SCH Group and JCB named in Top 10 best family businesses
TWO of the West Midlands’ best known firms were named today as among the UK’s top performing family-owned businesses.
Birmingham-based Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) and Staffordshire excavator manufacturer JCB were both listed in the Top Ten of family-owned business in a study by the Institute for Family Business (IFB).
SCH, owned by the Rigby family and chaired by Sir Peter Rigby, enjoys sales of £2.22bn, down slightly on last year’s £2.3bn but still enough to maintain its position at number six on the list. The business is the largest privately-owned IT group in Europe and provides computer networks and services to blue chip companies and government organisations.
The company was started in 1975 by Sir Peter – who also owns Coventry Airport – with just £2,000. It has gained in size over the years through regular acquisitions.
The family is heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the firm with sons James and Steven both senior directors.
An aviation enthusiast, Sir Peter is a qualified pilot and owns Patriot Aviation, as well as the upmarket hotel chain Eden Hotel Collection, which recently brought Brockencote Hall in Chaddesley Corbett.
JCB is still operated after 65 years by the Bamford family. The company, world famous for its iconic yellow excavators, currently has sales of £2.01bn.
Named after its founder, Joe Bamford, the company’s name is synonymous with all types of engineering vehicle from diggers to excavators and engines.
Its 300 different machines in total are used in construction, agriculture and by the military across the world.
It is now one of the world’s top three manufacturers of construction equipment, employing 7,000 people.
The firm was founded in 1945 with Joe Bamford constructing the first vehicle, a farm trailer, using welding equipment bought for 50 shillings. After he retired in 1975 the business was taken on by his two sons. Sir Anthony Bamford, now chairman of the company, was born on the day JCB first opened for business.
Despite the economy, the IFB said the Top 10 businesses had seen increased sales in the last year, rising by 10.2% to £35.5bn with the top four companies – Associated British Foods (ABF), Stemcor, Swire Group, Laing O’Rourke – performing particularly well.
Once again multinational ABF, which owns familiar retail brands including Kingsmill, Primark and Twinings, topped the table although Stemcor, the world’s largest independent steel trader, narrowed the gap in second.
IFB Director General, Grant Gordon, said: “The UK has seen difficult trading conditions in the last year, but there have been some remarkable success stories among the UK’s top family businesses.
“With family firms contributing almost one third of our GDP the family business sector is becoming an increasingly important part of the UK’s future economic growth.”
While the top three remained the same Bestway Group has risen from 10th to seventh, while the only new entry to the list is Shop Direct, the online and home shopping retailer, replacing European Metal Recycling.
Top 10 UK family-owned businesses 2011 (2010 table in brackets)
1 (1) Associated British Foods (Weston family, sales £10.2bn) (sales £9.3bn)
2(2) Stemcor (Oppenheimer family, sales £5.1bn) (sales £3.5bn)
3(3) Swire Group (Swire family, sales £4.2bn) (sales £3.2bn)
4(5) Laing O’Rourke (O’Rourke family, sales £3.5bn) (sales £2.5bn)
5(7) Arnold Clark Automobiles (Clark family, sales £2.3bn) (sales £2.2bn)
6(6) SCH Group (Rigby family, sales £2.2bn) (sales £2.3bn)
7(10) Bestway Group (Pervez family, sales £2.1bn) (sales £1.9bn)
8(9) JCB (Bamford family, sales £2.0bn) (sales £2.0bn)
9(8) Daily Mail & General Trust (Vis. Rothermere & family, sales £2.0bn) (sales £2.1bn)
10 Shop Direct Group (Barclay family, sales £1.9) (new entry)
