16 Midlands companies named in UK’s 100 largest private businesses
Sixteen privately owned business with headquarters in the Midlands have made it into the Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100.
The businesses are ranked by their annual sales, which cumulatively come to £23.8bn, generating profits of £1.9bn and employing over 91,000 people.
Across the whole UK the combined sales of the Top 100 business in this league are £205bn, with profits of £23.5bn and employing a total of 938,100 staff.
The highest ranking achieved by a Midlands business is Birmingham based 2 Sisters Food Group, with sales of £3.3bn. 2 Sisters, which is in the process of a significant re-structure, came in number 11 across all UK privately owned businesses, and in April 2018 it sold its Goodfella’s pizzas division to Nomad Foods for £200m.
Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking at HSBC 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 what can be achieved with entrepreneurial spirit and a determination to succeed. The 16 companies in the Midlands are the kinds of firms that provide the backbone of our economy, and we at HSBC are thrilled to see them thrive.”
Among the 16 Midlands companies who made the Top 100 list are two new entrants: Aston Martin and Pertemps Network Group. Aston Martin grew its sales by 48% in 2017 to £876m, while Birmingham-based Pertemps Network Group, which won TheBusinessDesk.com’s Large Business award this year, grew sales by 8% to £805m.
The Midlands is the third biggest region in the survey, behind London and then the wider south-east, as a location for successful private companies.
Biggest private companies in the Midlands, by county and rank
