500 TOP 2024 COMPANIES IN THE EAST MIDLANDS
Professor David Rae of De Montfort University has compiled and analysed the data providing an insight into the most influential companies and the largest industries operating from the East Midlands
In association with
We don’t offer dental work, but we can help you retain your staff.
Develop a thriving workforce for short and long-term growth through our wide range of professional development courses.
Our comprehensive approach, encompassing theoretical grounding, practical application, and reflective learning, ensures a strong fit for professional development needs, regardless of company size. Development opportunities include:
- CPD courses
- Apprenticeships
- Bespoke courses
- Digital short courses
- Part-time and distance learning courses
Get in touch to learn more:
E: businessservices@dmu.ac.uk
W: dmu.ac.uk/business
T: +44 (0)116 207 8455
FOREWORDS
BY PROFESSOR DAVID PROVERBS ASSOCIATE PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR ENTERPRISE & BUSINESS INNOVATION
It is a great pleasure to introduce the latest edition of the East Midlands Top 500 Companies Report on behalf of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU). This comprehensive analysis highlights the outstanding achievements and contributions of businesses within our region, underscoring their pivotal role in driving economic growth, innovation, and community development.
The East Midlands is renowned for its diverse and dynamic business landscape, encompassing a wide range of industries from manufacturing and engineering to creative arts and digital technologies. Our local enterprises are not only pivotal to the regional economy but also influential on a national and global scale. This report celebrates their successes, resilience, and adaptability in the face of
BY SCOTT KNOWLES CHIEF EXECUTIVE, EAST MIDLANDS CHAMBER
The Chamber is once again delighted to be supporting the East Midlands Top 500 Companies Index for 2024.
Now in its fifth year, the index began back in early 2020 where it created a mechanism to gauge the health of the region’s economy in a relatively stable trading environment. Since then, our businesses have faced a series of challenges at a scale never previously experienced, from forced closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns through to a stop-start economy and a cost of living and cost-of-doing-business crisis.
ever-changing market conditions.
At De Montfort University, we are committed to fostering strong partnerships with the business community. We recognize the invaluable insights that these collaborations bring to our educational programmes, research initiatives, and community projects. By working closely with industry leaders, we aim to equip our learners with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace.
This report serves as both a testament to the accomplishments of the top 500 companies and a valuable resource for understanding the current economic landscape of the East Midlands. It offers a detailed overview of the leading businesses, providing key metrics and insights that can inform strategic decision-making for stakeholders across the region.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the companies featured in this report. Your dedication, innovation, and perseverance are truly commendable. De Montfort University looks forward to continuing our collaborative journey, supporting the growth and success of the East Midlands business community.
This fifth edition of the EM Top 500 reflects the underlying strength and resilience the East Midlands business community has shown throughout, in which its innovation and creativity has never shone brighter than throughout the past few years.
The index highlights areas of growth which are supporting the regional and national economy. The EM Top 500 workforce has seen a small increase in this year’s report, compared with last year where employee figures fell. A substantial increase in overall turnover also indicates our firms’ resilience in what has been challenging and unprecedented times.
Despite the challenges of the last few years across all sectors, businesses continue to look for new opportunities to invest, innovate and grow, whether that be domestically or through international markets. Together, we are putting the East Midlands on the map as a Centre of Trading Excellence and in the coming years the EM Top 500’s findings will undoubtedly illustrate this.
INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF THE EAST MIDLANDS TOP 500
BY PROFESSOR DAVID RAE EDITOR, EAST MIDLANDS TOP 500 COMPANIES. DAVID.RAE@DMU.AC.UK
The East Midlands Top 500 Companies index (EM Top 500) aims to highlight the largest businesses based in the region, and to track the changes in the composition and performance of this group of companies. The index shows the range and strength of the leading businesses in the East Midlands, across the ‘Three Counties’ of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire areas covered by the East Midlands Chamber. These businesses are at the heart of the East Midlands’ economy and are high on the list of those most likely to drive growth and create jobs in the future. Their prosperity affects not only the workforces, supply chains and the communities around them, but ultimately everyone in the region.
The first EM Top 500 was launched in May 2020, with both the 2020 and 2021 reports published while the effects of the COVID19 pandemic and lockdown impacted on our lives and businesses, while the 2022 and 2023 reports were also overshadowed by economic and political uncertainties.
