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news opinion
Following the spectacularly successful 2012 Olympics, there is much talk about ’legacy’
One of the great legacies of the brilliance of London 2012 is the strength of Brand GB.
We have shown the world that while we may be quirky, perhaps a little bonkers, we know how to organise and how to win. We are also great people to do business with because we are charming, respectful, self-deprecating, and yet creative, confident and clever.
Team GB may now be resting up, but Brand GB should be out there in the global marketplace, feeding off the goodwill that we have built through perhaps the best Olympics ever.
There is another legacy. The Olympics has shown us that hard work and tenacity are as important as the possession of natural gifts. It’s incredible what can be achieved through dedication and self-belief.
This is an important lesson for our young people. It has been said elsewhere, but worth repeating, that the Olympics role models are where our teenagers’ gaze should be concentrating, rather than the preening and purposeless so-called ’celebs’ of Big Brother and other reality shows.
We have heroes and champions on these shores. If that does not inspire a new spirit of entrepreneurialism in our youngsters, and a new wave of global trading among our businesses, then nothing will.
The recession may be still with us, but the recovery can be fuelled by the high octane of 2012.
David Murray Publisher
www.businessmag.co.uk
Thames Valley companies right on track for growth
Oxford-based TI Automotive has turned the tables on its two main local rivals when it comes to sales figures. The group were the third highest ranked Thames Valley private company in last year’s Sunday Times Top Track 100 table, but this year earned top spot after chalking up sales of £1.9 billion in 2011.
TI makes and sells fluid storage and delivery systems, such as fuel tanks and brake lines, for cars and vans. Founded in 2001 and with a major base in America, the company now employs some 20,000 staff at 114 locations in 28 countries and its customers include most of the main motor manufacturers.
Led by its chairman Bill Kozyra and owned by a consortium of 25 investors, its profit of over £200 million last year placed it 19th in the national listing – the only company in the region to make the top 20.
Maintaining second spot in the Thames Valley with sales of £1.7b (earning a profit of £130m to take 21st place nationally) was SSP, the Surrey-based catering business that provides food and drink for travellers at airports, railway stations and motorway service areas in 30 countries.
Its 2,250 outlets feature the company’s own brands such as Caffè Ritazza, Upper Crust and Millie’s Cookies, as well as franchises for brands including M&S Simply Food, Starbucks and Burger King. Led by chief executive Andrew Lynch, the Weybridge company was founded in 2006 and now employs nearly 30,000 people.
Thames Water, which led the region in the 2011 table, slipped to third place (22nd overall) recording turnover of £1.6b and debts of £9b. But the Reading- based group is still the biggest water and waste-water services business in Britain with 14 million customers in London and the Thames Valley.
The company was bought by a consortium led by the Australian investor Macquarie in 2006, and under chief executive Martin Baggs is spending £5b over five years to upgrade its extensive network of pipes and sewers. It is currently testing smart water meters in Reading and London.
Only two other Thames Valley companies made the top 50. Oxford-based Unipart (43rd), which manages its customers’ supply chains as well as selling products through a network of warehouses and branches, reported sales of £1.1b under chief executive John Neill.
The group, which was formed in 1987 from a buyout of British Leyland’s car-parts division, now services a wide range of sectors including technology, retailing, rail, defence and health, with customers such as Vodafone, Sainsbury’s and BMW. Last September it sold 50.1% of its automotive branch network division to H2 Equity Partners for an undisclosed sum.
Leatherhead-based Wates (46th) specialises in construction and refurbishment projects covering everything from prisons and affordable homes to schools and shops. The contractor was founded by Edward Wates in 1897, is still owned by his
descendants and now has 2,650 staff.
The group maintains 73% of its business comes from repeat customers, which include leading retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and John Lewis, as well as the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police. Under Paul Drechsler, chairman and chief executive, the group reported sales of £1b.
Westcoast, the Reading distributor of IT hardware and software, continues to stay among the country’s leading performers. Established in 1984, it currently employs 700 people and Its range includes servers, storage devices, printers and audio-visual equipment from companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and Toshiba. Still owned and run by founder Joe Hemani, its reported sales of £942m put it in 54th place in the table.
Biffa, the High Wycombe-based group, made 63rd place in the national table with sales of £850m. It hits the road every morning with its 1,400 refuse trucks collecting, treating and disposing of municipal, commercial and industrial waste — 10m tonnes of it each year. Recently, its focus has shifted towards recycling that waste and using it to produce energy.
The 11th annual Top Track 100 table, which is compiled by Oxford-based Fast Track and sponsored by BDO, was topped by the pharmaceutical wholesaler and retailer Alliance Boots (sales of £25.4b) for the second year in a row.
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In the October issue of The Business Magazine
• Law South East/The Legal 500 • Commercial Property • Christmas Hospitality • Manufacturing • Banking Update
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2012
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