EMR regains spot as region’s biggest private business
EUROPEAN Metal Recycling has overtaken Shop Direct to become the biggest private-owned company in the North West, according to new research.
The two firms are among nine from the region to feature in this year’s Sunday Times BDO Top Track 100, which ranks the UK’s 100 biggest private companies by sales.
Warrington-based EMR, which is owned by the Sheppard family, regained its position as the biggest privately-owned firm in the North West. It also moved up four places in the national rankings to 14th after increasing sales to £2.4bn in the year to December 2010, while Shop Direct dropped one place to 18th with sales of £2.13bn.
Family-owned Bibby Group was the third-biggest company in the region and the 33rd-biggest in Britain, with sales of £1.3bn.
Other regional firms to make the list included Crewe-based 20:20 Mobile (£1.15bn), Enterprise plc (£1.125bn), Matalan (£1.1bn), UK Fuels (£753m), TJ Morris (£721m) and B&M Retail (£713m).
Sheppard Group is now run by chief executive Chris Sheppard following the death last year of its founder, and his father, Phillip Sheppard.
He said: “Our industry has lost a great man in Phillip Sheppard, but he has built a world-class company in an industry which generates significant export revenue for the UK economy from the goods and infrastructure that the nation discards.
“We continue to invest in and out of the region in new technologies to set even higher standards in recycling which now extends to plastics and imminently a significant amount of clean energy from our end-stage recycling capability.”
Jeff Jones, head of BDO in the North West, said: “Despite concerns over the health of the national economy, the strong performance of the biggest private companies in the North West shows what can be achieved by management teams that have clear vision and ambition.”