The fifth East Midlands Top 500 Companies in 2024 shows that the index itself has become an
established part of the regional business landscape. It again appears in an uncertain period, with the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza having international economic and wider effects.
Whilst the UK economy entered a brief recession at the end of 2023, this was short-lived and by the end of the first quarter of 2024 growth had returned, at the strongest rate since late 2021, nevertheless the threeyear outlook for the UK is still for modest growth.
In these challenging times the region’s businesses continue to show impressive levels of resilience in responding to diverse challenges as well as emerging opportunities.
The UK General Election will be over by the time this report appears. We welcome the new Members of Parliament elected, and hope they will see this report as evidence of the collective business strength of the region they represent. We also welcome the recently elected Mayor of the East Midlands Combined Authority. We hope that all our elected representatives will be effective advocates of the region’s business community and their many employees.
The Top 500 companies were announced on Thursday 20 June, at the East Midlands Chamber Annual Dinner 2024 event.
The East Midlands Top 500 2024 is a partnership led by Professor David Rae and Adam Brown at Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, with valued contributions from our research analyst Claire Davies; and from Alex Charles and David Thompson (University of Derby), Dr Will Rossiter (Nottingham Trent University); East Midlands Chamber; and Cross Productions.
HOW IS EM TOP 500 COMPILED
AND WHO IS INCLUDED?
The EM Top 500 index lists private and public limited companies with their registered offices located in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. It does not include large employers who have their registered offices elsewhere; nor does it include public organisations, mutually owned, cooperatives and Educational and Health Trusts which derive most of their income from the Government.
The 2024 index uses historical data from Companies House accounts filed for the period between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. It ranks companies by their annual turnover and includes the number of employees and the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) recorded. This is accessed via the FAME database published by Bureau van Dijk. The approach builds on and integrates the ‘Top 200’
WHO IS IN THE TOP 500?
HEADLINE CHANGES FROM 2023
indices for each county.
This time period includes the final full year of the Covid-19 pandemic period, which means that companies will show some effects resulting from the pandemic.
As the index is based on company accounts, it inevitably lags current company performance by around two years, since companies have up to 9 months after their year-end to file their accounts. The datasets for the county-level indices were compiled, checked, standardised and then combined into the East Midlands dataset. There are rigorous checks to eliminate duplicates, to remove companies which have become insolvent or in liquidation, and to ensure that groups of companies and subsidiaries are shown accurately. The gap between the company year-ends and publication of the index means the information is historic rather than current, but it is not ‘out of date’.
The availability of the four previous years means that comparisons over a five-year timespan from 2020-24 are now possible. The index is increasingly recognised as a valuable baseline for economic recovery and the resurgence of businesses and the wider economy. We hope to accelerate release of the Top 500 data for the next period, 1 July 2022- 30 June 2023.
The increase in the aggregated turnover of the Top 500 of 18.3% is a reassuring sign of recovery following several challenging years of decreasing trends in overall turnover which last year reflected Covid restrictions and lockdowns impacting many of our top 500 companies. The very small comparative increase in employment, of 1.4% may reflect companies’ caution, with restructuring and cost saving exercises impacting staff numbers, especially in the retail sector where customer habits have moved to an increasing online model.
Also, the recovery started to occur at different times in different sectors, depending on the pace of resumption of ‘normal business’. As predicted in last year’s report, revenue has increased and we anticipate this will continue to be apparent in the next EM Top 500, covering the 2022-2023 period.
There are 87 new entrants in 2024 compared with 2023. These are primarily due to companies with increased turnover which brought them above the threshold, together with changes in corporate structure and registered office moves into the region (52 companies) and companies who fell out of last
year’s or previous top 500s but have returned (35 companies). This is a decrease of 10 new entrants compared to the 2023 report and represents a 17.4% turnover of companies which indicates a decrease in the level of ‘churn’ within the index.
In terms of new entrants, 45 – 27 of whom have never listed before - are in the 401-500 tier of the index. These include companies to watch in the future for continued growth. This also meant that 87 firms left the index. These departures reflect companies whose turnover declined or grew less than the index, or who became insolvent, dormant or went into administration; subject to acquisitions or sales; and registered office moves out of the region.
