1

THEBIGGESTANDTHEBESTCOMPANIES INTHEREGION,2011

NORTH-WEST

TOP200

£3WHEN

SOLD

2

BETTING LINE: 0800 73 11 210 +MOBILE: TEXT ‘MEN’ TO 89660 WEB: WWW.BETFRED.COMBetfred rules apply. Over 18s only. + Single text message charged at standard network rate. Please gamble responsibly – gambleaware.co.uk.

BETFRED ARE PROUD TO BENAMED THE NORTH WEST’S NO.1

BUSINESSWITH THANKS TO

ALL OUR CUSTOMERSAND BUSINESS PARTNERS

3

THE Liverpool Daily Post andManchester Evening News havejoined forces to publish this NorthWest Top 200, which hopefully willbe the first in a series of similarregion wide businesspublications.

The combined editorial,advertising, distribution andmarketing clout of the two TrinityMirror titles means we can offerbusiness readers and advertisersan unbeatable proposition withinthis region.

The North West Top 200’s tablesdon't merely rank the biggestcompanies, but also measure thevital signs of the region'seconomy. Our tables analyse salesgrowth and decline, profitmargins, employment levels,

sector representation and a rangeof other business and socialissues. The tables we publishtoday reveal who the biggestplayers are in the local marketplace and the journalism thataccompanies them seeks tointerpret the data and examinesthe big issues of the day, such ashow well placed the region is torecover from the recent recession.

They also show the character ofthe region and the extent to which

traditional areas of economicactivity, such as manufacturing,are still dominant.

None of this would have beenpossible without the hugecontribution of the University ofLiverpool ManagementSchool. Led by ProfessorMurray Dalziel, a teamof MBA students havesourced and organisedthe data that forms thebackbone of the Top 200.We are also very gratefulto our sponsor BarclaysBank for its support.

The aim is topublish the Top200 every year.As the years goby, these tables

will provide a valuable record ofthe evolution of the region'seconomy. They should also proveto be a very useful tool to anybodyseeking to do business in ourregion.

But why have the twonewspaper titles chosen to

analyse the whole of theNorth West and not justtheir usual sub-regionalpatches?

Good road and railtransport connections havebeen established in our

region for manyyears,meaningthatdefinitionsof the

"local" marketplace havebroadened. Accountants, lawyers,bankers and other businessprofessionals see their homemarket place as anywhere theycan reach within an hour or two.That, in effect, means the lengthand breadth of the North West.

The advent of social media,means it is as easy to stay intouch with what is happening inthe next town as it is by using theold fashioned grape vine in yourown town. That's why we areresponding by offering a range ofpublications that can provide youwith the news, analysis andinformation that can help you todo business in our region.

4OVERVIEWBusiness conditions in the North West

7THE REGIONNew town punches above its weight

8HISTORIC PERSPECTIVEEvolving shape of NW business world

11THE BIG FEATURENW manufacturing key to UK economy

18RETAIL STRENGTHDiscount stores and home shopping drive retailing

22FEMALE DIRECTORSWhy we need more women in senior roles

25ACADEMIC ANALYSISHome to a dynamic business environment

28KNOWLEDGE ECONOMYNorth West leading the way

32TOP 200 TABLESAnalysis by MBA students

40TOP EARNERSThe best-paid CEOs

42SPORTThe growing financial clout

45PROFILESFocus on Top 30 companies

63PROFESSIONAL SERVICESAccountants

64PROFESSIONAL SERVICESBankers

66PROFESSIONAL SERVICESLawyers

EDITOR’SNOTE

BILL GLEESON

INSIDE

8 27

4322

12

4

THE NORTH West was the cradleof the industrial revolution. But towhat extent is the region's presentday economy still shaped by this200-year-old legacy?

Most of the old industries of thepast, such as the textile mills, arelong shutdown, butmanufacturing remains amainstay of the region’s economy.While China and other places nowbecome the workshops (or shouldthat be sweatshops) of the world,producing endless shirts, blousesand bed sheets, the North Westhas gone some way to establishitself as a thriving knowledgeeconomy location, particularly inthe aerospace, nuclear power,chemical and pharmaceuticalsectors.

These sectors have for decadesturned mainstream engineering,physics and chemistry researchand development into high valueeconomic output. As our tablereflects, manufacturing accountsfor the biggest single element ofthe region's present day economy.

Big businesses in the regioninclude the military aerospaceactivities of BAE Systems and thepharmaceutical research,development and manufacturingactivities of AstraZeneca. IneosChlor at Runcorn, Bentley atCrewe, the surprisingly resilientregional car factories at Halewoodand Ellesmere Port are alsoleading examples of how theregion still earns its living frommanufacturing.

However, dwelling onmanufacturing runs the risk ofstereotyping the region'sotherwise quite diverse economy.

Examples of non-manufacturing sectors that arethriving in the North Westinclude betting and retail,particularly in the home shoppingand discount segments.

Had we compiled this table 10years ago, the region's biggestbusiness would have been globalconstruction and engineeringgiant Amec, headquartered inKnutsford. Now the North West’sbiggest company is betting firmFred Done, which has just gotbigger through the acquisition ofthe Tote, a business that is itselfcurrently placed 7th in the table.There are several other bettingbusinesses besides, includingStanley International Betting. Itcould be no coincidence that thetraditionally male, working classpass time of betting on the horseshas resulted in so many thrivingbetting firms in the North West.

Home shopping firms ShopDirect and N Brown and discountretailers like Matalan, TJ Morrisand TJ Hughes representprominent entries in the list. Allof them have the commonheritage of owing their origin tothrifty housewives buying clothesfor the family out of cataloguesthat offered them easy repaymentterms or who saved on the family

budget by using the bargainstores. Clearly though, the ideathat our biggest regionalbusinesses only serve a thriftyworking class market is also indanger of stereotyping the region.

This, however, would overlookthe fact that at least some of thesebusinesses are transformingthemselves through huge andhighly enterprising investment intheir online activities. While highstreet shops still represent a bigchannel for Fred Done, thecompany is growing rapidlyonline through its aggressivelymarketed BetFred brand.Similarly, while both Shop Directand N Brown are seeing a rapiddemise in their traditional printcatalogue sales, they are busilyreconstructing themselves asonline shopping businesses. Bothretailers now sell more onlinethan through catalogues. As aresult, they are reaching newsocio-economic and geographicalmarkets and are offering a widervariety of brands and products.

One town that doesn't conformto the stereotypical image of theNorth West is Chester. It is hometo three major financial servicesbusinesses. There are about 10,000jobs in the city accounted for bythree businesses, MBNA EuropeBank, Lloyds Banking Group andM&S Money. All operate inconsumer loans and credit cards.Their staff are relativelywell-paid, white collar workers.No sign of cloth caps here.

The new Media Citydevelopment at Salford Quaysshould also go some way towardsmodernising the region'seconomy. The BBC is about tobecome a big employer in theregion and hopefully some otherglobal brands in the digitaltechnologies sector will move inshortly. In any case, the newdigital age hub represents a hugetransformation in the activities ofits landlord, Peel Holdings, whichcan trace its roots back to millownership in Lancashire, makingthe company an emblem forchange.

Central Manchester hasestablished itself as a location formodern knowledge-basedemployment through both itsuniversity and the city'sprofessional and financialservices sector.

As a result, thousands of peopleare employed in highly paid jobsin accountancy, banking, law andcreative industries.

The North West as a whole,though, remains a patchwork ofstrengths and weaknesses,achievements anddisappointments. Despite billionsin economic aid from Europe andWestminster, Merseyside is stillone of the poorest performingsub-regions in the country, with

output per capita of just £14,698.On the other hand, adjoiningCheshire is one of the bestperforming sub-regions inEurope, with output per head of£22,139. The county clearlybenefits from Chester's financialservices, oil refining,petrochemicals, chemicals, carproduction at Ellesmere Port andCrewe, pharmaceuticals andmuch else besides. The county'sother secret weapon isWarrington, which is home tomore than its fair share of headoffices causing the nation'sstatisticians to attribute a greatdeal of output to it.

