Conditions of Hire

Terms & Conditions of Hire

1. About these terms

1.1 These terms apply to every hire from Cotswold Marquees Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company number: 05019372. VAT number: 699 7130 02. Registered office: Unit 9, Brailes Industrial Estate, Winderton Lane, Lower Brailes, OX15 5JW.

1.2 Please read these terms carefully before booking. If anything is unclear, contact us on 01608 686900 or info@cotswoldmarquees.co.uk.

2. Definitions

2.1 "We", "us", "our" and "the Company" mean Cotswold Marquees Ltd. We may use sub-contractors and agents, but we remain responsible for their work.

2.2 "You", "your" and "the Hirer" mean the person or persons hiring from us.

2.3 "Staff" means our employees, sub-contractors and agents.

2.4 "Equipment" means the marquees and any other items we supply.

2.5 "Site" means the place where the Equipment is to be installed.

2.6 "Hire Period" means the period from installation to collection of the Equipment.

2.7 "Hire Charges" means the total price shown on your accepted quotation, as amended by any later changes to your order.

3. When the contract starts

3.1 The contract between us starts when we receive your booking fee and confirm your booking in writing. Until then, your date and Equipment are not reserved.

4. Hire period

4.1 We will install all marquees in time for the start of your event and, where possible, allow time for you to prepare beforehand.

4.2 If you need the Equipment for more than one day, please book it for the full period. Additional days may incur an extra charge.

5. Prices and payment

5.1 All prices include VAT at the current rate, currently 20%.

5.2 A booking fee of £200 is payable and will be invoiced to secure your date of hire and Equipment. It covers one initial site visit and any quotations or amendments up to the time of booking. The booking fee is non-refundable except as set out in clauses 8 and 25 and is deducted from your final balance. Additional site visits may be charged for.

5.3 40% of the Hire Charges is due 4 months before the installation date.

5.4 The balance is due 14 days before the installation date.

5.5 If you book less than 4 months before the installation date, the booking fee and 40% payment are due together at the time of booking. If you book less than 14 days before, the full Hire Charges are due at booking.

5.6 If your order changes after the balance is paid, any extra amount is due on receipt of the balancing invoice. Any overpayment will be refunded within 14 days.

6. Late payment

6.1 If an invoice is not paid on time, we may charge interest on the overdue amount at 5% a year above the Bank of England base rate, from the due date until payment.

6.2 If you are hiring as a business, we may instead claim interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

6.3 We may decline to deliver or install the Equipment if the balance has not been paid by the due date.

7. If you cancel

7.1 If you wish to cancel your booking, you must do so in writing and confirm that you have released all the Equipment for re-hire.

7.2 We will retain the booking fee to cover administration and equipment storage costs, which begin as soon as we receive your enquiry and which you accept are genuine and non-recoverable.

7.3 Whenever you cancel, we will try to re-hire the Equipment for your date. If we can, we will refund the money you have paid, less the booking fee and any additional administration costs (for example, second and subsequent site visits, or arranging other services for your event).

7.4 If we cannot re-hire the Equipment, the following cancellation charges apply. They are a percentage of the Hire Charges, excluding consumables and delivery fees.

7.5 Money you have already paid counts towards these charges. We will refund any excess within 14 days, or invoice you for any shortfall.

8. If we cancel

8.1 If we have to cancel your booking for any reason other than those in clause 25, or because you have not paid on time, we will refund all money you have paid, including the booking fee. Where we can, we will also help you find an alternative supplier.

8.2 If you do not make a payment when due, we will give you written notice. If payment is still not made within 7 days of that notice, we may cancel the booking and the charges in clause 7 will apply.

9. Changes to your order

9.1 Please tell us about any changes as soon as possible, and no later than 14 days before the installation date.

9.2 If changes are made later than this and extra journeys are needed, we will charge for the additional transport and labour. We may also charge for additional site visits and administration if there are excessive changes to an order.

10. Use of the Equipment by others

10.1 The agreement to hire is between you and us for the Hire Period. If you arrange for another individual or group to use your Site for an event while the Equipment is in place, you must tell us. Their use will be treated as a separate event and may incur additional charges.

10.2 Unless we have been told about and accepted the other event, you remain responsible for the Equipment, and liable for any damage or loss, until it is collected.

11. Your responsibility for the Equipment

11.1 You are responsible for the Equipment for the whole Hire Period.

11.2 If Equipment is lost or damaged, other than through fair wear and tear or our own negligence, you must pay the reasonable cost of repair or, where it cannot be repaired to a standard fit for hire, the reasonable cost of replacement.

12. Site visits and positioning

12.1 We will try to view all sites before accepting a hire.

12.2 You or your representative must be on Site when the Equipment is delivered, to confirm where the structure should go. We advise you to mark the position clearly with visible markers beforehand.

12.3 If no markers are in place and no one is there to direct us, we will have to decide where to install the marquee. If the position is wrong and time allows, we can move it, but this will be charged for.

13. Choosing the right marquee

13.1 We are happy to discuss the size of marquee and Equipment you need. However, it is your responsibility to order the marquee and Equipment that best suit your event.

14. Preparing the Site

14.1 Preparing and making good surfaces, grass or gravel is your responsibility.

14.2 Please remove all obstacles from the installation area before our Staff arrive. Additional labour charges will apply if our Staff have to move garden furniture or equipment (unless agreed in advance of our arrival on site), mow lawns, or wait while the ground is prepared.

