There is disclosed a lay-up apparatus for laying up fibre reinforcement material, the lay-up apparatus comprising a lay-up tool defining a lay-up surface, a placement head having a flexible membrane which is conformable to the layup surface, and a membrane vacuum port extending through the membrane and configured to hold a ply against the membrane when suction is applied through the membrane vacuum port. The placement head is configured to cooperate with the lay-up tool so that when a ply is held against the membrane, an airtight chamber is formed between the membrane and the lay-up tool. The lay-up tool comprises a consolidation vacuum port configured to permit evacuation of the airtight chamber to cause the membrane and ply to move towards the lay-up surface.