This week Business-Live has been counting down the list of the 500 biggest companies in the East Midlands.
And today we bring you the top 20.
They are the multi-million pound firms which support tens of thousands of jobs and pump billions into the local and national economies.
Most are household names, some less well known, but all play a key part in keeping the wheels of 海角视频 industry turning.
And now more than ever they are helping play a part in getting the country back up and running as the coronavirus lockdown eases and Britain gets back to work.
The data has been sourced by De Montfort University, in Leicester, and relates to a period well before the economic impact of Covid-19 became apparent.
How future lists will look is anyone’s guess.
This research allows us to see the range and strength of firms across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, the three counties covered by East Midlands Chamber.
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The index has been compiled by a team including researchers from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) (Rachel English, Professor David Rae and doctoral researchers Deji Olagboye and Ngozi Eneh Ojo); the University of Derby (Alexandra Charles, Marc Cowling); Nottingham Trent University (Will Rossiter) working with Reach Media and East Midlands Chamber.
The Top 500 is based on historic data from Companies House accounts, submitted between July 2017 and June 2018 and will be updated yearly.
Inevitably some of the businesses will have gone through changes since then. Some have expanded rapidly since then. Others have been streamlined. A handful are no longer trading.
Regardless of that, it is a good general reference of what’s going on out there.
It provides a baseline for comparison in future years since it comprises data predating the effects of Brexit and COVID -19.
It includes companies with their registered offices located in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
All of these have already been included in the Top 200 Companies 2019 for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, featured in Business Live coverage by Reach Media.
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Over the course of the week starting June 1, Business Live has publishing the index in stages.
This is the top 20:
20. BOWMER AND KIRKLAND
The construction giant has started work on a new £9.5 million police station in Derby. Towards the end of last year, Derbyshire Constabulary signed contracts with the landowner Ivygrove Developments paving the way for the new station to be built at Dunstall Park, a vacant former Rolls-Royce car park. Since then, Bowmer and Kirkland, which is headquartered in Heage, Derbyshire, has moved onto site and started work on the development, which will be linked to the existing fire station in Ascot Drive. Bowmer and Kirkland has experience of delivering major projects for the city council, including Derby Arena, a multi-purpose events venue next to Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium, which has its own velodrome.
Operating revenue: £957,800,000
Number of employees: 1,319
Year end: 31/08/2017
Postcode: DE56 2BW
19. STAFFLINE GROUP
Nottingham headquartered recruitment giant Staffline appointed Ian Lawson as its new chairman this spring, following a six-week period during which he had been acting as an independent board adviser to the company. He brings more than 15 years’ board-level experience across both the support services and engineering sectors. On Staffline’s current outlook, it recently reported: “The company has now completed its re-forecasting exercise, and while the board is not in a position to provide explicit guidance on the out-turn for the year ending 31 December 2020 due to the current uncertainty surrounding the impact of Covid-19, the board is reassured that each of the two divisions are cautiously optimistic about achieving a positive result on an underlying EBITA basis.”
Operating revenue: £957,800,000
Number of employees: 2,357
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: NG2 1AE
18. MOTORPOINT GROUP
Motorpoint specialises in vehicles that are no older than three years, have less than 25,000 miles on the clock and are still under the warranty of manufacturers. The 海角视频’s largest independent car retailer recently opened a new outlet in Swansea, its 13th in the 海角视频. It added to the company’s network of existing branches in Birmingham, Birtley, Burnley, Castleford, Chingford, Derby, Glasgow, Newport, Oldbury, Peterborough, Sheffield and Widnes.
Operating revenue: £991,200,000
Number of employees: 755
Year end: 31/03/2018
Postcode: DE21 6BZ
17. PENTAGON MOTOR GROUP
Pentagon Motor Group was recently awarded the title of purchasing and SMR dealer group of the year (with 30-plus dealerships) by Lex Autolease at the annual Supplier Focus Day Awards.
Operating revenue: £1,007,244,000
Number of employees: 1,273
Year end: 30/06/2018
Postcode: DE21 6HB
16. DUNELM GROUP
The boss of national homeware retailer Dunlem took a 90 per cent pay cut to help the firm through the coronavirus crisis. Nick Wilkinson, chief executive of the Leicester headquartered firm, took the voluntary pay reduction to help the business survive the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the business. It follows the company’s chairman and non-executive directors waiving 100 per cent of their fees and the executive management team taking a 20 per cent pay cut. All of the reductions will be in effect for three months, running from April to June.
