Healthy corporate activity despite unchanged Top Ten

THERE are no changes in the top 10 in this year's Top 100 compared with last year's and few changes in the next 10. So does this indicate a lack of corporate activity in the region's top companies during the year?
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Aug 2007, 11:25 BST
Updated 22nd Aug 2007, 11:53 BST

The answer is "certainly not" as the following clearly demonstrates.

In top place is SIG (perhaps better known under its former name Sheffield Insulations Group). During the year it acquired or opened 142 European trading locations - 85 of these in the UK. This involved 23 acquisitions. Sig also sold its US business.

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Subsequent to the compilation of the table there have been major announcements regarding four of the next 10 companies:

CPL

Industries has conditionally sold its subsidiary CPL Petroleum.

Keepmoat

has been the subject of a management buyout for 783 million - the largest buyout ever seen in Yorkshire

Kingfield

Heath has been acquired in a buyout from Legal & General Ventures by Electra Partners. At the same time Electra also acquired ISA Trading and put the two companies together.

Dixon

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Motor Holdings has gone into receivership and a number of its motor dealerships have already been sold.

The three new entrants to the top 20 achieved substantial sales growth. These include Maplin Electronics (+17 per cent) following the appointment of a new management team and Gilder Group (+27 per cent) following the recent acquisitions of local Audi dealerships.

Clearly a substantial number of companies in the Top 100 are highly active in undertaking corporate transactions primarily to support their growth and also to allow them to focus on core activities.

Related topics:Electra