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£9m in 2009, earning the company a place on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 league table in both 2008 and 2009, as well as an influx of new staff joining the business. Today, over 80 staff work across a range of disciplines, from engineering and sales to customer services and accounts.


Paul Bradford, CEO, said: “Our SME100 position is a welcome accolade for the hard work put in by all our staff, particularly considering the economic circumstances we’re all facing. We are delighted to be counted among so many good businesses in the Thames Valley region.”


Details: www.southern-comms.co.uk 6 Celloglas


In sixth place is Celloglas, the UK’s leading decorative print finisher. It employs 100 people across its head office in Theale, Reading, and factories in Reading, Leicester and Leeds, and achieved a turnover of £9.80m to the end of December 2010.


Celloglas offers a range of finishes – from foiling and lamination to specialist coatings such as glow in the dark and fragrance burst – that enhance the look, feel and even smell of printed media. The company works with brand owners, agencies, publishers and print management companies as well as in partnership with many well-known UK printers, catering for a number of market sectors including magazine and book publishing, product packaging, direct mail and point of sale.


Richard Gillgrass, managing director at Celloglas, said: “It is great to be recognised as one of the top 100 SME companies for the Thames Valley. We have operated in the Thames Valley for many years and we find it to be a very vibrant marketplace.”


Details: www.celloglas.co.uk 7 The Fabulous Bakin’ Boys


Family-run bakery brand The Fabulous Bakin’ Boys rises to the occasion to take seventh place on the list. Founded in 1997 by managing director Gary Frank, the company currently employs over 200 staff at its nut-free bakery in Witney and achieved a turnover of £9.78m to April 30, 2010.


The company, whose products include muffins, flapjacks and cupcakes which are sold in supermarkets, independent stores and food service outlets across the UK, says it stands out from the crowd by adding an element of fun and innovation to baking.


Gemma Osborne, marketing executive at The Fabulous Bakin’ Boys, said: “The business has experienced rapid growth over the past 13 years, seeing sales of around £20m at the end of 2010 and aims for a bigger share of the cake market, with a clear focus on making fabulous bakery snacks for all the family to enjoy.”


Details: www.bakinboys.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – DECEMBER 11/JANUARY 12 www.businessmag.co.uk 8 College of Law Services


College of Law Services is a subsidiary company of The College of Law, which is headquartered in Guildford. The College of Law is the leading provider of professional legal education and training in Europe, with centres in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Chester, Guildford, Manchester and York. To July 31, 2010, turnover for the subsidiary company stood at £9.75m, with 100 employees. The College of Law itself has a turnover of around £70m.


The college says its reputation as the leader in legal education is down to continual innovation, dedication to legal training, an unrivalled network of contacts, a track record in securing employment for its graduates, its reputation as an employer and its ongoing investment in the future diversity, accessibility and shape of the legal services industry.


Details: www.college-of-law.co.uk 9 Phlexglobal Group


Specialist global contract research organisation Phlexglobal takes the penultimate spot on the top 10 list. The Amersham-based organisation, which was established in 1997, offers a unique combination of clinical trial knowledge, document management skills, regulatory understanding and technical expertise to deliver clinical research support solutions to meet business needs. It achieved a turnover of £9.74m to the end of December 2010 and in that year its UK-based employees grew to over 180.


The company, which counts 17 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies amongst its clients, strives to establish true partnerships with clients, with open communication channels and clearly-defined responsibilities that deliver cost-effective and efficient business solutions.


Karen Redding, global business development director at Phlexglobal, said: “Phlexglobal’s Amersham location, close to the M4 corridor and many of the major UK-based pharmaceutical companies, has helped the company grow its reputation and build its client base across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, CRO and healthcare industries.”


Details: www.phlexglobal.com 10 T A Fisher (Holdings)


The final top ten spot is home to Reading- based T A Fisher (Holdings), part of the T A Fisher Group, the Thames Valley’s leading property development company. It achieved a turnover of £9.72m to June 30, 2010, employing 29 people.


Being active in a broad range of property sectors, including residential, commercial, mixed use, property investment and serviced apartments, is key to the company’s continued success. John Fisher, chairman and chief executive of T A Fisher, said: “It’s heartening to hear we are in the top 10 SMEs in the region. We’re long established, we’ve been around for a long time, since 1895, that’s 116 years. We’ve been through a few recessions – as a company we were quite well-prepared; we have a strong property investment portfolio which underpins the business, we have a strong income stream which serves the company very well during more impoverished times.


“We’ve got a very well-known and established housebuilding side and we continue to carry out commercial property development but we’ve broadened our activities. We’ve moved into a hotel development programme and we’re also involved in effectively recycling former commercial buildings and sites into either hotels or aparthotels and that feeds into our serviced apartment company. We’ve got a very broad spread of property activities and that’s really helped us continue to post good results.”


Details: www.tafisher.co.uk


Full details of the SME 100 list were revealed in the November 2011 issue of The Business Magazine: www.businessmag.co.uk


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