Indeed Warrington has longclaimed to be the fastest growingtown in Europe, but cross the M62and you're in St Helens with the

highest level of incapacity benefitclaimants in the country, a factoroften attributed to its mining past.With just one Top 200 companyheadquartered there, it seems tobe badly missing out.

The North West is trappedbetween its industrial legacy andthe need to compete with thehigh-technology offering of theThames Valley, Cambridge, Japan,Massachusetts and California inthe future. While Eastern Europe,and other low wage economiescontinue to provide effective rivallocations for large scalemanufacturing and industrialprocesses, the region has yet togenerate a home-spun equivalentof Google, IBM or Microsoft,despite the fact that the computeris said to have been invented atThe University of Manchester.

Weak Sterling is helping theregion’s manufacturers at themoment, but in the longer term,the North West economy is goingto have to invest in the talents ofits people if it is to compete withan growing band of competitors.

Aregionshapedbythepast

REACHING NEW SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANDGEOGRAPHICAL MARKETS ANDOFFERING WIDER VARIETY OF PRODUCTS

Fred Done’s company is growing rapidly online through itsaggressively marketed BetFred brand

by BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE NORTH WEST

Amec refurbishing the runway atfor BAE Systems

5

but lookingtothefuture

Liverpool John Lennon Airport during the night to avoid disruption and (right) an apprentice at work

PERFORMANCE among manyNorth West businesses hasexceeded our expectationsover the past 12 months. Whilethere is no doubt that theeconomic climate remainstough, ambitious companiesare definitely making theirpresence known. Activitylevels across the region havebeen higherthan theyhave been forthree years –and this hascontinued inthe firstquarter of 2011.

The diversity of the sectorsbased in the region isundoubtedly a major reasonfor the region's success but itis manufacturing that remainsa vital component in this mix,with many companies withinthis sector flourishing –particularly those in therenewable energy and nuclearsectors. Companies whichexport to high-growthcountries such as China arealso thriving.

As a result of the spendingcuts announced last year,challenges are going to presentthemselves for manycompanies, although NorthWest corporates have offeredresounding support for thisyear's budget. In response to apost-budget survey carried outby Barclays Corporate, 85%stated that the business-related measures outlined bythe Chancellor will have apositive impact on privatesector growth.

The survey also found that

across the region, on average76% of North West businessleaders think that the UK willbe a more favourable place todo business over the long termfollowing the Coalition'sbudget proposals.

The accessibility of finance,rising commodity prices andanticipated interest rateincreases, all pose additionalchallenges to the region'songoing economic recovery.

However,despite theseuncertainties,one thing isdefinite –BarclaysCorporate is

committed to helping clientsaccelerate their growthwherever they are based in theNorth West.

In 2010, Barclays advanced£36bn in new term loans tobusinesses and households inthe UK, and continues to seekfurther opportunities to lendto viable businesspropositions.

Our approval rates forcredit applications have alsoremained consistent with thehigh levels seen before therecession.

Ambitiousfirmsaremakingtheirpresenceknownby MICHAEL HARTIGand KARL TRUMPER

MichaelHartig

6

7

THE REGION

WHERE are the North West’sbiggest, locally-controlledbusinesses located?

It should come as no surprisethat the region’s traditional urbanhubs are home to the largestnumbers of businesses. Whatmight surprise some, though, is

just how close behind Warringtonis. Manchester has 22 head offices,Liverpool 18, while Warrington,with 17 head offices, is the onlyother town with a similarrepresentation.

The other 143 Top 200 headoffices are widely dispersedacross the region.

Warrington’s location at thecentre of the region’s, arguablythe nation’s, motorway networkwill help it attract businesses.

The good transport links makeWarrington one of the cheapestlocations in Britain fordistribution firms. The fact that itis a short distance by both railand road from two bigconurbations will also help. Andit’s just 20 minutes from bothManchester and Liverpoolairports and the region’s docks.

Warrington’s former new townstatus may also have played a partin attracting investment to the

area during the 1960s, though theformer Northwest DevelopmentAgency and Warrington BoroughCouncil chief executive StevenBroomhead puts Warrington’srelative success down to otherfactors.

Mr Broomhead said: “If youlook at Skelmersdale andWinsford, which were also newtowns, then the theory doesn’texactly hold true.

“Warrington benefited from

location and good land beingavailable to develop. Enablinglocal authorities from a planningpoint of view and the skillsagenda would be other factors.”

The fact Liverpool is home to somany private companies is inmarked contrast to the scarcity ofpublicly-quoted companiesheadquartered in the city.

Other towns that do relativelywell in the region include Chesterand Salford.

Formernewtownpunchesaboveitsweightinbusinessby BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

8

HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE

Theevolvingshapeofthe

chester racecourse 01244 304 606hospitality.chester-races.com

racedayhospitalitybook your placeFORTHEULTIMATE

in comfort& LUXURY

9

COTTON AND ENGINEERING GAVE WAYTO DISTRIBUTIVE TRADES, FAST-MOVINGCONSUMER GOODS AND UTILITIES

PROFESSOR JOHN WILSONProfessor of StrategyUniversity of LiverpoolManagement School

THE data on our region's Top 200illustrates a highly dynamicbusiness community that is bothdiverse and well placed inhigh-growth sectors.

Even though we might not beable to claim to be a 'SiliconValley', or even a 'Silicon Fen', theconsumer-related sectors are wellrepresented and will no doubtcontinue to flourish.

Of course, the North West ofEngland has a rich history ofbusiness activities, havingfrequently been referred to as 'thefirst modern industrial district'.

The leading firms in 1914operated in cotton textiles (CalicoPrinters, Horrockses, and Tootal,Broadhurst) and engineering(Platt Brothers, Vickers andBeyer, Peacock), which togetheraccounted for over half of the Top50 employers if one includedsupport industries such aschemicals.

While there were also large-scale firms in transportation,insurance and distribution(including the Co-operativeWholesale Society, based inManchester, which employed over17,000 people), the region hadbeen primarily based on exportled industries such as cottontextiles and engineering, withNorth West products featuring inmarkets across the globe.

This international trade wasalso driven by the region's twoeconomic engines, Liverpool andManchester, where large and

vibrant mercantile communitieslived and worked, especially in,respectively, the InternationalCotton Association andManchester Exchange, whichlinked entrepreneurs withmarkets in a most effectivemanner.

The Mersey Docks and HarbourBoard (ninth largest employer in1914) and Manchester Ship Canal(11th largest) acted as theconduits channelling this trade,while major shipping companiessuch as Cunard and Bibby rantheir networks from the NorthWest.

In spite of the dominance ofcotton textiles and engineering,however, the region's businesspopulation was extremely diverseand continually adapting to thechallenges posed by externalforces, whether economic orpolitical. For example, Blackpool

had already developed into amajor tourist centre, while theregion possessed substantialbrewing, gas supply and railwaycompanies.

Over the course of the 20thcentury, as the research of DavidJeremy demonstrates (Region andStrategy in Britain and Japan.Business in Lancashire andKansai, 1890-1990, Routledge 2000),th e dominance of cotton andengineering gave way todistributive trades, fast-movingconsumer goods, utilities andother service sector activities.

The cotton textile industry hadalmost disappeared by the 1950s,having been undermined byJapanese and Indian competition,leaving enormous factories thatover time were occupied by mailorder and other distributionoperations.

This metamorphosis reflected acontinued dynamism within theregion, a point further illustratedby how the engineering industrydiversified into high-growthsectors such as aerospace (BAe),automobiles (General Motors andFord) and electronic engineering(Ferranti).

Similarly, other high-growthindustries, especiallypetro-chemicals (Shell) andfast-moving consumer goods(Unilever and Boddingtons),provided extensive employmentin the Merseyside and southManchester sub-regions.

At the same time, one shouldalso stress that the North Westbusiness community wasincreasingly dominated by theservice and public sectors. In thiscontext, the North West can alsolay claim to being “the firstde-industrialised industrialdistrict”, with the balance ofbusiness activity movingdecisively from the secondary totertiary sectors, especially afterthe 1950s.

Similarly, the locus of powerchanged dramatically, because bythe 1990s most firms operating inthe North West had moved theirheadquarters to London, while in1907 82% of the Top 50 firms werelocated entirely in the NorthWest.