14.3 We will take reasonable care when moving any of your property, but we are not responsible for damage to it unless caused by our negligence. Please move valuable or fragile items yourself before we arrive.

14.4 We may refuse to install the marquee if the Site is unsuitable, for example if it is waterlogged, too steep or poorly prepared.

15. Underground services

15.1 You must tell us the exact position of any underground pipes, cables or other services before installation.

15.2 We will avoid services that have been clearly identified to us. We are not responsible for damage to services whose location we were not told about, or which were not marked, unless the damage is caused by our negligence.

16. Access, installation and collection

16.1 You must tell us of any days and specific times when the Site cannot be accessed.

16.2 We will begin removing the Equipment as soon as possible after your event. We cannot clear every site immediately, so collection times will be agreed with you.

16.3 If our crew are delayed or cannot access the Site as agreed and have to return another time, we will charge for the additional costs.

17. Safe use of the marquee

17.1 Brace bars, stakes and weights on frame marquees, and guy ropes on traditional marquees, must not be removed or tampered with, as they keep the marquee stable. We are not liable for injury to persons or damage to property caused by these being moved or tampered with, except where caused by our negligence.

17.2 No one may climb on the roof of any structure. You must make sure your guests do not. We are not liable for injury caused by climbing on the roof, except where caused by our negligence.

17.3 You must make sure that everyone using the Equipment takes reasonable care to avoid injury. We are not responsible for injury caused by irresponsible behaviour, except where caused by our negligence.

18. Weather and high winds

18.1 Marquees are temporary structures. We may delay or decline installation if wind, snow or ground conditions make it unsafe. We will communicate with you if these conditions occur.

18.2 During the Hire Period you must follow any safety instructions we give you, which may include closing doors and walls or evacuating the marquee. The marquee must be evacuated if wind gusts reach 39 mph (Beaufort Force 8) or above.

18.3 In snowy or icy conditions, it may be necessary to heat the marquee at all times to prevent a build-up of snow on the structure. In severe conditions, the weight of snow may cause the framework to collapse.

18.4 If we have to return during the hire to make the structure safe, there is no charge unless the problem was caused by our instructions not being followed, or by the Equipment being tampered with.

19. Heating, electrics, open flames and fire safety

19.1 You must agree any additional equipment not supplied by us, such as heating, electrical or open-flame equipment (including candles), with us before the hire. It must be installed and operated by a competent person.

19.2 As the event organiser, you are likely to be the "responsible person" for fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This includes keeping exits clear and arranging suitable fire extinguishers.

19.3 Heaters hired from us are serviced regularly and checked when installed. If a heater does not work when you switch it on, you must contact us straight away so that we have the chance to fix or replace it. If you do not tell us about a fault during the Hire Period, we may refuse or reduce any refund claimed for that heater.

20. Smoking and vaping

20.1 By law, smoking is not allowed inside an enclosed or substantially enclosed marquee. Vaping is also not permitted inside our marquees.

20.2 We recommend setting up a smoking area a safe distance from the marquee.

21. Furniture and clearing up

21.1 Prices for tables and chairs do not include setting up, placing or dismantling the furniture unless stated on your quotation.

21.2 Floor coverings must be left reasonably free of litter, ready for collection. Unless otherwise agreed, you are responsible for clearing litter and debris from the Site. We will charge for clearing undue mess.

22. Permissions and licences

22.1 You are responsible for obtaining any permission needed from the landowner, and any licences or consents required for your event, such as a Temporary Event Notice for the sale of alcohol.

23. Insurance

23.1 We hold public and employers' liability insurance. We recommend that you take out event insurance to cover cancellation and loss or damage to the Equipment while it is in your care.

24. Our liability to you

24.1 Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

24.2 We are only responsible for loss or damage that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these terms or our negligence.

24.3 Subject to clause 24.1, our total liability to you is limited to the Hire Charges.

24.4 If you are hiring as a consumer, nothing in these terms affects your legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Citizens Advice can give you more information.

24.5 If you are hiring as a business, we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business or any indirect loss.

25. Events outside our control

25.1 Neither of us is liable for failure or delay in performing our obligations where this results from an event beyond our reasonable control. Such events include, but are not limited to: acts of God, government intervention or restrictions (including quarantine, pandemics, epidemics and notifiable diseases), natural disasters, severe weather (including gale-force winds, snowstorms and flooding), animal disease outbreaks such as foot and mouth, and fuel shortages.

25.2 The party affected must tell the other as soon as reasonably practicable.

25.3 If your event cannot go ahead because of such an event, we will first offer to move your booking to another date. If that is not possible, we will refund the money you have paid, less reasonable costs we have already incurred, which may include the booking fee.

25.4 Bad weather that does not make your event unsafe or impossible, such as rain, is not a reason to cancel under this clause. Clause 7 applies instead.

26. Your consumer cancellation rights

26.1 Consumers who book by phone, email, online or away from our premises usually have 14 days to cancel. This right does not apply to services for leisure events on a specific date (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28). Our cancellation terms in clause 7 apply instead.

27. Complaints

27.1 If you are unhappy with our service, please contact us at info@cotswoldmarquees.co.uk or 01608 686900 as soon as possible, so we can try to put things right. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 working days and aim to resolve it within 21 days.

28. General

28.1 These terms, together with your accepted quotation, form the whole agreement between us.

28.2 How we use your personal information is explained in our Privacy Policy.

28.3 These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings there.

Terms & Conditions reviewed 15 October 2026 by Barbara Easter.