Our history

The company began in 1921 with a capital share of just £100. A constant throughout our history is the Bailey family ownership, and the strength and security that brings.

Even though the company has grown from just a handful of employees in Yorkshire to a European workforce of more than 3,000, NG Bailey’s values of Passion, Integrity and Excellence have changed little since those early days in the 1920s.

The training and development of our people remains a key source of our strength. That, coupled with the dedication to providing high-quality services to customers, has enabled NG Bailey to become a leader in its field.

Our reputation for excellence has seen us work on some very high-profile projects over the years, including the UK’s first and most recent nuclear power stations – at Calder Hall, Cumberland, and Sizewell B, Suffolk, respectively – and on the impressive Terminal 5 building at London Heathrow.

Less well-known, perhaps, but rightly maintaining a proud place in the company’s history, was NG Bailey’s support for the war effort between 1939 and 1945.

All non-military construction may have stopped, but the engineers at NG Bailey helped build new aircraft production factories and even installed the 10,000ft of runway lighting at RAF Carnaby, near Bridlington, that allowed nearly 1,500 RAF bomber crews to make successful emergency landings.

Despite our involvement in such historic projects, the reputation for which we are justly proud comes not from the biggest and most high-profile work, but from the commitment to quality we have always put into every job we do – large or small.

That is why we were able to celebrate our 90th anniversary last year, and why we are determined, collectively, to ensure that reputation is passed to future generations of NG Bailey employees.