We wanted to launch our new blog series by introducing the founder of Stretch Tents Scotland, Mark Paton.
Firstly Mark, tell us a little bit about your background before setting up Stretch Tents Scotland
“Before setting up Stretch Tents Scotland I was in the events industry for 14 years working for Arc Marquees. My son Edward came along in 2012, and it soon became quite apparent that I couldn’t carry on with Arc Marquees, working 7 days a week and 10 hour days.
I’d noticed stretch tents appearing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and decided to buy a couple of 15m x 10.5m tents. I managed to secure two tents in St Andrew Square for The Stand Comedy Club, and didn’t look back.
We launched Stretch Tents Scotland in March 2014.”
Since then, what have been some of your highlights?
“Highlights include The Assynt Crofters’ Trust on Clactoll beach in Sutherland, and also St Andrew Square for The Stand Comedy Club, which is an obvious highlight as it really launched STS.”
How has the business evolved over the years?
“The business has grown arms and legs. Having started with two 15m x 10.5m tents, we now have 48 tents, with different size options. During the pandemic, we sold a lot of tents to pubs and hotels as they needed to be able to accommodate their customers outdoors, and this enabled me to purchase new stock. We have over 100 tents up that are semi-permanent including at the Jigger Inn in St Andrews, The Raeburn in Edinburgh, and Gleneagles, to name a few.
Also two of my tents featured heavily in Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Star that was shown recently on the BBC. The tents looked fantastic!”
If someone is planning an event at the moment, why should they consider a stretch tent?
“Stretch tents are much better looking than a bog standard marquee. You’re getting 150m2 of cool space that all fits in the back of a van, which saves the massive haulage costs involved with traditional frame marquees.”
What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?
“We have so much going on at the moment, but I’m looking forward to Walker’s Shortbread 125 year anniversary on Speyside, as we are doing a lot of tents for this event; the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club; along with all the music events we do including TRNSMT in Glasgow, FLY Open Air Festival at Hopetoun House, and Otherlands Festival at Scone Palace.”