This reflected the decline of thefamily-owned/managed firm inthe UK generally, withprofessional managers usurpingthe roles formerly played by thosewho had either established orinherited businesses, leadingthem to locate near the City ofLondon.

On the other hand, it isimportant to note how somebusinesses retained their NorthWest identity, including one of theworld's leading glass-makers,Pilkingtons, the Co-operativeWholesale Society andBoddingtons. Major British firms– ICI, Unilever and BritishNuclear Fuels – also continued tooperate in the region.

Above all, a key theme of thisbrief survey is not only thedynamism inherent in the NorthWest business community, butalso the region's strong links withinternational markets.

North West firms had engagedin multinational activity from anearly stage, with five (CWS,Armstrong Whitworth, FineCotton Spinners, Lever Bros[later, Unilever], and Vickers) ofthe Top 50 employers in 1907operating overseas subsidiaries.

By 1992, 32 of the Top 50employers were multinationals,only four of which were foreignowned.

Moreover, leading employerssuch as Pilkingtons, ICI, Unileverand British Aerospace wereheavily export oriented,continuing the traditionsestablished by their predecessorsin cotton textiles and engineering.

In charting the decisivechanges to the North West'sleading firms, it is consequentlyapparent that the story is repletewith dynamism and diversity.These characteristics have beenextensively supported by localuniversities, especially inManchester and Liverpool, wherethe earliest business studiesprogrammes were developed,alongside major engineering andother scientific faculties.

While the 20th century haswitnessed dramatic changes tothe composition of the North Westbusiness community, the regionhas consequently been able torespond effectively to thesechallenges and remaincompetitive, offering a wide rangeof employment opportunities tothe local and immigrantpopulations.

northwestbusinessworld

John Wilson

10

In business, successbreeds success.

Corporate Membershipat The Bridgewater Hall

%=A* ,=?,*(# IGJICGJI#% #IG% %!AA*( 666

%4><B\4$ P E<M$ ]3118 T6[3DL,4BHS;4M FY >VZ .HSL4M@-S"Z> +3?IUFK $9N;U <E50%4SH>7%4QH@ +3?FN83J ET ;PU -FNI3J=(4;ZM >E;PU? GEE=UK $9N;U)BFOF/Z; 'EIUE 3FV D9JNU;K =UJU/;NEF

.H\BZ9 JF<BM4$ /EFV9/;E?%SB A4BO *M\ZB F3??3;E?

"N/LU;= T?EI B0S X ,E& :T./U 20Q0 M2O M222 X 7775P3JJU5/E59L

=CEF=E?UV 1#

#V<B@\4$ ]R E<M$ ]3118 T6[3DLAF;SZ ?SXV>"PU C?ER?3IIU NF/J9VU=K]3>V ,ZH><B$ KF' K4HY4BZ <U7I3F?Z9 F̂BO8 ?Z9 F̂BO A3FVU?4)11+B6 :VS;4XFN C4B4U@ #VZLZ D3??U_Z@> %S\Z %>FB$N =;ZB><BZ ,U?F=;UNF. I4B\ +4$U@ ?SXV>5IZMD& @UFFEF4>/+3?;FU#)SB4>Z@ FY >VZ ,4BS22Z4H ,3VUJ;#VZ )BF\<0ZB@N =;ZB><BZ ,?EEL=-B4@@Z\ =YY 'EV?NRE#VZ JF\Y4>VZB 'E;3*6#6N .\;ZH><BZ@ =H *4B>V WNJJN3I=

,4BM +4;S@ /EFV9/;E?

"N/LU;= T?EI B0S X ,E& :T./U 20Q0 M2O M222 X 7775P3JJU5/E59L

=CEF=E?UV 1#

%<H\4$ [1 E<M$ ]3118 T6[3DL#VZ C4@> ?SXV> FY >VZ I4MMW )BFL@"PU C?ER?3IIU NF/J9VU=K)BFOF/Z; +NFVU?UJJ3K U&/U?C;=A<@@FBX@O$ FB0V6 (4;ZM (N/;9?U= 3; 3F )&PN1N;NEFK U&/U?C;=JZB@V9SH $;?NLU !C "PU ,3FVK :8U?;9?UJZB@V9SH (E?R# 3FV ,U==K $9IIU?;NIU-ZBH@>ZSH :F "PU "E7FK "P?UU *3F/U=-ZBH@>ZSH +3FVNVUK GJN;;U? 3FV ,U G3#_FF\ H3F;3=;N3 EF ,?N;N=P $U3 $EFR=.BHZ 4BB6 %4BXZH> '9JU6 ,?N;3FFN3%)4BB$ FB0V6 *MX4B DU?9=3JUI*MX4B (EIC 3FV +N?/9I=;3F/U >3?/P <E50

%>ZDVZH -ZMM /EFV9/;E? X )4LZM4 I4$ =EC?3FE

"N/LU;= T?EI B0Q5S2 X ,E& :T./U 20Q0 M2O M222 X 7775P3JJU5/E59L

=CEF=E?UV 1#

‘Not only does Corporate Membership of The BridgewaterHall allow us to entertain clients with a unique and high-quality product, it also associates our business with some ofthe city’s cultural icons and the excellence they represent.’Phil Jones, Brother

Nurture the futureof music andinvest in thenext generation.The support of Corporate Members directlybenefits the Education and Outreach activity ofthe Hallé and The Bridgewater Hall, inspiring andencouraging the next generation of musicians andreaching out to new audiences.

Find out how to align your business with excellence on andoff the stage; associate your company with the region’s topartistic institutions and work with companies that bringquality and professionalism to all they do. Contact Kath Russellat kath.russell@halle.co.uk or call 0161 237 7023

11

WITH political consensus that theUK got its priorities badly wrongbefore the crash, today’s mantrais ‘rebalancing the economy’ –shifting the UK away from overdependence on financial servicesin the City of London and towardsmanufacturing industry, exportsand investment.

Against such a backdrop, howdoes the North West shape up? Isour region capable of playing itsfull part in this transformation ofour economy?

Given our strong and existingmanufacturing and exporting

credentials, the omens should begood.

Indeed, as many economicobservers point out, the sectors inwhich the North West istraditionally strong, such asaerospace, chemicals andpharmaceuticals, were relativelyunscathed by the turmoil of therecession.

Aerospace remains one of theregion’s biggest employers (and inthe shape of BAE Systems gives usone of our most importantcompanies) and was largelyuntroubled because of its longlead-in times.

Likewise our chemicals sectorbenefited – and continues to do so– from the surging demand for

chemical products in thedeveloping world.

Even sectors which did fall off acliff – such as automotive – haverecovered strongly over the past18 months or so, typified by thestrong turnaround at Jaguar LandRover under new owner Tata.

That’s not to say majorheadwinds still don’t confront theNorth West as they do the widereconomy.

Rising inflation could yettrigger unwanted interest raterises for consumers andproducers alike, although thelatest glut of disappointingeconomic statistics suggest that itwill take a considerable hike inprices to force rates to rise.

However, rising commodityprices are cause for majorconcern. Despite recent falls, mostanalysts agree that the oil price

will only head in one directionover the next decade.

And then there’s the fact thatthe region and the wider UK is upagainst some very strongcompetitors when it comes to itsrebalancing act.

The UK has fallen to ninth inthe global league table formanufacturing output and thesector now only accounts for 13%of UK economic output.

What seems clear, however, isthat the North West is gaining agreater share of that slice of thepie. Only a few years ago if youcompiled a national league tablefor the UK regions which export

NWmanufacturingkeytorebalancingUKeconomyby JIM PENDRILLBusiness Correspondent

RISING INFLATION COULD YET TRIGGERUNWANTED INTEREST RATE RISES FORCONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS ALIKE

THE BIG FEATURE

The Eurofighter – Aerospace remains one of the region’s biggest employers

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

How the revamped Royal Eye Hospital inManchester will look

The Manchester Science Park in Lloyd Street North

12

the greatest value of goods, thenthe North West would have comea lowly six or seventh. But by 2010the region had come second onlyto the South East, exporting goodsworth £25bn.

Clive Drinkwater, UK Trade &Investment’s regional director,says one of the key reasons for theregion’s success is that it has beenthrough its own restructuringover the past 20 years.