THE TOP 30 BUSINESSES 2024
Looking first at the Top 10 businesses in the 2024 table, it reflects a continuing concentration in their business sectors. Motorpoint is the sole new entrant, with turnover up 83.3% to £1.33bn, strengthening the automotive sector presence in the Top 10, joining Sytner Group and Pinewood Technologies Group (previously known as Pendragon) as major dealership groups and Toyota as a manufacturer. Retail also continues to dominate the top 10, with Boots, Frasers Group, Next, and last year’s newcomer Dunelm in making up half of the Top 10. Finally, Barratt and Bloor Investments as major housebuilding companies, noting that Bloor Investments owns Triumph Motorcycles, Bloor Homes, and a hire company, complete the Top 10. The companies in the 11-30 grouping reflect a wider range of business activities. Whilst the Wilko brand sadly departed from the high street in August 2023, Amalgamated Holdings Wilkinson Limited remains in our report this year at position 11. The strength of the housebuilding and construction materials sectors remain evident with 10 companies making an appearance. The manufacturing sector, led by Rolls-Royce group of companies and Vaillant Group as significant businesses are more evident, also including the food and beverage manufacturing
sector, Greencore, Samworth Brothers and Refresco. The newcomer to the top 30, Quantum Topco Limited who have risen 140 places since first featuring in the top 500 last year, more about this company in a later section.
Center Parcs also made a return to the top 30 reflecting the UK’s desire to holiday again in 2021/22 after a year of restrictions. Operating from five holiday villages in the UK, with Sherwood Forest in Nottingham, Center Parcs holidays provide family friendly short breaks in a forest environment.
THE NUMBER 1 BUSINESS
BOOTS UK LTD and its related companies
For the fifth year, Boots UK Ltd remains the number one company in the East Midlands, based on its turnover which fell to £7,467 million from £7,803 million. Employment also decreased from 42,564 to 37,787. This year again grouped together are all the companies carrying the brand name Boots based in the region in the index, owned by the parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the United States. This is in line with our policy of grouping together firms which have common ultimate ownership. It is clear that Boots as a chemist and pharmaceuticals-led retailer continued experiencing strong demand during the Pandemic year but was unable to fully capitalise on this in its retail sales.
THE TOP 10 COMPANIES
The top 10 remain relatively unchanged over the past 5 years with only 14 companies having secured the coveted spot. Boots have remained at first position throughout the 5-year reporting period with Sytner Group Ltd retaining second place throughout the 5-year period. This year’s 3rd place, Barratt Developments has remained in 3rd position only slipping to 6th place once in the 2022 report. Retailers Frasers Group and Next have also been consistently in the top 10 over the course of the 5 years as have automotive companies Pinewood Technologies (previously known as Pendragon PLC) and Toyota.
EM 2024 Top 10 consists of just 3 sectors; retail, automotive and home construction (Figure 1). In the 2024 report the overall revenue for the top 10 companies was £38,670,609,000 (Figure 2) up 12.7% compared with top 10 turnover of £34,325,157,000 in the 2023 report. Staff numbers reduced by 16,380 to a total number of 134,807 across these companies. It is worth noting this reduction would have a national, rather than specific impact on just the East Midlands workforce. This represents a reduction of almost 11% in the numbers of people employed, with retail especially badly hit due to post pandemic restructures and cost-cutting exercises. Figure 3 shows the recovery in turnover set against a continuing decline in employment in the Top 10 businesses. This increase in output per head across these companies is also evident in the Top 500. It may indicate an improvement in productivity which has been a concern for the region.
Top 10 by sector by numbers of companies Top 10 turnover by sector
Top 10 Companies (Staff number, turnover, output per employee)
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: BUSINESSES TO WATCH
This section highlights the companies which have entered or climbed highest up the index. Within this group are businesses which grew during the year. Some demonstrate qualities of exceptional strategic ambition, leadership and innovation. A move into or out of the index may result from registered office moves into or out of the region and be purely administrative.
Within this group is a growing number of international businesses, locating UK operating companies in the region. There are also companies in sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, services and other sectors which move into or up the index. This reflects the diversity of business activities in the region. It also includes family-founded businesses in the region which have been growing for several decades and have now entered the Top 500.
