Our History
Bunkabin has been around for over 45 years, starting from humble beginnings and growing to become an award-winning, leading supplier of temporary accommodation. Getting here hasn’t been easy, but we’re not afraid of a bit of graft, especially if it means being able to provide products that make clients come back for more.
1979 - First Cabin Built...on Frank’s Drive
Legend has it that in the spring evenings of 1979, following a full day’s hard work, Frank Rothwell built his first cabin on the driveway of his family home. He sold it after a single advert was placed in the classifieds of the Oldham Evening Chronicle. Following this success, he built another one, which also sold after just one night in the classifieds.
Unsurprisingly, the neighbours complained to the council because of the over-enthusiastic hammering, but now Frank had the desire to make a success of manufacturing cabins. He called the business ‘Frank Rothwell Plant Hire’ and rented a garage near Fielding Mill on Radclyffe Street in Middleton, Manchester.
On 5th April 1979, Frank employed David Proctor, who provided more than 35 years of loyal service until his retirement at the end of 2015.
Our second longest serving employee is Keith Humphries who started 18th June 1986, shortly followed by seven others.
1984 - Relocation to Manchester
1984 was significant for us for a number of reasons. Frank Rothwell Plan Hire became Manchester Cabins and the first commercial property was opened: 688 Oldham Road, Miles Platting, Manchester.
Manchester Cabins quickly expanded into adjacent properties, including the old Louis Edwards Meat Factory. With this acquisition came our current boardroom table, where it is believed that Louis Edwards signed George Best for Manchester United.
We also saw our first hire cabin entered in the hire fleet and we bought our first wagon-mounted HIAB crane.
The wagon-mounted HIAB crane with Les the driver, who still works for us.
1987 - Our growth continues
To cater for the business’s exponential expansion, a 25,000 sq ft factory was built on Drewett Street, Miles Platting. The purpose-built factory brought with it a revolutionary technique of constructing our cabins. Walls were prepared on a press and injected with polyurethane foam instead of the traditional stud walls and polystyrene sheet insulation. This helped to improve both the strength of our units and their thermal retention properties, making our units warmer and more energy efficient.
1990 - Time to Recalibrate
When a recession hit the UK in 1990, our business growth slowed, meaning we had to put moving to a new factory on hold and take stock of our business model and strategy. This was a good time to change our course and make sure we were prepared to bounce back and continue our growth when the time was right.
1992 - Getting back on track
With the future looking brighter and a new business plan in place, we made a significant move to a 52,000 sq ft purpose-built factory in Miles Platting, on the junction of Oldham Road and Hulme Hall Lane.
1994 - The Bunkabin Sleeper Unit is created
The Original Sleeper Unit was pioneered and designed in 1994 after it came to Frank’s attention that many construction workers were dying every year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning through sleeping in inadequate accommodation. With a new challenge set, Frank designed a unit that was specifically for sleeping in, which offered warmth and comfort with en-suite facilities, and, most importantly, had no gas.
This was the first sleeper of its kind and was not only an instant success, but it paved the way for Bunkabin to become the largest sleeper hire company in Great Britain.
The Original Sleeper
1996 - Bunkabin is born
The first design of our sleeper cabin was called the Original Sleeper because that is exactly what it was - original. As a company, we knew Frank had created something that would transform onsite living and as word spread about Frank’s design, demand surged.
The growth was so significant it became clear that this product needed its own identity, and in 1996, Manchester Cabins created and trademarked Bunkabin.
The original Bunkabin logo
All this time, Manchester Cabins was busy manufacturing cabins for other companies as well as for our own customers. With the success of the Bunkabin units and the demand for more sleepers from construction companies all over the UK, we needed to level up and keep pace with the demand.
2001 - Cabins, car parks and bunkabins
We made the strategic decision to manufacture predominantly for Manchester Cabins and Bunkabin’s own hire fleets, and soon realised we needed another factory. We relocated to Tweedle Way, Oldham at a great location off junction 22 of the M60. Bunkabin was continuing to grow and the new factory fitted our business model perfectly.