“In the present climate theregion has actually benefited fromthe pain it went through inrestructuring its industrial base,”he said.

“We’ve largely lost the high-volume, low-value manufacturing,but the region remains aheartland for more advancedmanufacturing, typified by thetremendous strength of ourchemicals sector which accountsfor almost 40% of exports.”

In total, exports from the regiongrew by 6% in 2010. Exports to theBRIC countries saw a notable rise,with exports to China rising by28%, to Brazil by 62%, to India by43% and to Russia by 29%.

Mr Drinkwater said demand insectors such as environmentaltechnology remain strong too,while there is lots of growthpotential in areas such asrenewable energy for the region.

But he stresses that morebusinesses in the region need totake advantage of theopportunities offered byinternational trade.

Of 250,000 businesses in theregion, only 7,500 exportenough to be categorised asexporters.

“It’s a two-prongedapproach,” he added. “As wellas encouraging newexporters we also want toencourage those businessesthat are already exporting toexport more to emerging andhigh- growth markets.”

Investment back into theregion is also on the rise. Forinstance, the North Westattracted its highest level ofinward investment for 13years in 2010 according toaccountants Ernst & Young’srecent EuropeanAttractiveness Survey.

However, it also revealedthat a significant share ofthat investment went toManchester rather than elsewherein the region, most notably insectors such as software andbusiness services.

The survey calculated thatalmost 2,200 jobs were generatedin 2010 as a result of directinvestment from foreign sources,with the main countries investingin the region being the US,Germany and India.

On a wider front, the surveyfound that the UK remainsEurope’s top destination forforeign direct investment with theUS still the largest investor intothe UK last year.

In a similar vein, plenty ofNorth West companies continueto prove acquisition targets foroverseas players too. For instancePremex, a Bolton-based providerof medical reports that employs250, was recently bought by USmedical examinations companyExamWorks in a £66m deal.

The rising strength of

Manchester’s software andtechnological sector is backed upby the latest news on the groundat Manchester Science Park,located near the city’s university.

Commercial director LynneBarlow said she is seeing moreconfidence among tenants whoare taking out longer leases, andalso backs up the global nature ofthe sector by revealing that twothirds of its 85 tenants now dealwith overseas markets.

Some overseas tenants areactually locating themselves atthe park too.

Recent relocations include anIT company from Holland whichspecialises in time and attendance

systems, and a biotech companyfrom India which has set up asales office.

Ms Barlow added that thebiomedical sector is growingstrongly on the back of thedevelopment of Manchester’sRoyal Eye Hospital and the strongand growing links between healthorganisations and the university.

“The channels coming to usfrom the university itself areencouraging too,” she said.

“We are seeing companies moveacross and wanting to make thatmove from academia to business.”

Ms Barlow said when it comesto deciding where to locate abusiness, people still think greatly

about ‘where the action is’.“In our case it’s about being

around the university, near thecity, or maybe close to a hospitalor the new Media City.

“Speaking for Manchester, it isa very integrated andco-ordinated city and we have agreat ecosystem for innovation.”

Ms Barlow stressed, though,that the region’s other two scienceparks in Liverpool and Daresbury,Cheshire, each have their ownindividual strengths too.

“Although we are competitorswe all work together too,” shesaid. MSP itself wants to doubleits floorspace over the next 10years, adding 250,000 sq ft, a goalMs Barlow believes is achievabledespite the present economicclimate.

But while the picture in manysectors remains broadly positivefor the region, concerns aregrowing that the momentum theregion has seen, for instance interms of attracting and retaininginward investment, could be lostfollowing the closure of theNorthwest Regional DevelopmentAgency, which has been replacedby a number of different LocalEnterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

Part of the concern stems fromthe very different LEP picturethat is emerging across theregion. For instance whileManchester and Liverpool LEPshave hit the ground running andoutlined clear strategies toincrease job creation, Lancashirehas struggled to get any LEP offthe ground at all after hittingdifficulties in finding consensusfor a pan-Lancashire bid.

Meantime, in a related move,Manchester and Liverpool have

since been announced as amongthe first 10 cities in the UK tohave new enterprise zones whichwill have simplified planningrules, fast broadband and taxbreaks for businesses.

Manchester’s zone is aroundManchester Airport and theManchester Airports Group(MAG) has now launched a publicconsultation on the first phase ofthe ‘Airport City’ scheme ahead ofwork starting on site next year.

Airport City is located betweenthe airport and Wythenshawe, tothe north of the airport, and willconnect the airport withUniversity Hospital of SouthManchester’s Medipark initiative.In time the zone is expected tocreate 7,000 jobs over a 20-yearperiod and generate £514m inGVA (Gross Value Added).

A similar zone is to straddle theRiver Mersey, linking Peel’s £5bnplans to redevelop land aroundLiverpool and Birkenhead docks.The scheme will see clusters oftall buildings housing businessesand residential apartments.

On a wider front concerns havealso been raised that the closureof the Northern Way initiative – aprogramme driven by the North’sthree RDAs to influencegovernment policy in the north insectors such as transport, energyand innovation – could alsoimpact on future economicgrowth.

A recent study by consultancySQW found that its absence couldresult in a “vacuum” beingcreated and could adversely affectthe development of initiatives

REGION HAS ACTUALLY BENEFITED FROMTHE PAIN IT WENT THROUGH INRESTRUCTURING ITS INDUSTRIAL BASE

THE BIG FEATURE

Business Secretary VinceCable, left, with Ralf Speth,CEO of Jaguar Land Roverduring a visit to the HalewoodOperations Plant and, inset left,laboratory work at LiverpoolBiomedical Research Centre

CONTINUED FROM P11

CONTINUED ON P14

13

14

such as high-speed rail in theregion.

The report warned that theNorth could enter a “new periodof fragmentation” unless theNorthern Way’s collaborativework is taken on by otherorganisations such as LEPs –presuming of course that everypart of the region is covered by aLEP.

It would be tempting to dismisssuch local politics as having littleto do with the wider economy, butthe truth is that wider investmentin infrastructure, which can onlycome from central government,matters when it comes to theoverall competitiveness of theregional economy.

One sector which will certainlycontinue to require significantgovernment support both interms of its subsidy arrangementsand infrastructure as it maturesis the green economy. To that endthe government recentlyannounced that its much-trumpeted green investment bankwould start lending money inApril next year to sub-sectorssuch as offshore wind, waste andnon-domestic energy efficiency.The bank has a guaranteed £3bnstarting fund courtesy of theTreasury.

There’s a good chance that afair share of that cash could endup on North West shores too witha string of significant greenschemes now under way. Forinstance, Cumbria’s StobartGroup – best known for its roaddistribution business – recentlyrevealed more details of its £90mbiomass supply and logisticsagreement with IggesundPaperboard. The contract coverssourcing and transportation offorest residue and recycled woodfor use as biomass fuel atIggesund’s power station at itspaper mill in Workington wheregas power is being replaced withbiomass fuel. Work on thecontract starts in 2013.

Stobart itself continues to blazea trail with revenues now toppingthe £500m mark.

Elsewhere, Blackpool greenenergy business Farmgen,founded by well-knownLancashire entrepreneur SimonRigby, recently began electricityproduction at its anaerobicdigestion plant on a farm nearPreston, while the company isbuilding a second plant inCumbria too.

The plant uses crops from fieldsto create biogas, which is thenused to generate electricity, andthe farm will be able to generate800kW of electricity – theequivalent of powering more than1,000 homes.

A measure of just how seriouslygreen energy is now being takenby big business is exemplified bythe fact that Marks & Spencer hassigned a five-year contract to buythe energy generated from theplant as part of its owncommitment to buying morerenewable energy fromsmall-scale energy sources.

Talking of retailers, the shortterm is clearly going to continueto pose significant challenges forthe high street as it deals withpoor consumer confidence in thewake of public spending cuts.

Indeed the latest data wouldappear to suggest that the pain is

beginning to bite. For instance theregion reported its weakestprivate sector growth for fourmonths during April, according toLloyds TSB’s North West BusinessActivity Index, which measuresthe combined output of theregion’s manufacturing andservice sectors.