TOP 10 NEW ENTRANT
MOTORPOINT GROUP PLC
Motorpoint, the independent used car supermarket group becomes the fourth automotive business to join the prestigious Top 10 companies in the East Midlands.
Motorpoint’s turnover for the period under
review was £1.3 billion compared with £721 million in the previous year. This is an impressive increase, making it the 10th biggest Company by turnover in the East Midlands, having been placed in the top 20 for the previous 4 years. Motorpoint has achieved a top 10 position for the first time this year and secures its position as the 3rd largest Company in Derbyshire. With a headcount of 880 staff, it is a relatively small employer in terms of employment and reflects changes in buying habits of consumers, who since the pandemic have moved to buying major purchases such as cars online. Given the postpandemic challenges faced by the motor industry with supply issues, increased pent-up demand and semiconductor shortages impacting the supply of new cars, many consumers looked to the nearly new and used car market, with Motorpoint fulfilling this need.
Motorpoint puts people at the heart of its success and was ranked as the automotive sector top company to work for in 2021, benefiting from high levels of employee engagement. Motorpoint has defied the top 10 trend for shrinking staff numbers and has demonstrated a positive trend in consistently growing its workforce by over 16.5% over the past 5 years (2018-2022).
Motorpoint Group CEO Mark Carpenter: “we endeavour to provide customers across the UK a seamless car buying experience. This investment is thus far delivering good results and has positioned the group better for the future.” (www.motortrader.com).
TOP NEW ENTRANT
MAXIMUS UK SERVICES
LIMITED
Maximus UK Services Limited, in at 78 joins because of the relocation of their registered office to Leicester. The business is growing by providing health, assessment, employment and skills services to government and businesses across the UK. Maximus UK Services employs 3,874 people and had a turnover of £177,759,643 in 2021. Turnover grew by £25m (16.7%) from 2020 to 2021.
2ND HIGHEST NEW ENTRANT: No 135 ATTEN GROUP LIMITED
Atten Group Limited moved to Derby in 2021 as a new company incorporated in the same year. Principally the group provides digital transformation and managed IT services primarily to the UK MidMarket. Atten Group Limited employs 622 people and in 2022 reported a turnover of £114,193,000.
HIGHEST CLIMBERS STONEWATER DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
CANOPY HOLDCO LIMITED
Stonewater is one of the largest social housing providers in the UK, owning and managing over 39,000 homes for more than 82,000 customers. As a registered social landlord, Stonewater provides safe, affordable housing for people of all ages and backgrounds. Stonewater has an annual turnover of around £239m and £2.4bn in fixed assets, a long-term rating of A by independent credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings, as well as a top G1/V1 governance and viability ranking. Stonewater is part of the Stonewater Group, which is made up of commercial and not-for-profit subsidiaries. This Company will be a business to look out for in future East Midland 500 rankings.
Canopy Holdco Limited has risen from 495 in 2023 to 272 in 2024, a rise of 223 places. Canopy Holdco’s principal activity is the sensitive development and operation of short-term holiday lets of eco-cabin sites in the UK’s forests (Forest Holidays), providing highly differentiated and memorable woodland experiences. 2022 was a strong year for Canopy Holdco reflecting people’s desire to holiday again after lockdown restrictions but with the limitation of UK based holidays. Canopy Holdco employs 769 and has a turnover of £55,838,000, a 139% increase on 2021’s turnover.
FEATURED CASES
This section features three businesses in the category of ‘movers and shakers’ which have shown significant growth and future promise.
TOP 30 BUSINESS QUANTUM TOPCO LIMITED
Quantum Topco Limited has risen 140 places since first featuring in the top 500 last year. Quantum Topco Limited was formed in October 2020. It is the investment holding company for The Compleat Food Group (Tottle Bakery Nottingham) who manufacture chilled and frozen savoury pastry and sweet baked goods, delicatessen and plant-based products for retailers such as Aldi as well as manufacturing for leading brands including Wall’s Pastry and Pork Farms. Its turnover increased to £587,404,000 compared with £80,228,000 in 2021 (an increase of 632%, this significant increase is partially due to the last years accounts being for a period of 5 months, compared to 12 months for the period under review).
