North West firms impress in list of UK’s 100 biggest private companies
Eleven North West companies feature in the latest table of Britain’s 100 biggest private companies.
That compares with 12 last year.
Published this weekend, the 17th annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s 100 private companies with the biggest sales.
The 11 companies headquartered in the North West of England have made a significant contribution to the regional economy.
Together they achieved sales of £18.8bn and profits of £1.4bn in their last financial year, and collectively employ more than 63,000 people
The highest-ranked company in the region is Blackburn-based forecourt retailer EG Group at number five, which added £700m in sales last year to reach a total of £4.5bn, mainly as a result of its acquisitions including 1,146 Esso-branded service stations in Italy and 1,000 in Germany during 2017.
More recently, the group acquired 762 US sites, buying the convenience stores division of American retail giant Kroger, for £1.5bn in February.
The 11 North west companies include two new entrants: Manchester-based The Hut Group (No 92), the online retailer of health and beauty products.
Its sales grew 47% to £736m in 2017, partly as a result of acquisitions of cosmetics brand Illamasqua, beauty subscription service Glossybox and skincare brand Espa; and Peel Ports Group (No 98), which handles more than 60m tonnes of freight a year at its seven facilities in the UK and Ireland, and whose sales grew 11% to reach £716m in 2018.
The companies in the North West appear with businesses from around the UK, including high-profile national brands such as Aston Martin, Dyson, JCB and Specsavers.
This year, the 100 companies reached a record £205bn in total sales, up an average of 16% on the prior year, with record total profits of £23.5bn, up by 10%.
An impressive 90 companies increased sales in their latest financial year.
The league table is sponsored by HSBC, Linklaters and PwC and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.
Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking at HSBC UK, said: “Once again, Britain’s most ambitious private enterprises have shown their mettle by shrugging off uncertainty to grow at an even faster rate than the year before.
“The businesses in the Top Track 100 are an inspiration to all, showing just what can be achieved with entrepreneurial spirit and a determination to succeed.
“The 11 companies in the North West are the kinds of firms that provide the backbone of our economy, and we at HSBC UK are thrilled to see them thrive.”
The 11 North West companies listed are: EG Group from Blackburn, ranked fifth, up from sixth last year; Warrington metal recycler EMR at 12th, up from 23rd; Crewe fleet services provider Radius Payment Solutions, 23rd, compared with 35th previously; Speke-based internet retailer Shop Direct, 26th, up from 27; Liverpool discount retailer Home Bargains, placed 29th, up from 33rd; Bibby Line Group, the Liverpool conglomerate which fell from 39th last year to 48; Knowsley discount retailer Matalan, which stayed at 53rd; Manchester engineering recruitment firm Morson, which dropped from 73rd to 77th; The Hut Group, the Manchester online retailer which came in at 92nd; Warrington technical recruitment company Fircroft, at 93rd, up from 97th; and new entry, Peel Ports Group, from Liverpool, at 98th.