However unemployment in theregion grew only slightly by 3,000between January and March to265,000 or 7.8% of the workingpopulation (compared to anational rate of 7.7%). Databetween April and June will beeagerly watched.

But any ill winds still don’tappear to be buffeting the region’smajor retail centres as hard asmight be expected.

For instance, occupancy at theTrafford Centre is still an extra-ordinary 97%, and new owner the

Capital Shopping Centres group(which recently bought the centrefrom Peel Holdings) plans toinvest a further £50m in thecentre.

Latest figures from the StJohn’s centre in Liverpool havebeen just as encouraging fromowner Land Securities.

Even the region’s financialservices sector could yet see abroadly positive result followingthe banking crisis.

For instance the state-ownedRoyal Bank of Scotland, mindfulof keeping a very close eye on itscost base, recently announcedthat it planned to triple the size ofits investment banking operationin Manchester as it continues tomove jobs out of London.

THE SHORT TERM IS CLEARLY GOING TOCONTINUE TO POSE SIGNIFICANTCHALLENGES FOR THE HIGH STREET

THE BIG FEATURE

CONTINUED FROM P12

ACCELERATOR: Alice, aparticle accelerator atDaresbury Science andInnovation Campus, left

PEEL’S TOWERINGAMBITION: P16

MESSAGEFROMOURSPONSORNOW is the time to back exportled investment

The latest PurchasingManagers Index and governmentfigures for manufacturingoutput show that its time to getbehind manufacturing exports.

The latest PMI fell to a sevenmonth low of 54.6 and outputstayed relatively flat at +0.2%,all-in-all a fairly lukewarmmonth for UK manufacturing.

However, the opportunity isthere to turn up the heat andtap into exports to developingmarkets. These gains won'thappen by chance.

Manufacturers and thegovernment must work togetheron a blueprint for achievinggrowth. The industry must domore to drive businessconfidence around exports.Trade bodies, banks, businessesand the government must pushfor UK products to be sold in thedeveloping world. Exports to tothe emerging BRIC countries

(Brazil, Russia, India and China)make up less than 10% of UKexports yet these countries arethe real boom areas for futuregrowth. Increasing exports andreducing trade deficit is the keyto success. One barrier smallerfirms often encounter onexports is a lack of localknowledge in target countries.

The time to act is now. Thismonth's PMI/ONS data provesthe stellar growth reported inJanuary is the exception not thenorm.

Manufacturing is still on theup and the industry shouldremain positive, although thetrajectory is not as steep ashoped. If we want to soar againthe focus must be on export-ledinvestment.

Barclays Corporate hasstrong relationships withmanufacturing sectorbusinesses across the NorthWest, including many names inthe Top 200 listing.

15

© 2011 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. ‘Grant Thornton’ means Grant Thornton UK LLP, a limited liability partnership. Grant Thornton UK LLP is a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd (‘Grant Thornton International’).Grant Thornton International and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms independently.

Advice that’s madeto measure.Because one sizedoesn’t fit all.

At Grant Thornton, our local team of specialists recognise theimportance of understanding the objectives and personal driversof our clients and their business. No matter what size yourbusiness is, we have a team ready to work with you to realisethe full potential of your business. We provide viable solutionsand advice based on real experience to add value to our clientsbusiness, to help them grow.

We’ve earned our reputation for delivering new and excitingsolutions, tailored to the individual needs of our clients. Are youready for our bespoke approach?

www.grant-thornton.co.uk

Auditor of the Year(Large Six)

2010 & 2011

Private ClientPractitioner’s Top25 Most AdmiredCompanies 2011

Accountancy Firm ofthe Year M&A Awards

2010

Best TaxInvestigations Team

(2010)

AIM Accountant ofthe Year 2010

For further information on our services or to arrange an initialconsultation, please contact:

David GrundyNorth West Office Managing PartnerT 0161 953 6900E david.grundy@uk.gt.com

16

THERE are few companies thathave a wider impact on the NorthWest economy than Peel Holdings.

The empire of John Whittakerjust keeps on growing, and thecanny tycoon shows absolutely nosign of slowing down – in fact, heappears to be speeding up as hesteers a string of majordevelopments across the region.

Over the past few years mostattention has inevitably focusedon Peel’s Media City developmentas the countdown to therelocation of several BBCdepartments to Salford Quaysedges ever closer.

Earlier this spring, the long-awaited plans finally becamereality as the first 120 staff movedto the site in surely one of themost drawn-out staff relocationsever seen – in total it will take 36weeks.

So far, 55% of staff involved arerelocating from London, whichthe BBC insists comparesfavourably to similar-sizedgovernment departmentrelocations. In total around 2,300staff will be based at Media Cityand Peel hopes the entire site will

eventually cover a staggering 200acres at the Quays.

As things stand, just 36 acreshave been built on including 1.6msq ft of offices and planningconsent for another 3m sq ft. Thewhole project will also receive amajor boost in the publicconsciousness when Media Cityhosts this year’s BBC SportsPersonality of the Year event inDecember.

But as with so many of Peel’skey developments, the delicaterelationship it has with centraland local government will becrucial to the ultimate success ofthe project and talks are ongoingabout the extent to which MediaCity can, for instance, be classedas an Enterprise Zone wheretenants could take advantage oftax breaks and simplifiedplanning rules.

The reason behind thecampaign is that Peel wants toattract other big names in themedia world, besides just theBBC, to the Quays.

To this end it has already hadconsiderable success, mostnotably with ITV announcingplans to build a new home forCoronation Street at Media City.Peel’s wider ambitions in themedia sector were also typified byits recent successful bid for thePinewood Shepperton Group.

However it is arguably theextent to which Media Cityattracts small and medium-sizedmedia, creative and digitalcompanies that will determine itssuccess. And it is the degree towhich it attracts these businessesfrom across the UK that matterstoo.

Indeed many cities which have

successfully built up digital hubswill be nervously looking overtheir shoulder at Media City’srise. The likes of Sheffield – andeven Birmingham – could seecompanies emigrate either overthe Pennines or up the M6.

Closer to home it will beinteresting to observe how therelationship between Liverpool,which likewise has built up itsown digital industry, andManchester develops. Companieson Merseyside may think they arenear enough to the action to avoidmoving along the M62.

Talking of enterprise zones,Peel’s other great project in theNorth West recently benefitedfrom the announcement that thegovernment was setting up such azone on land straddling both sidesof the Mersey, encompassingPeel’s Wirral Waters andLiverpool Waters schemes – theso-called ‘Mersey Waters’ zone.

Peel has, literally, toweringambitions for both parcels of land.Earlier this year it unveiled plansfor an international trade centreon the Wirral side that would actas a base for up to 1,000companies from China, India and

other emerging economies fromwhich to launch Europeanoperations.

At the same time it announcedthat Stella Shiu, a senior memberof the Chinese government andchairman of the Sam Na Mineralscompany, had invested £25m inthe project. Behind the scenesPeel has been busy building up itscontacts with China for manyyears and it was, unsurprisingly, alead sponsor at Liverpool’spavilion at the Shanghai Expo lastyear.

Since the Expo a number ofChinese delegations have alreadyvisited Liverpool, furthercementing the relationshipbetween the company and the FarEast. The £25m will go towardsfunding half of the first phase ofthe proposed trade centre.

Peel is also spending £500mover the next decade to furtherdevelop its SuperPort schemealong the River Mersey andManchester Ship Canal. Thebiggest element is at Seaforth,with the £200m in-river berth thatwill be able to handle the world’sbiggest ships, each measuring upto 100,000 tonnes.

Propertyfirm’stoweringambitiontorebuildregion

THE BIG FEATURE

Peel’s Port ofLiverpool Docksat Seaforth

PEEL’S DELICATE RELATIONSHIP WITHCENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT WILLBE CRUCIAL TO ITS ULTIMATE SUCCESS

17

REGIONAL development agencies(RDAs) certainly attracted theirfair share of criticism, oftenjustified, during their rathershort lives.

But as far as the northernRDAs were concerned, there werecertain projects which didmanage to rise above often puerilepolitical jostling and actuallydeliver beyond their glossybrochures.

