ABOUT US
Reliable Contractors have been providing labour supporting on major infrastructure projects for over 50 years.
As a family-run business, integrity has been incorporated into all our business relationships and has been the foundation on which all our decisions have been made.
Reliable Contractors have been delivering some of the UK’s largest civil and infrastructure projects for over 50 years.
Our outstanding safety performance and retention of our staff are a direct result of our continual investment in their training and well-being, and the open and collaborative partnerships we cultivate with our clients.
We will continue to evolve, celebrating our successes and reflecting on how far the business has come, understanding the challenges and opportunities of the ever-changing construction arena. We recognise our strength comes from working together, sharing best practice, and making changes where necessary. Reliable Contractors Limited is committed to building a long-term, sustainable future for us all.
1960
1961
1963
1970
1986
PRESENT
Our story begins with our founder, Patrick Greene, who left Donegal on 8 June 1960 at just seventeen years old with only twenty pounds in his pocket.
Not wanting to worry his family, he told no one of his plans and left without luggage, carrying only the clothes he was wearing. Borrowing his brother’s bicycle, he cycled to Gortahork, took a bus to Derry, and then travelled overnight by ferry to Glasgow.
The following Monday, Patrick was already at work digging headings measuring four feet six by three feet six for main sewer lines across Glasgow. When tunnelling work later slowed, he and a group of friends worked on potato farms, earning twelve pounds per acre with a target of at least three acres each day.
In 1961, Patrick moved to Camden Town in London, alongside Holloway Road, one of the main destinations for men arriving from Donegal.
The strong sense of community there brought comfort and familiarity. He shared a room with a friend for £ 1.75 per week and cooked on a shared cooker on the landing, operated by a meter that required one shilling at a time.
He soon secured work at Blackwall Tunnel, travelling on the 253 bus from Holloway Road and working two weeks of day shifts followed by two weeks of nights, each shift lasting twelve hours. No rest days only took time off when returning to Ireland for a visit. He later contributed to several major tunnelling projects, including works on the Victoria Line at Green Park. On one project, he recalls being collected from Holloway Road in the back of tipper lorries and transported daily to Luton and back with 20-30 other workers.
In 1963, Patrick relocated to Birmingham, continuing his work on sewer headings.
One of his most memorable experiences was working on the Tyburn Road tunnel during the severe winter of 1963, when temperatures dropped to minus twenty degrees Celsius.
Continuous frost, frozen pipes, and icy conditions made work extremely challenging. During this time, the local community showed remarkable solidarity, gathering in public houses after work to warm themselves by the fire. This spirit of unity left a lasting impression on Patrick and helped shape the values that remain at the heart of our company today.
By the mid nineteen sixties, he joined BICC, now part of Balfour Beatty, installing piling for overhead cables.
Although he enjoyed his work, Patrick always aspired to establish his own labour supply business. Recognising the growing opportunities within the industry, he saved enough money to cover a team’s wages for two months.
One of his first major projects involved piling for overhead cables across the moors from Burnley to Blackburn and Bacup. The work included rock blasting and required helicopters to access remote locations, leading Patrick to become highly skilled in controlled blasting. The success of this project, along with further overhead line piling works across Birmingham, resulted in an invitation to South Africa, where the company was awarded a major contract for overhead line piling from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
After returning to London, Patrick established his base on Holloway Road. Vans departed from the Odeon cinema after six every morning, heading to various projects across the south. Young men leaving Donegal in search of work during the ’70s and ’80s were advised to go to Holloway Road and contact Patsy Greene. Patrick would assist them in finding accommodation and work whenever possible. The company was supplying labour for enabling works on the Thames Barrier in the 1970s to a company called Mears. Patrick recalls receiving a cheque one morning from a company called Edmund Nuttall, who had just bought Mears without his knowledge. Our relationship with Nuttall (BAM) continues to this day. The company later supplied labour to numerous landmark infrastructure projects, including the M62, M25, Heathrow Airport, Liverpool Street Station, Blackfriars, Embankment, and many others.
In 1986, Patrick’s eldest son, Brian Greene, began his own journey in the industry as a YTS carpenter, spending college holidays working on site.
Like his father, Brian progressed through a variety of roles, starting as a shuttering carpenter, learning multiple trades within civil engineering, working nationwide, and steadily building strong leadership experience.
In 2002, he joined Reliable Contractors and has since played a key role in its continued success and growth.
Today, Patrick and Brian are immensely proud of how far the company has come over more than fifty years, from modest beginnings to a respected name within the industry.
Throughout this journey, one principle has remained constant: respect. It is the foundation of our relationships, our reputation, and our way of working.
