The men along with architect Gareth Stapleton set up project and construction management company RISE nearly three years ago.

On Sunday night Prince Harry announced that the winning designer is Nottingham sculptor Wolfgang Buttress, and the project will be delivered by Stage One with RISE.

A structure inspired by the unique role of the honeybee will represent the UK on the world stage.

BDP will be the architects on the project. London-based Simmonds Studio, specialising in creative and technically innovative designs, will provide structural engineering expertise.

The RISE and Stage One team is understood to have beaten Mace for the construction role on the project.

Expectations are high for the structure following the success of Thomas Heatherwick’s UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. This was greeted with great acclaim as the “world’s largest ever hairy building”.

The Milan Expo theme will be ‘Feeding the World: Energy for Life’.

Once the UK Pavilion is built, visitors will walk through a fruit orchard and enter a natural wildflower meadow with its focal point a golden orb made of fine steel lattice based on the design of a honeycomb.

The ‘Hive’ will pulsate and buzz with the noise of a real bee colony.

Bob White, Chairman of Rise said: “We are very excited to be involved with the UK Pavilion at Milan Expo. It enables us to sustain our particular interest in temporary structures, and allows us to continue our collaboration with Stage One on these project types.”

“The design of the Pavilion includes some innovative structural solutions which allied with the focal attraction of the ‘Hive’ will delight the discerning visitor’.

Mark Johnson, Managing Director of Stage One said: “We’re delighted to have been selected to construct the UK Pavilion at the Milan Expo.

“This is a significant project for Stage One and reflects our increasingly strong relationship with architects and designers.”