NEW ENTRANTS PICKSTOCK FOODS LIMITED
Pickstock Foods Limited is a new entrant at number 249 with a turnover of £62,475,000, employing 90 people in 2022.
Pickstock Foods is a family-run business with 30 years’ experience in the meat industry processing British lamb and mutton in the Derbyshire countryside. Pickstock foods supply meat, sourced from UK farms to butchers, retailers, foodservice and manufacturing customers across the UK and Europe. Pickstock foods is dedicated to farming and rearing their livestock compassionately and sustainably, insisting on working with other livestock farmers who operate at the highest level, where meat quality and animal welfare is paramount.
SECTORAL ANALYSIS
The Retail Trade sector has continued to maintain its position with the largest turnover, rising from £19.67 billion to £22.05 billion (Table 1), a 12.0% increase, even though the number of retail companies in the Top 500 decreased and number of employees in this sector declined. The sector is
THINCATS GROUP LIMITED
ThinCats is a leading alternative finance provider who support mid-sized SMEs (Small or Medium Enterprise) from all sectors across the UK with funding for growth, acquisitions, refinancing and restructuring. Based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, ThinCats was incorporated in 2021 and enters the top 500 for the first time this year with a turnover in 2022 of £43,630,000 and employing 80 staff.
Amany Attia, CEO, ThinCats said: “As Covid restrictions lifted and business confidence strengthened during 2021, borrower demand switched from the short-term liquidity needs of 2020 to funding strategic growth plans, both organic and through acquisitions. Using a combination of the CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) and RLS (Recovery Loan Scheme) government-backed schemes and business as usual lending, we were delighted to provide a record amount of funding to existing and new borrowers.” (Londonlovesbusiness,12.1.2022)
dominated by six large retailers, each with over £1 billion of turnover, accounting for £21.04 billion (95%) of the turnover for the sector in 2024. It is hard to predict what will happen next year to the retail sector, but aggregated revenue might be flat, given the restructuring of Wilko, with the main trading company formerly known as Wilko Limited being placed into administration on 10 August 2023.
The ‘Others’ sector has continued to grow in terms of number of companies represented in the 500, as the number in alternative sectors decline. This has been the largest sector for two consecutive years (current and previous) regarding number of companies (Table 1 and Figure 4). This could be due to a change of the sectoral mix and below we look at each sector in term.
TABLE 1
MANUFACTURING
Historically this has been the largest sector in terms of revenue from 2020 through to 2022, dropping to second place in 2023 and now third in 2024. Manufacturing has been the second largest in number of registered companies, becoming the largest sector for a year in 2022. For each of the last 5 years it has been the third largest employer.
The number of manufacturing companies listed has declined every year for the last 5 years 159 (2020) to 123 (2024), however the pattern of employment has been slightly different, number of employees rose from 89,000 (2020) to 115,000 (2022), declined to 70,000 (2023) and increased this year to 77,000, a 10% increase on the prior year.
While turnover has been in decline for the sector from £24.26 billion (2020) to £14.98 billion (2023) with an increase to £17.58 billion (2024), a 17% increase on the prior year.
Hopefully, with two of the three metrics showing improvement, this may mark a turnaround in the manufacturing sector. This sector often takes a longer-term view, as compared to others it takes longer to implement change, due to higher capital intensity, high fixed costs and lead-time taken to research, design and make products.
Top 500 sectorial breakdown 2024 (by
RETAIL TRADE
Retail Trade has been in the top 2 sectors in terms of revenue for the last 5 years, being the largest this year and the previous year, taking over the baton from manufacturing. Revenue is up 12% on the previous year.
In terms of employment, it was the leading sector for the 4 reports during the period, 2020 to 2023, being overtaken by the ‘Others’ sector this year. Retail employs 28.0% of those employed by the EM500. Retail headcount has remained flat for the last 3 years, with a slight decline since last year.
The numbers of Retail companies have been on an upward trend over the last 5 years, coming off the peak of last year.
MOTOR VEHICLE TRADE
This is the fourth largest sector in terms of turnover over the last 5 years.
The number of companies has declined year on year, but the rate of decline has slowed. The level of employment has moved in line with the number of companies. This could indicate consolidation taking place in the motor trade industry.
