4 The Sunday Times July 8, 2018

TOP TRACK 100

London

HEADQUARTER LOCATIONS OF THE TOP TRACK 100

Southeast

Midlands

Northwest

Northeast & Yorkshire

Southwest

East

Northern Ireland

Wales

Scotland6

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216

4

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3221

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as Bibby’s offshore business faced challenging conditions following a drop in oil and gas activity in the North Sea. In February, managing director Sir Michael Bibby, 54, was elected president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and in June he stepped back from Bibby, with new chief executive John Cresswell, 57, taking over.

49 British Steel £1,198mIron & steel makerThis steel manufacturer was formed in 2016 when Greybull Capital bought the loss-making Long Products Europe division of Tata Steel, formerly known as Corus, for an undisclosed sum. Its 2,000-acre site at Scunthorpe employs about 4,000 and now produces steel for wire rods, rail and construction, as well as projects in the earth-moving, shipbuilding and mining markets. Under executive chairman Roland Junck, 62, it acquired Holland’s FN Steel last October.

50 Virgin Trains £1,141mTrain operatorPassengers make 37m journeys each year on services run under the West Coast Main Line franchise operated by Virgin Trains, which is led by Phil Whittingham, 47. Last year, the London firm’s owners, Virgin and Stagecoach, partnered with French operator SNCF to bid to run the first trains on HS2. In February, the Department for Transport renewed the West Coast Main Line contract until April 2019. Virgin Trains’ sister company, Virgin Trains East Coast, lost the right to operate the London to Edinburgh line in May after failing to make promised payments for the franchise.

51 W&R Barnett £1,113mConglomerateThis Belfast firm was founded in 1896 as a grain merchant but now has interests in commodity trading, storage, agribusiness and industrial companies. Chief executive William Barnett, 41, has 60 directorships covering operations in countries as far afield as Trinidad

operates in nine countries; its website is used by 14m jobseekers. Under Reed’s son, chairman James Reed, 55, and managing director Tom Lovell, 48, sales grew 8% to £1.1bn. Profits grew 15% to £14m in 2017, as the business won a number of temporary-workers contracts.

53 Matalan £1,063mValue retailerWhile sales grew 2% to £1.1bn in 2018 at this fashion and homeware retailer, profits increased 36% to £105m as it continued to focus on increasing its range of full-price products. Founded in Liverpool more than 30 years ago by John Hargreaves, 74, the retailer’s 227 UK stores are now overseen by his son, chief executive Jason Hargreaves, 49. It opened two shops in Malta in March, making a total of 29 franchised stores.

54 William Grant & Sons £1,062mSpirits distillerThis Scottish distiller makes some of the world’s best-known whiskies, including the single-malt Glenfiddich, as well as other spirits such as Sailor Jerry spiced rum and Hendrick’s gin. In 2016, the firm grew sales 20% to £1.1bn and saw profits rise 44% to £270m, driven by favourable foreign exchange rates and growth in the Americas and Asia. It is run by chief executive Simon Hunt, 46, on behalf of the Grant Gordon family owners.

55 Lamex Food Group £1,061mFood importer and exporterSupplying global brands with Chinese honey, Indian shrimps and South American fruit juices, thisHertfordshire food trader started as a canned-food importer in 1966. It now operates 19 offices in 14 countries, including Holland, where it bought meat supplier Liberty Holdings for an undisclosed sum in 2016. Chief executive Phil Wallace, 68, has overseen a 28% increase in turnover to £1.1bnin 2017.

56 Greenhous Group £1,052mCar & van dealerFounded in 1912, this Shropshire motor group is composed of two divisions led by joint chief executives. Derek Passant, 58, runs Greenhous Franchise, which operates eight car, van and truck dealerships nationwide, while Kerry Finnon, 53, heads Smart Fleet Solutions, which runs four vehicle refurbishment centres across the UK. Turnover remained steady during 2017 at £1.1bn, though profits were down 25% to £5m as margins on new and used car sales fell.

34 Mott MacDonald £1,549mEngineering, management and developmentTwo of this company’s founders started working together in 1888 on the City and South London Railway, beginning an association with transportation infrastructure that has lasted 130 years. Earlier this year, the engineering consultancy secured design contracts for the expansion of Stansted and for the Terminal 5 development at Singapore’s Changi airport. Under managing director Mike Haigh, 58, and chairman Keith Howells, 65, other current projects include work on London’s £15bn Crossrail scheme and the Thames Tideway tunnel.

35 Wates £1,530mConstruction contractorIn 2017, Wates built more than 5,000 housing units, including houses, flats, retirement homes and student accommodation, and maintained 500,000 properties. The Surrey group started 2018 with a record order book of £5bn after being appointed to two major public-sector frameworks. In April, David Allen, 46, was appointed chief executive to lead the business alongside chairman James Wates, 58, a fourth-generation member of the founding family.

