About Us

Gratte Brothers Limited was first registered on 22nd May 1946 by brothers Derrick and André Gratte as an electrical contracting business based in Knebworth, Hertfordshire. Gratte Brothers was started with a capital of £100, a sum equivalent to 20 weeks’ wages for a skilled tradesperson at the time.

Shortly after, Derrick Gratte left Knebworth to establish a London branch of the company in Red Lion Square, Holborn and in 1948 expanded into commercial catering equipment maintenance, working for Hertfordshire County Council.

It didn’t take long for our London branch to outgrow the Knebworth operation by acquiring major blue chip clients in the retail and expanding aviation sectors. A number of employees were recruited in this decade who would be promoted to senior roles within the business and remain with Grattes for the rest of their working lives.

Meanwhile, a refrigeration department was set up to support the catering equipment contracts being undertaken by the Knebworth branch.

Martin and Ian Gratte, Derrick’s sons, joined the London Headquarters (by now located in Wicklow Street WC1, having outgrown its original premises) as the 1960s housebuilding boom provided residential work opportunities for the company, and turnover reached £1,000,000 for the first time.

Back in Knebworth, Gratte Brothers expanded its services to include design and installation works for catering equipment (to complement the maintenance service already offered) and a dedicated commercial catering equipment division was established.

Martin and Ian Gratte were appointed to the Board, bringing new ideas as international work continued to grow.

By the late 1970s, Design and Build contracts were commonplace for both M&E and Electrical only work so Gratte Brothers established a separate M&E design division, and we added a mechanical building services capability to our portfolio of services.

We won the largest M&E contract to date (£250,000 to provide building services to the Chinese Embassy in London) in the 1980s.

Ian Bass, Derrick’s son-in-law, was appointed Financial Director as turnover exceeded £13m. Gratte Brothers was flourishing in international and retail M&E works and the evolving commercial catering business was contributing significantly to the turnover.

Having outgrown Wicklow Street, we relocated to Regents Wharf, N1 (where our London HQ is still based) and we completed our first data centre project.

We also registered a separate commercial catering equipment company, known today as Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment Limited and an electronic security management company, Gratte Brothers Security Management, as subsidiaries of the Gratte Brothers Group.

The 2000s saw Gratte Brothers acquire a mechanical services company, welcoming over 100 new members of staff to our business. This decade also saw the establishment of an M&E Maintenance division, now known as Gratte Brothers Building Services Maintenance Ltd.

By this stage, Stephen Gratte (Martin’s son) and David Gratte (Ian’s son) had also joined the business, establishing Gratte Brothers’ third generation of expertise.

In the early 2010s, Gratte Brothers Security Management Limited flourished and today remains located amongst three offices; our London HQ and our Belfast and Warrington offices.

The M&E division of the business also secured a number of high-profile framework contracts in this period, and by this time, had developed its own Principal Contractor capability.

In 2016, we celebrated our 70th Anniversary. Stephen and David were joined by Chris Bass, a third Grandson of Derrick, and all three were appointed to the Group Board.