Operating revenue: £1,050,100,000
Number of employees: 6,551
Year end: 30/06/2018
Postcode: LE7 1AD
15. SAMWORTH BROTHERS (HOLDINGS)
The family owned business recently announced it was considering shutting down one of its ready meals operations. Samworth Brothers said it was undertaking a consultation with 400 workers at its Brooksby Foods factory in Melton Mowbray, in east Leicestershire. Brooksby Foods makes around 375,000 meals every week, rising to 600,000 meals during its busiest periods. The site can do things ranging from roasting, baking, steaming and sauce making to marinating, frying and pasta and rice cooking. It has the capacity to produce long-life ready meals with a shelf life of more than 30 days. It also supplies raw ingredients for families to cook at home. Samworth Brothers, which is also based in Melton, is the 海角视频’s second biggest maker of sandwiches and wraps, its main area of business, and the market leader for savouries and pasties.
Operating revenue: £1,079,544,000
Number of employees: 9,273
Year end: 30/12/2017
Postcode: LE13 1GA
14. AGGREGATE INDUSTRIES 海角视频/LAFARGE CAULDON/LAFARGE IRELAND
One of the 海角视频’s biggest construction and infrastructure specialists, Aggregate Industries recently completed work on one of the country’s busiest transport routes. The Leicestershire-based giant supplied raw materials and carried out installation work on the £1.5 billion, A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme in the east of England. The improved road – which officially opened for traffic on May 5, eight months ahead of schedule – includes a new bypass to the south of Huntingdon and upgrades to 21 miles of motorway. The A14 is also one of the key road links to the port at Felixstowe. Aggregate Industries’ Asphalt and Contracting teams worked on the Highways England project in collaboration with the A14 Integrated Delivery Team. In all, more than 17 million sq ft of road was constructed and surfaced, and 6 miles of paths created.
Operating revenue: £1,376,686,000
Number of employees: 3,849
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: LE67 9PJ
13. GREENCORE
Greencore Group plc is a leading manufacturer of convenience foods, supplying chilled, frozen and ambient foods to some of the most successful retail and food service customers in the 海角视频. Its team of chefs create over 1,000 new recipes each year and work hard to ensure our products are fresh, nutritious, and tasty. Greencore was established in 1991 following the privatisation of Irish Sugar. In 2001, the business diversified into convenience food through the acquisition of Hazlewood Foods. Subsequently, the business has made a series of acquisitions and disposals to create Greencore’s current portfolio. In 2018 it sold its US division.
Operating revenue: £1,405,224,000
Number of employees: 7161
Year end: 29/09/2017
Postcode: S43 4XA
12. BLOOR INVESTMENTS
Measham-based Bloor Homes - established in 1969 - is building houses at a rate of more than 2000 a year – everything from one-bedroom apartments to seven-bedroom luxury homes. The business has been helped by the Government’s continuing help for first time buyers. Founder John Bloor revived the Triumph Motorcycles brand in the 1980s, relocating it to Hinckley where it now makes around 6,000 to 7,000 of the 65,000-or so bikes it makes each year at factories around the world. This month it said it was laying off 400 people - 240 in the 海角视频 - after Covid-19 had “significantly reduced global demand for large capacity motorcycles”.
Operating revenue: £1,514,567,000
Number of employees: 3663
Year end: 30/06/2018
Postcode: DE12 7JP
11. WILKO RETAIL
Key dates in the chains growth include starting its first store in Leicester back in 1930, developing its first Wilko brand paint range in 1973 and welcoming our first online customer in 2007. Today, it is a brand with over 14,000 Wilko products which make up more than half its annual sales. It has more than 400 stores in the 海角视频 and is rapidly growing wilko.com with more than 200,000 products available.
Operating revenue: £1,619,577,000
Number of employees: 20,551
Year end: 03/02/2018
Postcode: S80 3EG
10. STERIS/ STERIS SOLUTIONS
STERIS is a leading provider of infection prevention and other products and services. It is focused primarily on healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device customers. Founded as Innovative Medical Technologies in Ohio in 1985, the company was renamed Steris in 1987. However, some of the businesses that have been acquired and integrated into Steris, notably American Sterilizer Company, have much longer operating histories. It has around 12,000 associates worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries.
Operating revenue: £1,891,542,000
Number of employees: 12,356
Year end: 31/03/2018
Postcode: DE21 6LY
9. ECO-BAT TECHNOLOGIES
Eco-Bat Technologies is the world’s largest producer and recycler of lead, and currently the only global company offering a closed recycling loop for lead-acid batteries. Its production facilities use the latest cutting edge technologies to ensure high quality, efficient and environmentally responsible products which are renowned for their consistency. More than 80 per cent of its lead production is pure lead, which involves the manufacture of refined lead from scrap lead sources.
Operating revenue: £2,039,684,000
Number of employees: 3,217
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: DE4 2LE
8. TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACTURING (海角视频)
It was in 1989 that Japanese car manufacturing giant Toyota announced plans to establish its first European factory at Burnaston, near Derby – and in December that year it established Toyota Motor Manufacturing (海角视频). But it was not until 1992 that the first Burnaston-built car rolled off the production line. Today, the factory manufactures the all-new Corolla hatchback and Touring Sports, with most of its output exported to mainland Europe. The majority of the cars manufactured at Burnaston are hybrids, running on a combination of petrol and electricity. The powertrains are manufactured at Toyota’s engine-making plant at Deeside, in North Wales. Both Deeside and Burnaston represent a total investment by Toyota of £2.75 billion.