36 Wilko £1,513mValue retailerEstablished as a hardware shop in Leicester in 1930, Wilko now sells goods, including kitchenware and garden tools, from more than 400 UK stores, as well as online. Sales grew 3% to £1.5bn last year but profits were down 14% to £49m, partly due to the introduction of the national living wage. The Nottinghamshire firm is owned by the founder’s family, including his granddaughter, Lisa Wilkinson, 50, who chairs the board.

37 Clarks £1,511mShoe retailer and wholesalerSales dropped 9% to an annualised £1.5bn in 2018 at this family-owned shoemaker, which has been working on a turnaround plan. It is due to resume some manufacturing in Britain later this year, opening a factory near its Somerset headquarters capable of producing 300,000 desert boots a year. It says the plant will use robotic technology. Stella David, 55, former boss of William Grant & Sons (No 54), has stepped up from non-executive to interim chief executive following the departure of Mike Sherwood in June.

38 Arup £1,510mDesign and engineering consultancyLast year, this design and engineering consultancy completed work on projects around the world, including San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and the extension to Bangkok’s blue Metro line. These helped turnover grow 22% to £1.5bn in 2017 with profits up 34% to £198m under chairman Gregory Hodkinson, 63.

39 Willmott Dixon £1,480mConstruction contractorRick Willmott, 55, leads this construction group, which has been run by five generations of his family for 166 years. Current projects range from £130m upgrades to Bristol’s Colston Hall to transforming the Old Admiralty Building into offices for the Department for Education. In March, the Hertfordshire company agreed a deal that gives Malaysia’s EcoWorld International a 70% stake in a management company for its residential business.

40 Bloor Investments £1,442mBuilder and motorcycle makerIn 1983, when chairman John Bloor, 75, visited a derelict factory that had once produced motorcycles, he was hoping to buy a building site for his Derbyshire-based Bloor Homes. He ended up buying the Leicestershire motorbike brand Triumph. The bike brand and homebuilder, plus plant hire company Pickerings, make up Bloor Investments. Profits were up 44% to £215m with sales rising 25% to £1.4bn,

driven by a strong housing market and the sale of 63,000 motorbikes, up 7,000 on the year before.

41 Pension Insurance Corporation £1,432mBulk annuity insurerLed by chief executive Tracy Blackwell, 50, this London firm insures annuity pension schemes for companies such as Cadbury and Honda. By last December, it had insured 151,600 pension scheme members, including public servants and employees of FTSE 100 companies. Gross profit, which has been treated as revenue, was £1.4bn in 2017, while statutory revenue was £3.7bn.

42 New Look £1,348mFashion retailerExecutive chairman Alistair McGeorge, 59, returned last September to lead a turnaround at this London fashion retailer. In March, he oversaw a company voluntary arrangement that could see the closure of up to 60 stores and the loss of 980 jobs; the arrangement was met with approval by 98% of its creditors. He also introduced a cost-cutting programme and a stock clearance. Sales fell 7% to £1.3bn in 2018, with losses of £34m, but the company says the initiatives are starting to take effect.

43 Anglian Water Group £1,348mWater services providerLed by chief executive Peter Simpson, 51, Anglian Water supplies water and waste-water recycling services to more than 6m customers in the east of England and Hartlepool. The Cambridgeshire group is owned by a consortium of investors. Last year, 3i agreed a £395m deal to sell its 15% stake to pension funds Dalmore Capital and GLIL Infrastructure.

44 AF Blakemore & Son £1,300mRetail, wholesale and distributionThis group supplies groceries to more than 1,000 Spar shops in England and

Prince William takes a look at the Tiger 1200, one of the models that powered sales of 63,000 motorbikes for Triumph, owned by Bloor Investments (No 40)

Wales, of which it owns 288. Led by Peter Blakemore, 74, the grandson of the founders, it celebrated its centenary last year. The Wolverhampton firm is in the process of selling or closing its 12 cash-and-carry stores.

45 JCT600 £1,251mCar dealerChairman Jack Tordoff MBE, 83, has grown this car dealership from the single showroom for Jowett cars that he inherited from his father in the early 1950s to a group operating 50 showrooms across northern England. His son, John Tordoff, 54, became chief executive in 2002, and the Bradford-based group now sells 18 makes, including Mazda, Peugeot and Volkswagen, as well as premium brands such as Bentley and Ferrari.

46 Listers £1,230mAutomotive retailerListers was founded as a single car dealership in Coventry in 1979 by Terry Lister, 75, and Keith Bradshaw, 74. Now based in Stratford-upon-Avon, it has more than 50 outlets across East Anglia, the Midlands and northern England, selling marques such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Lexus.

