Written off by his teachers, Noel Ruane became used to being told he would never amount to anything. Thanks to undiagnosed dyslexia, at 13 he was put in his school’s “special group”, a dumping ground for those with little academic promise.

“Dyslexia gave me real problems when it came to reading and writing, but we had no real support from the teachers. School education was lost on me,” said Ruane. “On the last day I remember the teachers lining up at the school gates to see me leave and wishing me happy dole queuing. It still upsets me to think about those days.”

Leaving school with no qualifications was hard for Ruane, who had a lot to live up to. His 6ft 11in, 48-stone father, Martin, had carved a successful career as bearded arch-villain wrestler Giant Haystacks, watched by millions on TV every Saturday afternoon.

Ruane’s father had a fierce public persona, but out of the ring he was gentle and sup-portive. “He was a hero to me. The only thing he ingrained in us was to try to be the best at what we wanted to do. He brought me and my three brothers up with strong principles and I grew up knowing I had to work hard and honestly for every penny.”

Ruane’s introduction to the world of work was hard indeed. Aged 16 he drifted into labouring, one of the few options open to him. “I worked my fingers to the bone but after 18 months I realised that with my lack of qualifications and skills I would have to go back to school to get anywhere.

“I paid for college, working the hod and shovel by day and studying at night. I discovered I had a great thirst for knowledge and self-improvement.”

Ruane went on to take a construction management degree at Salford University, struggling once again to overcome his problems with dyslexia. After graduation, he was taken on by Bovis as a project manager. He became part of the team that was building Manchester’s Arndale Centre, which had been bombed by the IRA. “That was my first position as a leader and I learnt so much about developing a team,” he said.

Four years later in 2001 he decided to go it alone seeking construction and fit-out work. “I decided I did not want to work in an organisation. Sometimes you feel invisible in a large company and I knew I had to try to start my own business. I had to prove I could be the best.”

Armed only with “a shovel, a bucket and a BMW”, Ruane landed his first contract to extend a Littlewoods store. “I was the labourer, the project manager and the managing director,” he said.

Soon he began to take on staff, including Charles Roland, his business partner today. Together they began hatching an ambitious plan to grow the business, then called R&R Construction and Management and now known as the Freemont Group. Before long they were landing prestigious contracts.

Offering clients more than the average contractor has been the key to growth at the company, which employs 20 staff and generates sales of more than £13m, he said. “We knew we didn’t want to be just another fit-out and construction firm. We wanted to be creative and innovative. Even the tenders we wrote were colourful, and soon everyone wanted to talk to us.” Part of the reason for the firm’s success is the effort the business puts into inspiring and motivating its employees, said Ruane. “Entrepreneurs are just dreamers without people able to make their ideas happen. Communication is a big part of our success. It gives people a sense of ownership, it makes them feel part of something. You can’t get people to do work in isolation.”

How you think of yourself has a fundamental effect on what you are able to achieve, said Ruane. “There’s no difference between any of us and Sir Richard Branson, apart from the fact that he thinks like a billionaire.”

Valuing and rewarding its employees is another cornerstone of the company’s growth and success, said Ruane. “My philosophy is to catch people working so you can praise them, not to catch them slacking so you can scold them.

“We aim to reward people when they don’t expect it, to try to help them achievea work-life balance and give them a sense of progression within the business.”

Ruane, a committed Catholic who married his school sweetheart, Joanne, an academic with whom he has a son and daughter, admits his own idea of a work-life balance might not be ideal. “I might read an academic paper at night or bring home problems from work. It relaxes me to sit down and try to solve them.”

The desire for money has never been what has driven him to work as hard as he does. It has been something far more profound, he said. “I don’t like failure. It’s the one thing I am scared of.”

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