South East: 17 companies in region ranked in Top Track 100

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TBM Team

Published this weekend, the 18^th annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s 100 private companies with the biggest sales.

The 17 companies headquartered in the southeast of England have made a significant contribution to the regional economy. Together they achieved sales of £23 billion and profits of £3.2b in their latest financial year, and employ more than 150,000 people.

The region’s top-ranked company is MFG (No 9), which became one of the largest petrol station operators in the UK after it acquired rival operator MRH for £1.2bn last year. It now has 898 stations operating under the BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco, JET and Murco brands, with sales of £3.4bn.

Achieving a place on the league table for the first time is Reigate-based insurance firm Esure (No 74), which was delisted last year by Bain Capital, which bought the company in a £1.2bn deal. The company is still led by its founder, Sir Peter Wood who also set up Direct Line.

Other companies featured include Reading-based WSH (No 76), the hospitality services provider, which runs cafes at attractions such as Edinburgh Castle and London’s Natural History Museum. Founder Alastair Storey sold a majority stake to US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in March for an undisclosed sum.

The companies in the southeast of England appear alongside well-known British names, including bet365, Clarks, Iceland, JCB, John Lewis Partnership, Nando’s and Specsavers.

This year, the 100 companies reached a record £220b in total sales, up 14% on the prior year, with total profits of £24.6b, up by 15%. Almost four in five companies (78) increased sales in their latest financial year.

The league table programme is sponsored by HSBC, Linklaters and PwC, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.

Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, HSBC UK, commented: “Once again, Britain’s most ambitious private enterprises have shown their mettle by shrugging off uncertainty, growing their combined sales 14% to a record £220b. It's reassuring that UK businesses are navigating change so confidently and the companies in the Top Track 100 are an inspiration to all. The 17 companies in the southeast are the kinds of firms that provide the backbone of our economy, and we at HSBC UK are thrilled to see them thrive.”

Biggest private companies in the southeast of England, by county and rank

HQ location County	Rank [2018 rank]	Company Activity	Sales £m	Profits£m ‡	Staff	Year end	Main shareholders
Toddington Bedfordshire	94 [83]	Moto Motorway services operator	793	104	5,346	Dec 18	Universities Superannuation Scheme (60%), CVC (40%)
Reading Berkshire	21 [21]	Westcoast Technology distributor	2,465	31	1,372	Dec 18	Joe Hemani (100%)
Reading Berkshire	26 [24]	Thames Water (Kemble) Water services provider	2,045	1,075	5,426	Mar 18	Consortium of investors, including OMERS (32%), USS (11%), ADIA (10%), others (47%)
Reading Berkshire	77 [75]	WSH Hospitality services provider	*877	*69	17,037	Dec 18	Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Alastair Storey and management
Central London Hampshire	65 [64]	Arqiva Communications services provider	974	522	2,088	Jun 18	Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (48%), Macquarie (25%), other investors (27%)
St Albans Hertfordshire	9 [6]	MFG Fuel forecourt operator	*3,378	*204	444	Dec 18	Clayton Dubilier & Rice (>50%), management inc. Alasdair Locke (<50%)
Letchworth Garden City Hertfordshire	39 [39]	Willmott Dixon Construction contractor	1,462	41	3,059	Dec 18	Family & management (100%)
Watford Hertfordshire	46 [47]	Rontec Roadside retailer	1,251	40	116	Sep 18	Ronson Family Trusts / Charitable Foundation (100%)
Turnford Hertfordshire	47 [55]	Lamex Food Group Food importer and exporter	1,236	23	483	Mar 18	Phil Wallace & family trusts (24%), Steve Anderson (24%), Colin Dicker & family trusts (16%), others (36%)
Stevenage Hertfordshire	52 [59]	M Group Services Infrastructure services provider	*1,170	*64	8,100	Mar 19	PAI Partners (85%), management (15%)
Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire	58 [57]	Bourne Leisure Caravan park operator	*1,058	*251	14,028	Dec 18	Peter Harris, families of the late John Cook and David Allen, management
Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire	78 [72]	Sir Robert McAlpine Construction contractor	871	31	2,182	Oct 18	McAlpine family (100%)
Leatherhead Surrey	37 [35]	Wates Construction contractor	1,501	30	3,897	Dec 18	Wates family (100%)
Woking Surrey	45 [71]	McLaren Group Automotive technology group	1,257	149	3,798	Dec 18	Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (57.8%), TAG Group (14.7%), Michael Latifi (7.7%), others (19.9%)
Reigate Surrey	75 [ - ]	esure Insurance provider	894	4	1,989	Dec 18	Bain Capital and other institutional investors (>50%), management and other (<50%)
Crawley West Sussex	67 [58]	OCS Group Facilities services provider	961	31	79,117	Dec 18	Goodliffe family (100%)
Worthing West Sussex	86 [78]	Southern Water Water services provider	830	496	2,289	Mar 18	JP Morgan (40%), UBS Global (22%), Hermes (21%), others (17%)