47 Rontec £1,230mRoadside retailerHertfordshire-based forecourt operator Rontec was formed in 2011 by Gerald Ronson, 79, to acquire the assets of Total UK. It now has more than 240 outlets — Esso, BP, Shell and Texaco petrol stations, as well as Shop’N Drive and Spar convenience stores. Last year, it introduced 38 Morrisons convenience stores to its network and integrated 34 sites acquired from the Co-op in 2016.

48 Bibby Line Group £1,203mConglomerateFamily-owned for 211 years, this Liverpool conglomerate was originally a ship operator, but has diversified into areas such as retail, distribution, financial services and marine services. Group sales fell 17% to £1.2bn in 2016

and Tobago and the Philippines. Sales grew 18% to a record £1.1bn in 2017, the first time the company has broken the £1bn barrier.

52 Reed Specialist Recruitment £1,068mRecruiterFounded in 1960, when Sir Alec Reed, now 84, opened the first branch with £75 from his savings, this recruiter is known for encouraging workers to “love Mondays”. The business is headquartered in London and now

Longevity is a remarkable achievement in a landscape brimming with disruptors and challenger brands. Despite competition from these younger rivals, 30 of the companies on this year’s league table were founded before 1950.

The likes of JCB (No 17), Wates (No 35) and Edrington (No 91) prove that long-term success is possible despite the shifting sands. However, this accomplishment begs the question of whether today’s companies will continue to succeed in the

Corporate Challenge and our Social Entrepreneurs Club.

Like us, family businessestend to care about the community and want to put something back. Fifty-nine of the companies on this year’s league table are owned by families or entrepreneurs.

When it comes to the long-standing family-led companies, it is remarkable how they have passed the

business through generations and continued to evolve.

Shop Direct (No 26),originally founded in1923 by the Moores family, is today ownedby Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. It

started life as the footballpools betting firm, known as Littlewoods, but has embraced change and developed a successful ecommerce retail strategy, with popular website brandsthat include Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com.

Family businesses tend tofocus on loyalty and follow a strategy of sustainable growth to achieve longevity.

Every business should understand its purpose and have a clear vision. That must then be executed through a strategy with key performance indicators to measure progress.

The businesses that makeit through the coming decades will be those rooted in the communities they serve. This is not only ethically right but also builds a foundation for customers’ trust.

Iceland (No 13) has won positive headlines for its intention to phase out palm oil from its own-brand products by the end of the year and plastic packaging by the end of 2023.

Cordant Group (No 73)has declared itself a social enterprise, applying executive pay caps and setting up a “profit pool” to share with staff.

At PwC, we channelled£1.5m to more than 40 social enterprise suppliers in 2017, supporting them through the Buy Social

Dig deep and diversify to deal with today’s challengescoming years. Are they agile, flexible and diverse enough to take on fresh competitors, digital disruption and changes in regulation?

Large companies need towork hard to identify the disruptors in their industry. The Blockbuster video store chain fell behind because it didn’t respond quickly enough to the advances of technology, and successful firms of today need to avoid the same fate. A business like Specsavers (No 18) works hard on its purpose and strategy — it has explored the future of healthcare to see where it needs to invest and, through technological innovation, has moved into eye-disease detection.

To make themselves a match for disruptors, companies are increasingly aware of the value of the contained data that they have and how it can be used. Some may be working from assumptions that their data challenges — their customers’ preferred alcoholic drink or dish, for instance, or the reason a family chooses to go

on holiday with them. It is about adjusting perception to see what a business is delivering. Should it be providing a different sort of service, and have its customers already started looking elsewhere?

As for changes in regulation, there are plenty. One is the government’s push to establish new guiding principles for corporate governance of the country’s largest private companies, to reflect their importance in society. This will give directors more responsibilities, including how they think about various stakeholders. A review is live, overseen by an industry-led panel chaired by James Wates, who heads construction group Wates.

“We want businesses to manage themselves better — to apply best practice in corporate governance and explain how they’re doing it,” Wates said. While many larger private companies already observe best practice, others, he believes, may need to lift their game.

However, when they diversify, their approach sometimes needs to change.

Online bookmaker Bet365(No 20), based in Stoke-on-Trent, is run by the Coates family, who also own the local football team, Stoke City. After the team’s recent relegation from the Premier League, the family issued a statement saying that while loyalty had served them well in business, it had not worked so well in football — failure to make management changes earlier in the season had cost the club dear. It was an enterprise lesson learnt by the Coates in a different context.

Overall, the companies on this year’s league table are the backbone of our economy, with combined sales of £205bn and 936,300 people on the payroll. Both the long-established and new entrants such as The Hut Group (No 92) need to remain at their innovative best to stay at the top.Suzi Woolfson leads PwC’s private business markets practice

Despite their staying power, established firms must now learn to adapt to a faster pace of change

SUZI WOOLFSON, PWC

Lord Bamford’s JCB (No 17) maintains its forward drive