Operating revenue: £2,177,792,000
Number of employees: 2698
Year end: 31/03/2018
Postcode: DE1 9TA
7. SPORTS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1982, Sports Direct International plc is the 海角视频’s biggest sporting goods retailer by revenue, and operates a diversified portfolio of sports, fitness, fashion and lifestyle fascias and brands. The group also wholesales and licenses its brands to partners in the 海角视频, continental Europe, the Americas, and the Far East.
Operating revenue: £3,359,500,000
Number of employees: 17,559
Year end: 29/04/2018
Postcode: NG20 8RY
6. ROLLS-ROYCE GROUP OF COMPANIES
Rolls-Royce is Derby’s largest private sector employer with around 12,000 staff working in the city. Two Rolls-Royce businesses are located in Derby. Its Civil Aerospace division designs, develops, tests and manufactures the Trent family of aero engines, which are supplied to airline customers all over the globe. Meanwhile, the firm’s Defence division manufactures nuclear power plants for Royal Navy submarines. Rolls-Royce has been in Derby for over 100 years. It began life making cars but then made the switch to aero engines. Today, the Civil Aerospace business makes up the largest proportion of the Rolls-Royce Group.
Operating revenue: £3,708,042,000
Number of employees: 14,000+
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: DE24 8BJ
5. NEXT PLC
In April fashion retailer Next warned that its sales could fall by as much as £1.6 billion this year because of the impact of coronavirus. In a trading statement the firm, which is headquartered at Enderby, in Leicestershire, also said it could end up posting a pre-tax loss of £150 million. The firm said in the worst case scenario, its sales could fall by 40 per cent if shoppers continue to be kept away from stores due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Operating revenue: £4,055,500,000
Number of employees: 43970
Year end: 27/01/2018
Postcode: LE19 4AT
4. PENDRAGON PLC
Talks over a merger between Greater Manchester-based Lookers merge with Nottingham-based Pendragon were recently stopped at an “early” stage. The discussions would have seen the listed firms discuss the “potential benefits of a combination of the two businesses and how this could be attractive to both sets of shareholders”. But the East Midlands firm issued a statement saying while it believed the move would have proven “beneficial”, the talks had now stopped.
Operating revenue: £4,739,100,000
Number of employees: 9,989
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: NG15 0DR
3. BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS PLC
To say thank you to NHS workers during the COVID-19 crisis, Barratt Developments has launched a new NHS Deposit Contribution Scheme giving a 5 per cent deposit to help them buy a new home. Barratt and David Wilson Homes has recently re-opened its sales offices and showhomes following the government’s announcement that housing market transactions in England can take place again. It has also signed up to the new government and industry Charter for Safe Working Practice – Covid-19, which supports best practice being adopted across the industry. Barratt Group sold 17,856 homes in the year to June 2019, making it the biggest housebuilder by volume in Britain
Operating revenue: £4,874,800,000
Number of employees: 6,315
Year end: 30/06/2018
Postcode: LE67 1UF
2. SYTNER GROUP
With state-of-the-art dealerships across the 海角视频, Sytner Group represents the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers - brands such as Aston Martin, BMW, McLaren, Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Land Rover. In 1968, Frank Sytner and his older brother Alan (previously the owner of the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool) opened their first used car dealership in Nottingham. Just two years later, the brothers were awarded the BMW franchise for Nottingham and Frank began his successful motorsport career. It culminated with him winning two British Touring car championships in 1988 and 1990 with BMW. After that Frank decided to focus his energy on expanding the BMW business and the expansion of the company began in 1993 with the acquisition of a BMW dealership in Leicester and was quickly followed by a third BMW operation in Sheffield.
Operating revenue: £5,562,589,000
Number of employees: 8,928
Year end: 31/12/2017
Postcode: LE19 1ST
1. BOOTS 海角视频
The East Midlands’ biggest business is one of Britain’s best known brands with more than 2,400 branches across the country. Created 170 years ago, the Boots brand is still at the heart of the communities it serves. It moved quickly to reassure customers of its plans to continue providing a safe shopping experience and safe working environment in stores across the 海角视频 during the lockdown. Since the beginning of crisis Boots was named an essential retailer, prioritising the safety of customers and colleagues to keep the majority of stores open and ensuring everyone had access to a pharmacy to get the prescriptions, essential medicines, advice and support they need. It is the 海角视频’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, and is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc, the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.
Operating revenue: £6,837,000,000
Number of employees: 40088
Year end: 31/08/2017
Postcode: NG2 3AA