This sector over the last 5 years has declined in terms of turnover, the key metric, with an upward tick this year to £13.66 billion, a 23.0% increase on the prior year. This has been driven by a buoyant used car market, driven by a shortage of supply of new vehicles due to a shortage of computer chips and increased worldwide demand, driving up the price of used cars leading to an increase in motor vehicle trade revenue.
FIGURE 4
CONSTRUCTION
Prior to the current year, all metrics (number of companies, number of employees and revenue) has been rising. This is one of only two sectors that have seen revenue decline in 2024.
This is the only sector where there seems to be correlation in all 3 metrics, i.e. each metric moving in the same direction at the same time. This would suggest that the sector’s revenue is dependent on headcount.
BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES
Over the last 5 years, this sector has been the fifth or sixth largest sector, swapping places with Wholesale Trade. The revenue in this sector has been on an upward trend, growing from £2.53 billion (2020) to £5.07 billion (2024), doubling in revenue in the space of 4 years.
This sector provides a wide variety of services, including some of the largest companies being in recruitment, interim roles and outsourcing companies. The change in the number of employees during the first 4 years of the report, could be explained partly by COVID. In the recovery, companies may have favoured the flexibility of temporary and interim recruitment and outsourcing solutions, driving the increase in headcount of the business support sector.
In terms of employment the sector is currently the fourth largest with an 8.8% share of total headcount.
WHOLESALE TRADE
Probably the most volatile sector over the last 5 years, with swings in number of companies, headcount and turnover. It has been a very challenging year for wholesale with all metrics lower than last year: number of companies down 21%, headcount down 43% and revenue down 15%.
This may be due to a combination of increased cost base (inflation due to increases in raw materials,
fuel costs and wage inflation, increasing the purchase prices available to wholesalers) making it difficult for businesses to operate in the sector’s competitive marketplace due to cost-conscious customers, causing a squeeze on revenue; and international trade complexity arising from Brexit.
There will always be a space for the wholesale trade, taking advantage of buyers’ economies of scale and operating on very tight margins, so this volatility seems likely to continue.
‘OTHERS’
This year the ‘Others’ sector has become the largest sector of employment. It has been the largest sector in terms of numbers of companies in all but one of the past 5 years. It has experienced big increases compared to last year: firstly, in numbers of people employed by 24.6% and secondly revenue of 74.5%, this trend is likely to continue in future years. So, this sector merits more analysis.
It is a “catch all” for all other sectors according to SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) that could not be allocated to another grouping. This category includes many sectors that are varied and quite large for example: Financial & Insurance (72 companies), IT Services (16) and Land Transport (14). There is some overlap with Business Services sector. A fair proportion of ‘Others’ provide business services and could be recategorised to Business Services. Both ‘Others’ and ‘Business Service’ sectors require a detailed review for next year.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC) CODING
The SIC codes used by a company should represent the economic activities of the company. However, there are limitations attached to the use of the ‘traditional’ SIC code structure, and this needs to be considered in advance of the next EM Top 500 so that alternatives can be explored.
There are many limitations with the use of SIC codes, it can be subjective, historical and simplistic, especially for larger businesses with multiple activities. A sizeable proportion of the companies in the index are group companies, often in structures with one or more holding companies (i.e. holding investments in the form of shares in trading companies or other subsidiaries often holding companies). Depending on interpretation and application of accounting rules, the holding company may consolidate the figures from the profit and loss and balance sheet from its subsidiaries (investments) to reflect the economic value of the group’s activities. On a SIC code basis these companies are classified
as ‘Holding Companies’ in the category of ‘Financial and Insurance’, in the ‘Others’ sector. This might be questionable in the case of a holding company that derives all its consolidated revenue from the sale of retail electrical products, which would be classed as a ‘Holding Company’ in the ‘Others’ sector, but arguably should be classified under ‘Retail’. There are alternatives, but these are not always readily available. The principal activity of the business could be used, but this would involve going into each set of accounts filed and checking what has been disclosed, often the principal activity is not mentioned or can be worded in such a way that makes categorisation difficult. The subjectivity still cannot be overcome.
Other available methods of categorisation are ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification); NACE (Nomenclature génerale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes); NAICS (North American Industry Classification System), all international and good for comparing production nationally and internationally. The most recent development in the area of classifying business activities is Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTIC). This method of classification aims to highlight many of the growth sectors in technology, science, computing and digital.
