After the Falklands War the British government was looking to replace their Lee-Enfield derived sniper rifles with something more modern. Meanwhile, Dave Walls and David Caig were making competition rifles for the competition shooter Malcolm Cooper in their shed when they decided to enter their rifle into the MOD's Marksman Rifle Competition as a means of getting feedback from professionals. They were very surprised to learn that they had won the contract due to their modern chassis design which allows for parts to be swapped out easily without destroying the rifle's bedding; a feature necessary for accuracy.
When the MOD officers asked to look at their facilities, they decided to rent out a production facility for a day, staged some rifles in disassembly, and told the officers that the employees were out for lunch. When the three gentlemen and procurement officers went out to lunch themselves, the officers remarked in essence: "This was really just a formality. We just wanted to make sure that you weren't three guys in a shed."