One such initiative was TheNorthern Way (TNW), aneconomic strategy group whichwas formed to look at the keyfactors that accentuated theNorth-South divide, and to look atways of tackling economic andsocial inequalities and bridgingthe £30bn output gap between theNorth and the average for the restof England.

TNW, which was established in2004 by the three northern RDAs –One NorthEast, YorkshireForward and the NorthwestRegional Development Agency –particularly focused on transport,new energy, business investmentand innovation. However, with thepending closure of the RDAs themoney for TNW dried up and theinitiative was wound up at theend of March.

In April, consultancy firm SQWproduced a report which lookedback at the work of TNW.

It concluded that the demise ofTNW after only seven years couldresult in a “vacuum” beingcreated and affect development ofmany key initiatives, such ashigh-speed rail in the region.

The report concluded that TNWwas successful in delivering a setof northern priorities,particularly in areas of transportpolicy and lobbying for thegovernment’s high-speed railproposals.

Summing up, it says that TNWmay have lost the battle but therewere many achievements over theprogramme period.

The report concluded: “Theinitiative reached a peak when itwas seen as a credible voice onkey pan-northern issues, animportant influence on nationalgovernment and an effectiveco-ordinator of thinking.

“The issues it sought to addressstill remain for the North andthere is a vacuum left in itsabsence. As a result there is aneed for the arguments tocontinue to be articulated and thecase for the North’s potential to bemade. It is now collectively up topartners in the North to keepthese agendas intelligent andalive.”

Precisely who will keep thespirit of TNW flame alive andcontinue to champion its causes

now remains the focus of muchdebate.

In theory, the work of the RDAshas been replaced by LocalEnterprise Partnerships (LEPs),but the very localised nature ofthe LEPs means momentum oncross-regional issues willinevitably be lost as the Northstruggles to speak with one voice.

Speaking with a clear voice wasindeed one of the key strengths ofTNW identified by SQW, with thelikes of former Yorkshire Forwardchairman Sir Graham Hall amongthose who championed its causes

effectively down in Whitehall.The SQW report concluded that

there had been some significantachievements in influencing andimproving policy making,leveraging resource andinvestment.

The report said: “The NorthernWay demonstrated the importanceof getting the strategic frameworkright. By narrowing down to asmall number of priorities it wasable to add clear value toeconomic development in theNorth. Crucially it was able tothink intelligently for the North

in a way which made peoplelisten.” SQW said one area inwhich TNW had made aparticular impact was transport.

For instance, today there is realconsensus across the North on theimportance of further significantinvestment in high speed rail.

City leaders in Liverpool,Manchester, Leeds and Newcastlecan all see the tremendous valueof high-speed links across thecountry, rather than just down thecountry as is the case now.

To that end Network Rail’s‘northern hub’ initiative wasrecently successful in attractingnew funding from thegovernment.

The proposals centre aroundsignificant new investment in therail infrastructure of the North toallow for faster and more reliableservices, easing up bottlenecks inthe process.

Attention is now turningtowards improving services andcutting congestion across thePennines, especially betweenLeeds and Manchester.

That said, the bigger picture interms of government spendingremains on more vertical routes,typified by its plans for a highspeed line up from London toBirmingham with the line thensplitting west up to Manchesterand east up to Leeds.

NorthernWayakeyinitiative

City leaders in the North West all see the tremendous value of highspeed links across the country

18

THE North West is the home ofhome shopping and discountretail.

From grand old names like JDWilliams and TJ Hughes to morerecent success stories such asMatalan and B&M Bargains, thisregion hosts some of the UK’sbest-known retail brands.

The region’s retail heritagemeans that firms old and new canbenefit from a strong infra-structure and an experiencedworkforce.

The North West’s homeshopping giants may not behousehold names in themselves,but their brands are.

Shop Direct, for example, usedto be known as Littlewoods – abrand it still owns. Findel,meanwhile, owns brandsincluding Kleeneze and Kitbag.

N Brown employs some 3,000people in the North West, wherethe majority of its business isbased.

Its headquarters and call centreare in Manchester, while it haswarehouses in Shaw and Hadfield.

It dates its history back to 1859,when Manchester-based JDWilliams set up his first shop.

Today N Brown – which stilluses the JD Williams names – alsoowns home and internet shoppingbrands including Simply Be,Jacamo and Marisota.

Chief executive Alan Whitesaid: “Home shopping has alwaysbeen strong in the M62 corridor.You had Littlewoods in Liverpool,ourselves and Great UniversalStores in Manchester, then youhad Empire Stores and Grattan inBradford.

“That corridor from Liverpoolto Leeds had about 90% of theUK’s home shopping business atone stage.”

And that history has helped to

create a thriving retail ecosystem,where staff can move from onefirm to another and rival retailerscan benefit from services offeredby other companies.

Mr White – who is alsochairman of the CBI in the NorthWest – said: “What you tend to seeis that the employees and themanagement have moved betweenone home shopping company andanother. I spent three years atLittlewoods myself.

“That’s tended to maintain thepool of home shopping expertisein this area.

“It’s not just about the peoplethemselves, though that’s veryimportant. It’s also about theservices that drive the businessalong, whether that’s advertisingagencies or anything else.”

Last month, stock market-listedN Brown announced that it hadenjoyed “another robust groupperformance” in the year toFebruary 26. Revenues rose 4.2%to £718.8m, while pre-tax profitsrose 5.5% to £98.2m.

Mr White said he expected 2011would be another “tricky year”for retailers, with high inflationand ongoing fears about publicsector job cuts.

But he hopes that things willimprove in 2012 as inflation eases.

“We will start to see somegrowth,” he said. “While I don’tthink there will be a massivebounceback, there should be asteady rise.”

For years, N Brown’s focus hasbeen home shopping. But in 2009the group bought High & Mighty,which boasted a store portfolio.

N Brown now plans to take itsSimply Be brand to the highstreet.

He said: “We hope to get a

couple of stores open this side ofChristmas. We are hoping toconclude on one in the LiverpoolOne area. That will be our firstmajor store.

“We are also negotiating on astore on the north side ofManchester.

“We wanted to have our firststores in the North West becauseall our managers and distributorsare in the North West, so we cangive the stores a lot of closeattention. We want to open two ormaybe three stores in Septemberor October this year, then three orfour next spring. Then we’llevaluate it in 2012.”

Mr White said the group hadchosen to move the Simply Bebrand onto the high streetbecause it filled a gap in thefashion market.

He said: “This business is forthe plus-size customer but it’s theplus-size customer who wantshigh fashion. That customer’snatural shopping habitat is thehigh street, but they have a poorshopping experience at themoment.

“We have designed a shoppingconcept which we believe will notonly generate sales in these storesbut will also, by building thebrand, give us an incrementalincrease in home shopping salesas well.”

Like N Brown, Liverpool’s ShopDirect – part of the March UKgroup – sees online sales as key tofuture growth. And Shop Direct,which boasts brands includingLittlewoods and Very.co.uk, hasalso kept its headquarters in theNorth West to benefit from theregion’s retail heritage.

Shop Direct employs some10,000 people in the North West

and North Wales. Its head office isin Speke, south Liverpool, but ithas warehouses in Manchester,Oldham and Wrexham, with callcentres in Preston, Bolton andAintree.

The Littlewoods departmentstore chain is long gone, but ShopDirect still has 24 clearance storesaround the UK.

The company still posts outmillions of catalogues every year,but some 70% of its sales are nowhandled online. That makes it theUK’s third-biggest online retailer,beaten only byAmazon and Tesco.

Chief executive MarkNewton-Jones said: “Customersstill tell us they want catalogues.

We’ll continue to provide them foras long as they want.

“But the predominant orderingmethod is now online. Manycustomers who have thecatalogues would rather order onthe website.

“We’re at the point where wecan say we’re an internetretailer.”

In 2009, Shop Direct bought oneof British retail’s most famousnames – Woolworths – andlaunched Woolworths.co.uk

Today Woolworths is just asmall part of Shop Direct’sbusiness, but one of the brandsowned by the former high streetname has been a boon to theSpeke group.

“The real jewel in the crownhas been Ladybird,” said MrNewton-Jones. “We now sell itacross all our retail brands.

