About Us

Our Story – Garden Buildings Since 1979

I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. I have been involved in the garden building industry since 1979, when I started making and selling garden sheds under the name Marina Sheds. What began with sheds grew into a lifelong involvement with timber garden buildings, and today my son Craig runs the day-to-day business while I continue to support him and the team whenever required.

Over the years we have manufactured, sold and supplied garden sheds, garden workshops, summer houses, garden rooms and offices, garages and log cabins. That experience has taught us something very important: the right garden building is not necessarily the cheapest or most expensive one. It is the building with the right specification for what you actually need it to do.

Our Story – Garden Buildings Since 1979

My working life in the garden building industry began long before the internet, online shopping or even 1st Choice Leisure Buildings existed. I left school at 15 and in 1979 started my own business, trading as Marina Sheds.

In those days there was no website or online catalogue to hide behind. You spoke directly to customers, made the buildings, delivered them and built your reputation one job at a time. If something was not right, you had to deal with it.

That hands-on experience taught me a great deal about timber buildings. When you have actually manufactured sheds and workshops yourself, you learn where strength matters, why the floor and framing are important, what makes a good door and where shortcuts in construction are likely to show themselves later.

Where It All Began – Marina Sheds

I started Marina Sheds in 1979 with a straightforward idea: I believed I could offer customers better-made garden sheds together with good, honest service.

The business grew successfully, and over the years I gained experience not only in manufacturing but also in selling, delivering and dealing directly with customers. That combination has been invaluable because a garden building has to do more than look good when it leaves the factory. It has to work for the person who buys it.

I sold Marina Sheds in 1990. Unfortunately, I did not receive all the money I was due from the sale. It was a difficult lesson, but business does not always follow the route you expect, and that setback ultimately became another chapter in a much longer story.

A New Direction – Titan Garden Buildings

By 1992, it was clear that customers wanted far more than traditional garden sheds. We expanded the range to include summer houses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins. With the wider choice of buildings came a change of direction and the name Titan Garden Buildings.

That same year my son, Craig Antill, joined me in the business. Craig had been studying carpentry at Guildford College since 1990, so he brought practical woodworking knowledge and an understanding of timber construction with him.

From that point onwards, garden buildings became a family business for us very much. My experience was rooted in manufacturing, retailing and dealing directly with customers. At the same time, Craig combined his carpentry background with an interest in how technology could change the way garden buildings were marketed and sold.

Father and Son – Different Skills, Same Standards

Craig and I have always had different strengths, and that has helped the business. I came into the industry through manufacturing and selling garden buildings, while Craig brought formal carpentry training and later embraced the possibilities the internet offered.

What we shared was an understanding that specifications matter. Two garden buildings can look remarkably similar in photographs but be very different when you examine the framing, timber, floor, roof, doors, glazing, and overall construction.

That is still central to the advice we give today. Before recommending a building, we want to understand what the customer intends to do with it. A simple storage shed does not need the same specification as a heavy duty workshop, and a summer house used on sunny weekends has different requirements from an insulated garden room intended for regular use.

We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998. After considering what we wanted to do next, Craig and I saw an opportunity to approach the garden building market differently.

The Start of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings

In 2000 we formed 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. The principle behind the name was quite deliberate.

Rather than manufacturing everything ourselves or being restricted to the products of one manufacturer, we wanted to use our experience to seek out established manufacturers producing garden buildings we were happy to offer to our own customers.

This meant we could provide a genuine choice. Instead of trying to make one manufacturer’s range fit every customer, we could compare different buildings, specifications and price points and help people find the option best suited to their needs, garden and budget.

That philosophy remains at the heart of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings today. We offer garden sheds, summer houses, garden workshops, garden rooms and offices, garages and log cabins from ranges we believe offer worthwhile choices for our customers.

Still a Family Business

Today Craig runs the day-to-day business at 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, and I am there to support him and the team whenever required.

After working with garden buildings since 1979, I have accumulated a fair amount of knowledge. Still, experience is not valuable simply because you can put a large number of years next to your name. It is valuable when you use what you have learned to help somebody make a better decision.

Craig has now spent most of his own working life in the garden building industry as well. Between his carpentry background, decades of experience with garden buildings and responsibility for running 1st Choice today, this is very much a business built around first-hand product knowledge.

I am particularly pleased that despite all the changes we have seen, we remain a family business. Websites and technology have completely transformed the way people research and buy garden buildings. However, customers still want much the same things: a well-made building, a fair price, reliable information and somebody they can speak to who understands what they are selling.

Why Our Manufacturing Background Matters

One of the things that makes our background a little different from many garden building retailers is that we came into retail after actually manufacturing timber buildings ourselves.