All will encounter issues for the users and providers of the codes of access and availability (mainly for the users), familiarity and understanding
BUSINESS RESILIENCE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
Over the last 5 years, the level of Top 500 employment has remained in a band of 430,000 - 450,000, moving in the same direction as turnover on an annual basis, while turnover has remained in a band of between £82.10 billion and £97.16 billion, with the biggest movement taking place in between 2023 and 2024 (Figure 5). The figures for 2023 were for the period of 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, so turnover fell 11% due to falls in demand caused by COVID-19, while employment fell circa 2%, (less than turnover) as companies made use of furlough schemes. Subsequently turnover has grown
(by the providers and users), subjectiveness, comparability and issues of accuracy and reliability, in terms of reflecting current or most significant economic activity. The goal should be an objective, consistent, reliable process, which makes the data understandable and analysis useful. The data and the analysis have its purposes, what are areas of growth, what support is required in terms of infrastructure, investment and skills.
at a higher rate than employment resulting in an above trend increase in output per head, this will be the result of efficiencies, lean management practices and companies awaiting confidence and demand for goods and products to be persistent and sustained before recruiting more staff. Some of this increase in turnover will be cost inflation, which has been passed onto customers. It is anticipated that turnover and employment will increase next year.
The top 10 group over the last 5 years, has not changed much in its composition. There have only been 14 different companies that have broken into the top 10. Growing to the scale required to enter the top 10, being a company with a turnover more than £1 billion is a major challenge. The companies that are in the top 10 have the scale, strength of financial performance and position and experienced and quality of management that means that they will maintain their financial performance and position, but more likely improve their financial performance and position. The top 10 group is foreseen to remain stable in its constitution.
Turnover and Employee 5 year trend
Construction and Wholesale Trade are lower than the previous year in terms of revenue and level of employment, this is partly driven by the number of companies in the ranking reducing. This could be an indication of the challenges that these sectors and industries face, both are known to operate on thin margins, have experienced input cost increases and supply constraints, which they may not have been able to alleviate via increases in prices due to contractual arrangements or competition in the sector. It is hard to know if a trend has formed but given the return of a degree of confidence, both sectors’ turnover and staff levels may increase next year.
Will output per head (turnover / employee) increase in the coming years? This is likely to be the case due to inflation and efficiencies from automation. The next driver of growth in all sectors is likely to be based on making more use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Writing in July 2024, it is always hard to predict the future from looking at the past performance of EM Top 500 companies. However, having followed the fortunes of this group of businesses over the past five years, several observations can be made.
The East Midlands hosts a large and successful group of businesses which are in the main very well-managed. In many cases they are world-leading
and have continued to ride out and recover from the many challenges they encounter. They are also very diverse in the range of industry sectors and both UK and international markets which they service. International trade continues to be a growth area, enabled by the supply-chain and logistics infrastructure the region has attracted. The combined effectiveness of leadership and management, and diversity of the business base, are enduring strengths.
Recent economic data, such as the East Midlands Chamber Quarterly Economic Survey (Q1-Q2 2024) showed an increase in business confidence from Q4 2023, following 6 months of decline. Optimism for growth in sales turnover and investment has increased. Whilst there is continuing uncertainty on many fronts, businesses have become habituated to trading in these conditions.
The General Election and its likely outcome had been anticipated for some time. Businesses in general are likely to welcome clearer and more stable policies for economic growth, skills and investment. East Midlands Chamber has for several years proposed a Business Manifesto for Growth in the region and beyond. It is to be hoped that the next government will include these proposals in its policymaking.
We make your numbers count the whole year through, delivering timely advice on how to improve your business and personal wealth.
THE EAST MIDLANDS
Delivering outstanding PR & marketing Services
Specialising in elevating large businesses through strategic and impactful PR & marketing solutions.
With a team of seasoned experts offering bespoke services tailored to your corporate needs, we ensure your brand message stands out in a competitive market.
● PR Planning: Custom strategies to amplify your brand
● Media Relations: Secure top-tier media coverage
● Crisis Management: Protect your reputation with expert handling
Tactically aligned with your wider marketing goals to deliver the results needed for growth.
We know a thing or two about marketing
If I was down to my last dollar I’d spend it on PR!
Bill Gates
