From sub-hire to ownership: Turning an iconic live show into a £250k investment
About Rigging Team
Rigging Team has been operating at the specialist end of the UK live events industry for over 15 years. Based in Hertfordshire, the 16-person team, backed by a pool of freelancers, delivers bespoke automation, performer flying and rigging solutions.
Whether they’re flying mascots across the O2 Arena roof for NBA games, bringing the Cirque du Soleil to life or running automation systems for critically acclaimed musicals, the team has a reputation for making the impossible possible.
Services include all aspects of specialist equipment, providing on-the-ground technical support and consulting.
The challenge
In late 2025, Rigging Team faced a decision on Come Alive: Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular – one of the longest-running productions in the company’s history.
The project had been secured with just three weeks’ notice, forcing Rigging Team to sub-hire automation equipment, supported by its in-house trained operators, for the first theatre run. What was expected to be a 12-month run quickly proved more successful than planned. The show extended. Then extended again.
With greater certainty around the show’s longevity, Rigging Team saw an opportunity to stop eroding margin through ongoing hire costs, but acquiring the equipment outright meant committing to a quarter of a million pounds in specialist kit. It would strengthen its asset base long-term if it could find and structure funding without locking up working capital.
The question was how. The custom-built winches and control systems, mains distribution and flight cases needed to be manufactured to order across three suppliers, delivered on different timelines and installed in-theatre in a day to avoid any disruption.
Rigging Team turned to us because they needed specialists. They needed a broker who understood live event equipment — and could translate their operational reality into a commercially credible story lenders would back.
The solution
Our approach began with the equipment itself – specifically, its modular nature. Drawing on our experience with specialist automation and live event assets, we knew this level of funding wouldn’t be supported by a single lender.
Our solution was syndication: splitting the finance into three functional packages across three lenders, instead of a single £250k+ facility.
Before approaching any lenders, we built the commercial case. This included structuring a functional equipment package for each lender based on its deployment, then modelling cash flows against Rigging Team’s forward pipeline of contracted work. Each lender could see independent utilistation and return on investment, and was provided with the comfort of blended exposure.
Throughout the process, we led communications between the three suppliers, three lenders and Rigging Team, securing terms and synchronising payouts. Meanwhile, Rigging Team stayed focused on delivering the show and servicing live contracts, avoiding weeks of negotiation and admin work.
The results
As a result of the funding structure we arranged, Rigging Team was able to:
- Establish a repeatable funding approach that has already supported a second financing round of a similar scale.
- Improve profit margins on the Come Alive: Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular project by converting rental costs into asset ownership
- Install the newly purchased automation system in one day without disrupting the live production schedule
- Maintain operations across existing contracts without tying up working capital
- Build equipment capacity for upcoming and future work
At a glance…
Investment
£250,000
Asset
Moveket automation system
Finance Solution
Asset Finance
Finance Term
4 years
What sets Catalyst apart is that they genuinely understand our business and our industry, and they truly care about getting the right results. We’re not just a number on a spreadsheet to them – Ramona is invested in helping us succeed.”
Adam Searle, Managing Director, Rigging Team
If you’re considering funding for a new asset, project or expansion, our team can walk you through the likely costs and options for your business. Book a time to talk with us today.
