news opinion Relecting on 2017


As we approach Christmas, it’s good to look back on 2017 and ask ourselves whether we’ve had a good year, and what our prospects are for an even better one in 2018.


We are blessed by working in a region that appears to outperform the rest of the UK, where there’s a sense of buoyancy and entrepreneurial zeal, and where business people are in general looking optimistically at the future.


Oxford and Reading came first and second in the recent PwC Good Cities index, topping the league for ‘good growth’ – that is a ranking based on a range of measures including jobs, income and skills but also taking account of health, housing and environmental factors.


There’s still more ‘good growth’ to come in both Reading and Oxford, of course, with developments like the Elizabeth Line and the Thames Valley Science Park accelerating the inward investment and re-investment.


But there’s also a downside. Professional colleagues have remarked recently about the growing number of homeless people on the streets of Reading, and Christmas seems a perfect time to shine a spotlight on this problem.


Homelessness is often a consequence of mental health issues, and it was heartening to see this subject being addressed through the new Mental Health in the Workplace Award, supported by Cardinal Clinic, Brighter Berkshire and the Institute of Directors, in our annual Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards (see page 8).


Other awards – such as the James Cowper Kreston Charity of the Year category and the new Peter Brett Associates Community Legacy trophy – highlight the good work being done in our region, and suggest that many businesses view a good year not just in turnover and profits but in the ‘good’ they have done.


There’s a sense that the corporate world is understanding social responsibility more now than ever. And that’s a heartening message for Christmas and the New Year.


David Murray Publisher


4 businessmag.co.uk


Local firms moving up the Top Track 250


The McLaren name may not exactly be setting the track alight with its Honda partnership on the Formula One track this season, but it certainly roared ahead when it came to sales – grabbing top spot in the latest Top Track 250 league table which ranks Britain’s private mid-market growth companies.


Woking-based McLaren Automotive completed its 10,000th sports car last December, only five years after the first rolled out of its hi-tech production centre. It sold 3,286 vehicles during 2016, with demand from North America and Europe helping double profits to £65.8 million on sales of £649.8m, up 44% from 2015.


In July the company merged with McLaren Technology Group, which owns the Formula One team, to form McLaren Group. The group then raised £564m in a bond offering, £200m of which was used to buy out former chairman Ron Dennis. The group’s combined sales were almost £900m in 2016.


The automotive company’s chief executive Mike Flewitt said by 2022 it plans to release 15 new models and derivatives, and incorporate hybrid technology in half of its cars. He has pledged £1 billion for research and development over that period for McLaren, which employs about 1,600 people.


The Thames Valley grabbed a second top 10 placing through Travelodge (8th), the Thame-based budget hotel operator whose sales totalled £597m in the past year. Founded in 1985, it now operates 546 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, attracting 18m customers and employing more than 10,000 people.


Under chief executive Peter Gowers it opened 19 new hotels last year, and this year announced a £5m investment in its SuperRooms targeted at corporate clients, who already account for more than half of all guests. Plans are in place to open a further 15 hotels by the end of this year.


Dreams, the High Wycombe-based bed manufacturer, took the region’s third place (77th in UK) with sales of £269m.


Four years ago the superstore was bought out of administration by the European division of Sun Capital, an American private equity firm. It acquired


its manufacturing plant, supply chain and 171 best stores, and installed new chief executive Mike Logue whose streamlining operations more than doubled profits to £32m in 2016.


Two other Thames Valley companies made the top 100, the Uxbridge ejection seat manufacturer Martin- Baker making 89th place with £241m sales. Its aircraft seats and survival equipment have saved more than 7,500 lives.


Founded in 1934 as an aircraft manufacturer by Northern Irish engineer Sir James Martin and test pilot Captain Valentine Baker, the company based near Uxbridge has since expanded its operations to France, Italy and America. It is headed by Martin’s twin sons John and James.


The Woking-based Ambassador Theatre Group (100th), known as ATG, is the world’s largest live-theatre group with 46 venues helping sales to £226m.


Co-founded in 1992 by Sir Howard Panter and his wife Rosemary Squire – who have since left the business – it was acquired by Providence Equity Partners in 2013 for £350m. Turnover was helped by the acquisition of a German production and promotion company.


Ten more companies made the lower section of the 250 table. They were: 105 Lucy Group, the Oxford electrical control technology company (sales £217m); 110 DCS Group, the Banbury toiletry products distributor (sales £211m); 124 CH & Co Group, the Reading catering group (sales £191m); 127 Michael J Lonsdale, the Slough engineering contractor (sales £186m); 146 Audley Travel, the Witney tour operator (sales £173m); 152 Green Tech Distribution, the High Wycombe mobile phone recycler (sales £168m); 166 Fourfront Group, the Egham workplace consultants (sales £158m); 187 Medequip Assistive Technology, the Heathrow homecare medical equipment supplier (sales £149m); 199 EBB Paper, the Farnborough paper and board merchant (sales £139m); and 234 NextPharma Technologies, the Woking pharma/biotech manufacturer (sales £122m).


* The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 table is compiled annually by Oxford-based Fast Track.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 2017


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