news opinion TRACKING THE PROFIT Thames Valley


Tech has long been the key sector in the Thames Valley – and increasingly of importance on the South Coast too


In the greater Reading area, 58,000 jobs are in digital tech, and the sector has a turnover of nearly £14 billion. In the past two years, nearly 300 new tech companies have been formed in the region.


It’s a mature tech economy and also a balanced one – with young companies – start-ups and scale- ups – existing alongside global powerhouses.


In Oxford, the sector is smaller with about 12,000 jobs and a contribution of nearly £2b in digital tech turnover – but still significant.


Further south, Southampton is said to have a balanced tech economy, with £2.1b turnover and 30,000 digital tech jobs. And in Bournemouth £340 million is earned by the digital tech economy as it supports some 7,500 jobs.


These statistics, from a major report by Tech Nation, suggest that tech is vital to the south and that companies in the digital sector tend to cluster in areas where fellow businesses operate and where communication links are strong.


The opening of the new Thames Valley Science Park will further stimulate the tech economy while the access to resources at both Southampton and Bournemouth universities is helping to promote the sector in that region.


Our new Thames Valley Tech Awards – see page 10 – has unearthed some exciting and innovative companies and was such a great success that it will only grow and grow. Just like the sector itself .....


David Murray Publisher


To say that Dreams can come true is maybe a bit too much of a cliché when it comes to the High Wycombe-based bed manufacturer of that name, which has topped the charts in the latest league table ranking Britain’s private companies with the fastest growing profits.


Each week the company sells more than 11,000 mattresses, bases and headboards, most of them made in its Oldbury factory, through its 187-strong store network and online. Last year it made operating profits of £34.5 million on sales of £290.3m.


The figures were enough to top the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 table that ranks UK firms over their latest three years’ accounts. And the main reasons for success, according to Dreams, is the fact they have concentrated on smaller, brighter stores, a revamped fleet of delivery vans and investment in e-commerce.


It is a dream story considering the company – founded in 1985 – was on the brink of collapse five years ago after struggling under high debt repayments, and was rescued from administration by private equity firm Sun European Partners.


The transformation saw the new owners bring in former Mothercare UK managing director and Asda commercial director Mike Logue as chief executive, supported by capital investment totalling £37m. Moving to smaller stores has reduced its rent bill, and it recently spent £2.5m upgrading its fleet of distribution vehicles. Now with a staff of over 1,800, Dreams also launched its own bed- in-a-box subsidiary, Hyde & Sleep, and saw e-commerce sales grow by 15%.


Grundon, a company based near Wallingford that provides waste management services for local councils and clients such as British Airways, also made the UK’s top 20 with 16th place thanks to profit growth of 102%.


The group treats all types of waste, recovering valuable resources for recycling and energy generation. Under chairman Norman Grundon it chalked up profits of £5.6m in 2016 with a staff of some 750. Last year it agreed a deal with construction firm MAN Enterprise to develop waste facilities in the Middle East and Africa.


Reading-based CH and Co Group made the top 50 (75% growth putting it in 41st place) with expanded operations making profits of £6.4m.


Started in 1991, the group provides contract catering services for education establishments and companies including Gatwick Airport and Sony, and last year secured a five-year £60m extension to its contract with Historic Royal Palaces, whose locations include the Tower of London.


Chief executive Bill Toner led the group through mergers with Brookwood Partnership in 2016 and caterers Harbour & Jones and Concerto in 2017.


Optima Contracting at High Wycombe (58th with 67% growth) designs, manufactures and installs glass partitions for commercial buildings including Google’s UK headquarters.


The group has manufacturing facilities in Bath and Kuala Lumpur, and international operations in Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Chief executive Nick Caley oversaw profits of £5.3m in 2017.


Two more companies from the region made the lower reaches of the table. Pinewood Studios near Slough, which created the James Bond, Harry Potter and Star Wars blockbuster film franchises, made 77th place with growth of 59%.


As well as film and television production, the studio provides a range of specialist services from underwater filming to motion capture. In 2016 private equity firm Aermont Capital delisted the group from AIM, acquiring a majority stake in a £323m deal.


Roc Technologies at Newbury (80th with growth of 59%) was founded in 2011 by chief operating officer Steve Shirley and now provides IT services for clients including Tesco, BAE Systems, the BBC and the Ministry of Defence.


It achieved organic sales growth of more than 90% between 2016 and 2017, when profits reached £3.5m. Last October growth capital firm BGF invested £10m in the business to fund its acquisition of IT transformation provider City Change Management.


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Stay informed 4 businessmag.co.uk businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – JULY/AUGUST 2018


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