NW’sdiscountstoresandhomeshoppingdriveretailing

HISTORY HAS CREATED A THRIVING RETAIL ECOSYSTEMWHERE STAFF CAN MOVE FROM ONE FIRM TO ANOTHER

by ALISTAIR HOUGHTONBusiness Correspondent

Joe Morris wants to open 50 Home Bargains stores a year

RETAIL STRENGTH

19

the ability to spread payments.”The North West has also

become a hub for discountretailing.

The sector boasts some historicnames. TJ Hughes, for example,opened his first store in Liverpool

in 1912. Today, the chain has 57stores and employs 4,000 people.

It was recently bought by retailentrepreneur Anthony Solomonand turnaround specialistEndless, who have pledged to turnits fortunes around after a

difficult few months.But other more recent examples

have made their presence felt inhigh streets and retail parksacross the country.

B&M Retail was founded in 1989and by 2004, it had become a21-store chain based in Blackpool.

But then it was brought bybrothers Simon and Bobby Arora,who launched an ambitiousexpansion plan.

Today the company, whichmoved its headquarters toLiverpool last year, has more than200 B&M Bargains stores. Justlast month it was revealed thatB&M had bought 11 stores fromcollapsed DIY retailer Focus.

Merseysider John Hargreaveshas become one of the region’swealthiest men thanks to the

JD Sports is on the acquisition trail, snapping up well-knownfashion brands

DiscountclothingretailerMatalan hasproved a hugeregionalsuccess storywith fashionat affordableprices

B&M Bargains owners Bobby Arora and brother Simon

WITH its proud sportingheritage, it’s no surprise thatthe North West boasts two ofthe biggest names in the sportsretail world.

Bury-based JD SportsFashion has recently beenon the acquisition trail, butWigan-based JJB Sportshas had a more turbulent

time.Last month, fashion-focused

JD bought the parent companyof menswear brand Peter Werthand Pink Soda womenswear outof administration for anundisclosed sum.

It was the latest in a series ofJD acquisitions, including thestreet wear fashion labelFenchurch, which it bought outof administration for just under£1.5m in March. In February, JDacquired a majority stake inPreston manufacturer KukriSports, which makescustomised sport kits for clubs,universities and schools.

A month earlier, the retaileragreed a deal for loss-makingIrish clothing and footwearstore chain Champion, while in

September it boughtStaffordshire’s DR Footwear.

In 2009 it bought rugbybrands Canterbury and Koogaand men’s fashion label TheDuffer of St George.

Also last month, JJB Sportswarned it could take five yearsto turn the business around.

The group came close tocollapse last year but survivedafter securing a deal withlandlords that will allow it toclose weaker stores and cutsome rent payments.

JJB, which has also raised96.5m pounds to fund itsturnaround plan, plans torevamp 150 stores over thecourse of the year following abig rise in profit and sales atpilot outlets.

But, announcing that itsfull-year loss had ballooned to£181m, JJB said a recoverycould take three to five years.

It said: “The restructuring ofJJB will not be easy or quick.

“The retail environment ischallenging, will remain so forsome time and we face intensecompetition.”

“We’ve extended it outof clothes for 0-8 yearolds. We’ve extended itout to wardrobes,nursery furniture,pushchairs and highchairs.

“The Ladybird brandhas got real potential.”

In recent years Shop Directhas successfully developed brandsincluding Very.co.uk, which MrNewton-Jones said sawdouble-digit sales growth lastyear, and the Isme brand for olderwomen. The Littlewoods brand isalready marketed in theEurozone, while the Very.co.ukand Isme brands may follow.

Mr Newton-Jones said the UKretail environment remained“erratic”, but he is convincedShop Direct’s business mix meansit is in a strong position.

He said: “The optimist in mesays that as we get close toChristmas, people will say ‘it’s notas bad as I thought’. But there’s alittle way to go yet.

“The economy is stalling, butI’m optimistic about this business.

“Firstly, we’ve got a broadrange of products, from children’sclothing to iPods.

“Secondly, we’re online. It’s thekey growth sector for retail, andwe’re there.

“Thirdly, we offer customers

CONTRASTINGFORTUNES

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

JJB Sports is hoping to turn its fortunes around

20

RETAIL STRENGTH

success of discount clothing retailerMatalan.

Last month the company, based inSkelmersdale, appointed DarrenBlackhurst as chief executive to leadits expansion plans.

Meanwhile, Liverpool-based TJMorris is continuing its growth.

The group, founded by Tom Morrismore than 30 years ago, has more than250 Home Bargains stores around theUK and employs some 7,000 people.

Operations director Joe Morrissaid: “We want to open 50 stores ayear.

“We’re currently growing at 20% to25% per annum. We’ve been growingat that rate for the last 10 years or so.

“We trying to continue at thatsteady rate, not too fast and not tooslow, so it’s manageable.”

Discount retailers are growing, saysMorris, not just because the market isgrowing but because they areexpanding their geographical reach.

He said: “If you look at mostdiscount retailers, they started asregional retailers and then expandedacross the UK. Compared to the bigsupermarkets, most discount retailersstill only cover a small proportion ofthe UK geographically.

“The big supermarkets have storeseverywhere. There’s no point inopening more big supermarkets. So they’renow looking at different sectors, likeconvenience stores. Morrisons is talkingabout buying Iceland. Tesco is buyinggarden centres.

“We’re looking at where we haven’t got

stores – such as Scotland, Northern Irelandand further south.

“Having said that, we’re still openingstores in Liverpool. We’re opening in the StJohn’s Centre, in the city centre, in thenext couple of months.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

The HQ of Shop Direct on Estuary Business Park,Speke

MESSAGEFROMOURSPONSORRETAILERS and wholesalers continue toface challenging times.

Slow growth in the economy iscombining with faltering consumerconfidence, rising unemployment andsharp increases in prices to create a“perfect storm”.

Stability is what businesses in thesector need and although times aretough, some sectors are predicted toenjoy strong growth.

A recent report from CB Richard Ellishas stated that the UK has maintainedthe number one position of the top 20global retail markets for the fourthconsecutive year, attracting 58% of allinternational retail brands surveyed.

The UK was closely followed by theUnited Arab Emirates with 54% and theUS with 50%.

The report also showed thatinternational expansion remained a keystrategy for retailers around the world,with 40% of new store openingsoccurring outside of the retailer’s homeregion.

Even though the pace of expansion hasslowed, 21 countries saw five or more newretail entrants last year.

In the UK, the clothing sector inparticular is showing signs ofstability and growth. Recentresearch commissioned byBarclays Corporate, predictsthat the premium clothingmarket will enjoy thestrongest growth rate in theclothing sector over the nextthree years.

By 2014 the premiumsegment is expected to be

worth an estimated £8.6bn, an increaseof £1.9bn (29%) from today’s estimatedvalue of £6.7bn.

The sector is expected to benefit froma number of factors, including the‘Middleton effect’ which has alreadycatapulted key pieces from Reiss andWhistles collections onto the front pagesof newspapers around the world.

Retailers are also looking to increasesales online. With little new retail spacelikely to be opening in the high street orshopping centres this year, manyretailers are looking to generate newincome streams through their onlineoffering. Existing retailers continue torecord strong online growth, reflectingthe increasing popularity ofinternet-based shopping.

Online retailing is a great opportunityfor smaller, niche players to take onlarger retail establishments.

Additional research, recentlyconducted by Verdict Consulting forBarclays Corporate, claims that mobileshopping could deliver a £4.5bn boost tothe UK economy by 2016 and a further£13bn by 2021, as consumers becomemore comfortable with shopping throughmobile handsets.

Barclays Corporatecontinues to focus stronglyon supporting retail andwholesale businesses tofulfil their growthaspirations. Barclays hasrecently supported The Hut,in its acquisition ofMyprotein.co.uk, along withB&M Retail Ltd and WilliamsBMW.■ Karl Trumper, CorporateDirector, Barclays CorporateKarl Trumper

21

OurMScstudentshavetheedgeintoday’scompetitivejobmarket.Findoutwhy.