While Frank was away from work and sailing around the world, he read an article about a surgeon who was paged to come into work (in a time before mobile phones) to carry out an emergency operation. The surgeon rushed to the hospital but was unable to park his car anywhere. Frustrated, the surgeon eventually managed to park his car and made his way to the theater to scrub in. However, he was so worked up about his ordeal that he was unable to concentrate and had to withdraw from the operation.
This story vexed Frank and he set his mind to solving the problem. He returned to work and set about designing and pioneering a portable multi-storey car park. Like Bunkabin, this proved another fantastic creation, and several patents later, Frank set up a company called Another Level Car Parks, which has gone on to become another successful, problem-solving business.
2005 - An important decision
The decision to manufacture only for ourselves proved invaluable and allowed us to focus on our customers and end users, honouring our fundamental principle to ‘treat customers how we would want to be treated’.
Now with three companies - Manchester Cabins, Bunkabin and Another Level Car Park - various patents and trademarks and, of course, the Bunkabin biscuits that we like to slip into our sleeper units, it was time to take a breath and make sure that what we do, we do well.
The original Diner unit
2017 - A year of celebrations
2017 saw Bunkabin pick up Oldham’s Business of the Year in the £5 million to £10 million turnover category. Speaking about the accolade, Ben Rothwell, Business Development Manager, said: “We are delighted to have won this award. It has been a fantastic year for us as we continue to grow as a business, taking on lots of exciting new customers and, importantly, continuing to work with older ones too.”
In 2017, Bunkabin also celebrated working with the world-famous festival Glastonbury for its 15th year. We provide a significant number of sleeper units to the festival each year. These units are used as sleeping accommodation by a range of people, including festival management, staff, and support services, such as the BBC and power generator company Aggreko.
Luke Rothwell, Director at Bunkabin, said: “It’s a real honour to have worked with such a huge, internationally-renowned festival for 15 years. Glastonbury requires an army of workers to ensure everything goes to plan, and we’re proud that Bunkabin plays an important role in that. We know that working a festival can be extremely tiring and our portable accommodation provides the perfect setting for a good night’s sleep.
2020 - Supporting the nation through covid-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the world, we quickly realised that we could support those who were making a difference.
As frontline services faced unprecedented pressure, demand for safe, on-site accommodation surged. Our units were used by NHS staff who needed to isolate themselves from their families, by key workers keeping essential infrastructure running, and by organisations requiring additional space to operate safely. In many cases, people simply couldn’t go home, and we were able to provide them with a place to rest, recover and carry on.
Throughout the year, we worked at full pace, supplying units across the country to support critical services. In fact, demand was so high at times that we had to go all out to meet demand.
Despite the challenges, 2020 also highlighted what matters most to us as a business… our people. Every member of the team stepped up during one of the busiest and most demanding periods in our history, and as a thank you, we made sure that success was shared across the workforce.
We also chose to give back to our local community, donating £30,000 to Oldham Council to help those most affected by the pandemic.
While it was a challenging time for the world, 2020 reinforced the importance of what we do: providing safe, reliable accommodation wherever it’s needed most.
2025 - Shirt sponsors at Oldham Athletic, and Frank Rothwell OBE
In 2025, we were proud to strengthen our ties with the local community by becoming shirt sponsors for Oldham Athletic. As a business rooted in the North West, supporting a historic local club was a natural fit and a reflection of our ongoing commitment to the area where it all began.
This year also marked a truly special milestone for our founder, Frank Rothwell, who was awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to business and charity, most notably rowing solo across the Atlantic and raising £1.4 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
From building his first cabin on his driveway to leading multiple successful ventures, Frank’s journey has been defined by hard work, determination and a desire to make a difference, and we think it’s fair to say he’s done that many times over.
The story is far from over!
