Jason Mace is a UK business owner with over two decades of experience building and developing companies across events, payments, property and technology. Best known as the founder of Gala Tent and SOTpay, his work has been shaped by identifying practical problems and creating solutions that hold up in real-world use.
Jason launched Gala Tent at the turn of the millennium, introducing party tents designed for ownership rather than hire in the UK market. What began as a single idea developed into a market-leading business supplying professional-grade structures across a wide range of industries.
Alongside this, he expanded into property through Macelands Ltd, building a portfolio of commercial premises including warehousing, office space and hospitality venues.
In 2005, Jason introduced Gala Shade, raising the standard for heavy-duty pop-up gazebos built for professional use. The business continued to evolve, with the addition of Gala Graphics in 2012 following the acquisition of a local print and design company, bringing branded structures and exhibition systems into the group.
After Gala Tent was affected by widespread card fraud, Jason led the development of a secure payment solution to address the issue. That solution became SOTpay, now used by businesses handling remote payments and card-not-present transactions.
From there, alongside a raft of industry awards for innovation, a wider suite of payment platforms and integrations has been developed, supporting businesses with payment processing, fraud reduction and operational efficiency.
In 2016, Gala Tent partnered with up-and-coming United Autosports, the endurance race team led by Zak Brown and Richard Dean, supporting a successful European Le Mans Series campaign.
Jason and the senior leadership team attended each of the rounds, noting that Gala Tent products featured heavily in motorsport paddocks across Europe.
This led to the launch of Gala Performance, supplying equipment to motorsport teams and race event professionals. Gala Performance has since gone on to launch its own race team, competing each year in the wildly popular Citroën C1 Challenge series.
In 2019, Jason published Event Industry Boss, bringing together over two decades of experience in the event industry into a practical guide for those entering the professional hire sector.
In 2017, Jason acquired the Empress Ballroom in Doncaster and restored it, returning a once-prominent venue to active use in 2022. This was followed in 2025 by the development of Empress Rooms, a series of themed hotel suites within the building that pay homage to local icons, including legend of screen and stage, Brian Blessed. The hotel has brought a touch of luxury to a small town in a period of incredible rejuvenation.
Jason continues to oversee a portfolio of businesses across events, payments and infrastructure, focusing on building practical, long-term solutions shaped by experience rather than theory.