That changes the way you look at a shed, workshop or summer house. We do not judge a building simply by an attractive photograph. We look at the specification and construction because we know from experience which details can make a difference.

Timber quality, framing, floors, roofs, doors, glazing, treatment and installation all contribute to the finished building. A cheap building can sometimes be perfectly adequate for a straightforward requirement, while somebody expecting intensive or year-round use may benefit from spending more on the appropriate specification.

Our job is to explain those differences rather than automatically steering everybody towards the most expensive option.

Quality Comes Before the Cheapest Price

We have never set out to find the cheapest garden buildings we can sell. Equally, we do not believe that spending the most money automatically guarantees that you have made the right choice.

Value for money comes from buying a building appropriate to the job. If you need somewhere to keep a lawnmower and garden tools, a straightforward shed may be all you require. If you are installing machinery and workbenches, a more substantial workshop makes sense. If you intend to work from the garden year-round, insulation and internal comfort become much more important.

We therefore start with what you want to use the building for and work backwards towards the specification. We would rather explain why one building costs more than another and allow you to make an informed choice.

See the Buildings Before You Buy

I have believed for many years that one of the best ways to judge a garden building is to see it for yourself.

Photographs and specifications are useful, but they cannot tell you everything. When you walk inside a building, you can feel how substantial the floor is, operate the doors, look at the timber and framing, judge the headroom and get a much better idea of how much usable space there really is.

That is why we maintain our Surrey garden building display site at Sutton Green, between Guildford, Woking and Ripley. Customers can inspect representative buildings at full size, compare specifications and talk through their requirements with us.

There are no high-pressure sales tactics. Take your time, look closely and ask questions. A garden building can be a substantial purchase, and we would rather you made the right decision than a quick one.

More Than 45 Years of Garden Building Experience

From starting Marina Sheds in 1979, through Titan Garden Buildings and then founding 1st Choice Leisure Buildings in 2000, I have spent most of my working life involved with sheds and garden buildings.

There have been successes, setbacks and enormous changes along the way. I have seen the industry move from locally manufactured sheds advertised in newspapers and magazines to customers being able to compare hundreds of buildings online from their phones.

But I still believe much the same as I did when I started: offer people a good product, describe it honestly, charge a fair price and look after the customer properly.

Craig and the team continue that approach today, combining traditional product knowledge with the convenience of researching and comparing garden buildings online.

What We Can Help You With

Because different garden buildings serve very different purposes, we offer a broad choice rather than concentrating on a single type or manufacturer.

Our garden sheds cover everything from straightforward storage through to more substantial designs. Our garden workshops provide additional working space for DIY, woodworking, tools and equipment, including heavy-duty workshops for more demanding requirements.

For leisure use, we offer a wide choice of summer houses, while our garden rooms and offices provide options for customers wanting more comfortable additional space. We also offer garages and log cabins for customers requiring larger or more specialised buildings.

We can also help with practical aspects of your project, including advice about a suitable garden building base, installation and the preparation required before your new building arrives.

Our Approach Is Simple

After all these years, our approach to selling garden buildings is still fairly straightforward.

Listen first. We need to understand what you want the building for before suggesting what you should buy.

Explain the differences. We try to make specifications understandable so you know what you are paying for.

Recommend the appropriate building. That does not automatically mean recommending the most expensive option.

Encourage you to see before buying. Whenever practical, visit our Surrey display site and judge the buildings for yourself.

Be available when you need help. We are an established family business with people you can speak to before and after you place an order.

Why Choose 1st Choice Leisure Buildings?

There are many places where you can buy a garden building online. We offer a wide selection of buildings, backed by manufacturing experience.

Robin’s involvement in garden buildings began in 1979. Craig joined the family business in 1992 after studying carpentry at Guildford College. Together, that gives 1st Choice a depth of practical experience which influences the products we select and the advice we give.

We remain independent in our approach, which means we can offer different manufacturers and specifications rather than trying to make one range suitable for every customer.

And because we believe strongly in seeing before buying, you can visit our Surrey display site and look at representative garden buildings for yourself.

A Personal Word From Robin

When I started Marina Sheds in 1979, I could never have imagined customers one day sitting at home comparing garden buildings on a mobile phone. The way we do business has changed beyond recognition, but I don’t think the fundamentals have.

People want to know that they are spending their money wisely. They want truthful information about what they are buying and somebody knowledgeable to speak to if they have questions.

That is what Craig, the team and I want 1st Choice Leisure Buildings to provide.

If you are not sure which garden building is right for you, please get in touch or come and see us at our Surrey display site. Please tell us what you want the building to do, and we will help you work through the options.

Robin Antill
Founder, 1st Choice Leisure Buildings