Retailers, Fircroft and EMR sparkle in Top Track 100 rankings
EUROPEAN Metal Recycling, the £3bn turnover Warrington group, has entered the top 10 of the country’s largest privately-owned businesses, according to new research.
Last year EMR, which is owned by the Sheppard family usurped the Barclay Brothers’ Speke-based Shop Direct Group to be the region’s largest private business, and its strong sales growth, from £2.4bn in 2010 to just over £3bn push it from 14th to 9th nationally.
In all there are nine North West businesses ranked in the Sunday Times BDO Top Track 100, which grades the UK’s 100 biggest private companies by sales.
After the sale of Lancashire-based Enterprise to Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial it drops out of the rankings, to be replaced by Fircroft, the international technical recruitment company, which is ranked on the list for the first time at 85th.
Warrington-based Fircroft last year sold a 37% stake to private equity firm Equistone, and is targeting the Far East for growth.
The nine companies in the region employ 60,000 people, reported sales of £12bn and profits of £600m in their latest accounts.
Fircroft, along with discount retailing rivals B&M Retail and TJ Morris, based in Liverpool, are among the 10 fastest-growing companies on the national league table.
B&M Retail saw a 31% increase in sales, to £935m in 2012, enabling the company to surge 22 places to No 58.
In December, founders Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora sold a 60% stake to American private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and several sovereign wealth funds to fund further expansion. The deal valued the business at £965m, and Sir Terry Leahy became chairman.
TJ Morris, which trades as Home Bargains, is ranked at No 59, up 19 places, and has grown sales 27% to £915m in 2012. The firm now runs 300 stores nationwide and plans to more than double this number.
Tim Entwistle, partner and head of the North West at BDO, the title sponsor of the league table, said: ““Despite concerns over the health of the national economy, the strong performance of the biggest private companies in the northwest shows what can be achieved by management teams that have clear vision and ambition.
“The companies have proven their resilience and adaptability, against a backdrop of weak demand from traditional trading partners in Europe and growing competition from Asia. By delivering a service-led approach in their markets, they continue to generate the growth so keenly needed.”
Other North West companies features are: Crewe-based 20:20 Mobile Group at 57th place, a second Crewe firm, UK Fuels at 77th; Liverpool’s Bibby Line Group the retail, financial services, distribution and shipping conglomerate in 33rd place; Shop Direct Group based in 21st and Skelmersdale headquartered retailer Matalan at 42nd.