When asked what advice they would offer future generations entering construction, their answer is simple. Value and respect your workforce and the site itself. You are only as strong as your team, and good relationships are essential because workers are not numbers but the backbone of any successful business. Maintain a strong reputation, work hard to protect it, and opportunities will continue to open.
1960
Our story begins with our founder, Patrick Greene, who left Donegal on 8 June 1960 at just seventeen years old with only twenty pounds in his pocket.
Not wanting to worry his family, he told no one of his plans and left without luggage, carrying only the clothes he was wearing. Borrowing his brother’s bicycle, he cycled to Gortahork, took a bus to Derry, and then travelled overnight by ferry to Glasgow.
The following Monday, Patrick was already at work digging headings measuring four feet six by three feet six for main sewer lines across Glasgow. When tunnelling work later slowed, he and a group of friends worked on potato farms, earning twelve pounds per acre with a target of at least three acres each day.
1961
In 1961, Patrick moved to Camden Town in London, alongside Holloway Road, one of the main destinations for men arriving from Donegal.
The strong sense of community there brought comfort and familiarity. He shared a room with a friend for £ 1.75 per week and cooked on a shared cooker on the landing, operated by a meter that required one shilling at a time.
He soon secured work at Blackwall Tunnel, travelling on the 253 bus from Holloway Road and working two weeks of day shifts followed by two weeks of nights, each shift lasting twelve hours. No rest days only took time off when returning to Ireland for a visit. He later contributed to several major tunnelling projects, including works on the Victoria Line at Green Park. On one project, he recalls being collected from Holloway Road in the back of tipper lorries and transported daily to Luton and back with 20-30 other workers.
1963
In 1963, Patrick relocated to Birmingham, continuing his work on sewer headings.
One of his most memorable experiences was working on the Tyburn Road tunnel during the severe winter of 1963, when temperatures dropped to minus twenty degrees Celsius.
Continuous frost, frozen pipes, and icy conditions made work extremely challenging. During this time, the local community showed remarkable solidarity, gathering in public houses after work to warm themselves by the fire. This spirit of unity left a lasting impression on Patrick and helped shape the values that remain at the heart of our company today.
1970
By the mid nineteen sixties, he joined BICC, now part of Balfour Beatty, installing piling for overhead cables.
Although he enjoyed his work, Patrick always aspired to establish his own labour supply business. Recognising the growing opportunities within the industry, he saved enough money to cover a team’s wages for two months.
One of his first major projects involved piling for overhead cables across the moors from Burnley to Blackburn and Bacup. The work included rock blasting and required helicopters to access remote locations, leading Patrick to become highly skilled in controlled blasting. The success of this project, along with further overhead line piling works across Birmingham, resulted in an invitation to South Africa, where the company was awarded a major contract for overhead line piling from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
After returning to London, Patrick established his base on Holloway Road. Vans departed from the Odeon cinema after six every morning, heading to various projects across the south. Young men leaving Donegal in search of work during the ’70s and ’80s were advised to go to Holloway Road and contact Patsy Greene. Patrick would assist them in finding accommodation and work whenever possible. The company was supplying labour for enabling works on the Thames Barrier in the 1970s to a company called Mears. Patrick recalls receiving a cheque one morning from a company called Edmund Nuttall, who had just bought Mears without his knowledge. Our relationship with Nuttall (BAM) continues to this day. The company later supplied labour to numerous landmark infrastructure projects, including the M62, M25, Heathrow Airport, Liverpool Street Station, Blackfriars, Embankment, and many others.
1986
In 1986, Patrick’s eldest son, Brian Greene, began his own journey in the industry as a YTS carpenter, spending college holidays working on site.
Like his father, Brian progressed through a variety of roles, starting as a shuttering carpenter, learning multiple trades within civil engineering, working nationwide, and steadily building strong leadership experience.
In 2002, he joined Reliable Contractors and has since played a key role in its continued success and growth.
PRESENT
Today, Patrick and Brian are immensely proud of how far the company has come over more than fifty years, from modest beginnings to a respected name within the industry.
Throughout this journey, one principle has remained constant: respect. It is the foundation of our relationships, our reputation, and our way of working.
When asked what advice they would offer future generations entering construction, their answer is simple. Value and respect your workforce and the site itself. You are only as strong as your team, and good relationships are essential because workers are not numbers but the backbone of any successful business. Maintain a strong reputation, work hard to protect it, and opportunities will continue to open.
SOCIAL VALUES
At Reliable Contractors, our social values shape everything we do, prioritising safety, sustainability and workforce development to build stronger communities, support our people and drive long-term responsible growth.
SUSTAINABILITY
HEALTH, SAFETY & WELLBEING
