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BUSINESS SECTOR ANALYSIS
And Trends
e analysed the 500 firms across 41 business sectors based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) coding. This was distilled to a framework of seven aggregated groups of sectors as shown in figure 1.
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Figure 2 compares the picture from the 2023 index with 2022. Within the sectoral analysis, there has been an increase in the complexity of company ownership structures, and the number of holding companies. This has affected the classification and the results in some sectors, and led to changes in the analysis from previous years. In the analysis the number of ‘other’ sector companies has increased, in line with the increase in holding companies.
Top 500 Sectoral Breakdown
Business Sectoral Analysis
There is a reduction in the number of manufacturing companies; seven have moved, consolidated, or dropped out of the index. Revenue has fallen proportionately by 25%, and employment also decreased. Within this sector, food drink & tobacco manufacturing (12 firms) and motor vehicle manufacturing (three firms) are the largest in revenue of over £2.2bn each.
The retail sector increased by two companies, whilst turnover and jobs were static, although it remains the biggest category in revenue. Wholesale traders also increased significantly in number, although this may be due in part to classification changes, but employment fell and turnover was little changed. The construction sector companies increased by five, with revenues and jobs also increasing. Business support services companies have reduced in number; in part this is due to classification changes, as employment has increased but revenues reduced. The motor vehicle trade sector is static in the number of companies, with reductions in turnover and employment.
The diversity in the mix of sectors continues to be a strength of the regional economy. During the Covid Pandemic and lockdown periods in 2020-21, previously healthy sectors, including aviation, travel, hospitality and retail, encountered impacts on their financial performance, which are apparent in these sectoral figures. This picture reinforces the picture of decline in most sectors during the Covid period, but some saw recovery in this period and wider cyclical increases are expected to be visible in the next reported period.
