secure self-storage facilities using shipping containers, available to domestic and commercial customers at competitive rates with 6-day weekly access.
4. Transport and Erection Services: Delivery services using fleet of trucks with mounted hydraulic cranes, on-site erection services, external ground works including foundations, access steps, ramps and mains service connections.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Donnelly Cabins Ltd manufactures, hires, and modifies portable cabins, modular buildings, anti-vandal cabins, and shipping containers for temporary site accommodation across the UK and Ireland. The company also delivers ancillary services including transport, on-site erection, self-storage, and a bespoke design service for custom cabin configurations.

Product overview

Donnelly Cabins Ltd is a manufacturer and supplier of temporary accommodation products, operating as a single unified product portfolio of physical cabin and modular building solutions. The core product lines include: Jack-Leg Cabins (budget portable units), Anti-Vandal Cabins (secure units with enhanced security features), Anti-Vandal Modular Buildings (multi-module secure structures), CTX Office Cabins (flexible modular system with interchangeable panels), and Shipping Containers (modified shipping industry-standard containers). These products are complemented by related services including Donnelly Hire (accommodation rental), Donnelly Self-Store (container-based storage), and Transport/Erection services. The company also offers a full Design Service for custom specifications. Products serve diverse applications including offices, canteens, drying rooms, toilet blocks, secure stores, and bespoke enclosures for equipment such as compressors and generators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jack-Leg Cabins (JL): Budget portable cabin accommodation units available in various sizes and configurations for offices, canteens, drying rooms, and toilet blocks.
• Anti-Vandal Cabins (AV)
• AV Modular
• CTX
• Secure Enclosures

Products and services

• Jack-Leg Cabins Portable cabins mounted on adjustable jack legs, used as temporary site offices and welfare accommodation for construction and infrastructure projects.
• Anti-Vandal Cabins Steel-clad secure portable cabins designed to resist vandalism and theft, typically deployed on unsecured sites.
• Anti-Vandal Modular Buildings Larger anti-vandal modular building units linked together to provide multi-room secure site accommodation such as offices, canteens, and welfare blocks.
• CTX Office Cabins Office-format portable cabins intended for use as temporary on-site offices for construction and commercial clients.
• Shipping Containers Standard and modified shipping containers supplied for storage, conversion, and site logistics applications.
• Secure Enclosures Secure enclosure units for protecting equipment, materials, and tools on customer sites.
• Donnelly Hire Rental service providing portable cabins and modular buildings to customers on short- and long-term hire contracts.
• Donnelly Self-Store Self-storage service offering secure container-based storage units to commercial and private customers.
• Transport & On-Site Erection Delivery, positioning, and on-site erection service for cabins, modular buildings, and containers supplied by the company.
• Design Service Bespoke design service for customised cabin layouts and configurations to meet specific site and operational requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2200 square ft delivered and erected in less than 6 hours
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• P. McVey Building SystemsminorOthersPartner company whose logo appears on Donnelly Cabins website footer. Nature of relationship not explicitly defined in available source material.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• A-Plant (Sunbelt UK): Major UK equipment hire company providing site accommodation cabins, modular buildings and welfare units alongside broader plant and tool hire. Comparable in the hire cabin and modular space to Donnelly Hire, but as part of a diversified equipment hire business.
• Algeco (Modulaire Group): European leader in modular space rental and sale, operating large hire fleets of portable cabins, anti-vandal units and modular buildings. Directly overlaps with Donnelly's sales-and-hire model on site accommodation, but at pan-European scale.
• Portakabin: UK market leader in modular buildings and portable site accommodation, offering hire and sale of modular cabins, anti-vandal units and full modular buildings. Directly comparable to Donnelly across product range (Jack-Leg / AV / Modular), but at significantly larger scale and with national coverage.
• Wernick Group: One of the UK's largest modular building manufacturers and hirers, supplying site accommodation, modular offices and modular classrooms for hire and sale. Comparable offering to Donnelly's modular and jack-leg cabin ranges, with a much larger hire fleet and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Container Conversions (UK): UK-based specialist in converting shipping containers into site offices, welfare units, secure stores and bespoke enclosures. Closely comparable to Donnelly's modified shipping container and secure enclosure product lines for both sale and hire.
• McKale Containers: UK manufacturer and supplier of shipping container conversions and portable cabins for site accommodation. Comparable to Donnelly's container- and cabin-based products for sale and hire.
• Sico Shipping Container Conversions: UK manufacturer of converted shipping containers used as offices, stores and welfare units. Directly comparable to Donnelly's container modification offering within the same UK and Ireland market.

Emerging players

• Boughton (Loomis Industries): UK provider of portable buildings and container-based secure storage solutions serving construction and self-storage end markets. Comparable to Donnelly across portable cabin sales and self-storage offerings (Donnelly Self-Store) at a similar mid-market scale.
• Kennedy Containers / Kennedy Site Accomodation: Smaller UK/Irish supplier of shipping container conversions and portable site cabins. Comparable niche product offering to Donnelly at a smaller scale, often competing for the same regional construction and self-storage customers.

Regional players

• CPL Industries / Container Conversions Ireland: Irish-based supplier of modified shipping containers and portable accommodation units serving construction and industrial customers. Directly comparable to Donnelly's growing Republic of Ireland presence in cabins and container conversions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/donnellycabins?fref=ts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/donnelly-cabins-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 DONNELLY CABINS LTD