Programmes include:ConsumerMarketingMSce-BusinessStrategyandSystemsMScEconomicsandFinanceMScEntrepreneurshipMScFinanceMScHumanResourcesManagementMScInternationalBusinessMScManagementMScOperationsandSupplyChainManagementMSc

Findoutmoreatwww.liv.ac.uk/managementschool

22

IN THE North West, only 9% ofsenior leadership positions in theprivate sector are held by women.

This compares to 30% in thepublic sector and 45% in thevoluntary sector.

Why is this? And does itmatter?

The evidence says that it doesmatter.

Research by managementconsultancy McKinsey andCatalyst shows that boards whichinclude women outperform theirsector on every financial measureyou care to look at (42% higherreturn on sales; 53% higherreturn on investment and 53%higher return on equity).

Boards including women alsotend to take a more balanced viewon risk.

The combination of a group ofpeople with different skills,perspectives and experience ismore likely to be able to considerissues in a rounded way.

This avoids the dreaded ‘groupthink’ which often leads to poordecision making.

So, if there is such a strong casefor more senior women, why arethere only 9% in the privatesector?

After all, women start out withthe same levels of skills andambition as men but they do notprogress at the same rate.

What is worse, many womenleave the workplace for a varietyof reasons and losing talentedpeople is both wasteful andexpensive.

One of the main problems is thelack of flexibility in theworkplace.

This is a key barrier to theability of women to progress theircareers at the same rate as men.

Women’s careers are not linear– if they step off the career ladderfor a while for familycommitments, it is hard to getback on.

The male dominated workplaceculture doesn’t help.

Women need to be moreconfident.

Research shows that a man willapply for a job if he has three orfour skills out of a list of ten.

A woman would only apply ifshe has seven or eight out of ten.

So, what can be done?Firstly, recruiters can make

sure that they look for andinterview a wide range ofcandidates. And I mean activelylook.

More jobs should be advertisedand in places where a broadergroup of candidates will see them.

Organisations should reviewtheir own policies and proceduresto make sure that they do notdisadvantage women.

More thought should be givento managing non-linear careers.For example, women need support

when coming back into theorganisation after maternityleave.

Mentors should be madeavailable for talented individuals(men and women) but theirdifferent needs should beunderstood and addressed.

Finally, organisations shouldset an aspirational target ofachieving 30% female leadershipacross all sectors. This is a keytarget.

Again, all the research showsthat once this 30% threshold isachieved workplace culture startsto change, to the benefit of all.

In summary, I have no doubtthat there is a convincing andcompelling economic case for

more women at senior levels.I am not advocating tokenism,

rather a range of practicalmeasures which remove thebarriers to female progressionand create a more even playingfield for talented women.

I am optimistic. Role models doexist. Exemplar organisations(large and small) also exist acrossall sectors of the North Westeconomy – but they are theexception rather than the rule.

This change is overdue andconcerted action is needed, butwith encouragement and activesupport, women will reach moreleadership positions and that willbe good for business in everysense.

Whyweneedmorewomen

ORGANISATIONS SHOULD REVIEWPOLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO ENSURETHEY DO NOT DISADVANTAGE WOMEN

by VANDA MURRAY OBEChairman of AIM-listed VPhase,and non-executive directorof Carillion and ManchesterAirport Group

CAN WOMEN REACH THE TOP?

Women who have made it to the top in the North West, clockwise fromleft, Jennifer Atkinson, CEO of ITC travel; Penny Coates, Chief Operat-ing Officer; Manchester Airports Group, Sue Weir, chief executive ofMedicash, and Lorraine Rogers, CEO of Mersey Partnership

23

inseniorbusinessroles

In 2010, the North West DevelopmentAgency established a Women and WorkTask Force with 4NW, chaired by VandaMurray.

It met over a six-month period toexamine different topics and hearevidence from a number oforganisations.

The aim of the Task Force was toexamine barriers to women achievingsenior leadership positions either onboards or in management generally.

Academic research was married withthe real experience of business leadersfrom across the region.

It also included the voices of over300 men and women and 400organisations who responded to ourconsultation on the Task Forcerecommendations.

A strong evidence base was puttogether which allowed the Task Forceto make clear recommendations.

The conclusion of the Task Forcewas that there is a compellingeconomic as well as social case forstrong and diverse senior leadershipteams and boards.

This will underpin the economicrecovery and future development ofthe NW economy.

The Task Force has agreed to issue a'Call for Action' to all sectors of theregional economy across the public,private and voluntary sectors to reachat least 30% women both on boardsand in senior leadership positions.

The report also sets out actionswhich companies and educationalinstitutions can take now to harnessand tap into female potential.

The aspirations of girls during theirschool and higher education yearsneed to be raised, especially in male-dominated subjects such as scienceand technology.

Better mentoring would help.There needs to be the creation of

working environment where femaletalent is valued and nurtured.Employers need a betterunderstanding that female careerpaths are not linear. More flexibleworking patterns would support bothmen and women to develop to their fullpotential.

WOMENANDWORKTASKFORCE

Vanda Murray: Employers need a better understanding that female career pathsare not linearLeadingbusinessesfailto

employfemaledirectorsDESPITE many decades ofsexual equality legislation,it still seems that in theboardrooms of the regionsbiggest companies, womenhave yet to gain anythinglike proportionaterepresentation.

Between them, the Top200 have only 124 womendirectors. On average, theTop 200 employs only 0.62women directors percompany board.

Significantly, of thesebusinesses, 109 of them haveno women directors at all.

Some of the higher-ranking Top 200 businessesby revenue that employ nowomen directors at all areTote Bookmakers (rankedsixth), GB Oils (rankedseventh) and March UK

(ranked eight).The companies with

highest women to men ratioon their boards include foodand drink wholesaler AGParfett and Sons (four out of10), finance companyCatalyst InvestmentHoldings (three out of six)and motor retailer GrahamBell (two out of three).

The company with thehighest number of womendirectors waspharmaceutical distributorMawdsley-Brooks, whichhas a total of six women outof 12 board members.

None of the businesseswithin the Top 200 had amajority of womendirectors apart fromGraham Bell, but thiscompany only has a small

number of directors on itsboard.

The gender imbalance inNorth West boardroomsreflects the picture in therest of the country. Only12.5% of directors fromFTSE-100 companies arewomen.

It’s even worse in theFTSE 250, with only 7.8% ofboard posts filled bywomen.

Half of all firms have nofemale business boardmembers at all, according toa nationwide survey byCranfield School ofManagement.

Based on current trendsit is thought that it will takeanother 70 years beforewomen fill half of all postsat blue-chip companies.

24

“ThenewDixieDeanSuitewillgive us theplatform todeliver

anunsurpassedmatchdayhospitality experience.”

GarethBillingtonExecutiveHeadChef

Formore

inform

ationcall015

15305300

orvisitev

ertonfc.com

/exe

c

New look for theDixie Dean Suite

As part of the ongoing commitment to live up toour motto, we are pleased to announce a majorrefurbishment in the premium Executive Lounge atGoodison Park; the Dixie Dean Suite. No effort will bespared to produce a peerless matchday experiencefor our members.

And with package prices reduced for 2011/12, the‘Dixie’ offers a compelling mix of an optimum venue,the highest levels of service and hospitality, andexceptional value for money.

For more information call 0151 530 5300or visit evertonfc.com/exec

25

Hometoaverydynamicenvironmentforbusiness

IT'S ALSO IMPRESSIVE THAT COMING OUTOF A RECESSION NEARLY 60% OF OURTOP COMPANIES ARE STILL GROWING

by MURRAY DALZIELDirector University of LiverpoolManagement School

FRENCH architect Le Corbusierhated the seeming randomness ofthe streets of Paris and producedwhat he considered a perfectblueprint.

It was never implemented.Parisians preferred the vitality ofwell-trodden, haphazard streets.

If you compare government-sponsored economic developmentplans for the North West over thelast few decades and thencompare this listing of the top 200companies, you will seesimilarities.

For example, there are nobudding Apples or Microsoftrivals on this list.

Nor are there any home spunbioscience firms (although AstraZeneca still has a base here but islisted from London).

But like the Paris thatCorbusier hated there are clearsigns of business vitality. If you

want to be competitive with otherregions note that our 200thcompany would have been amongthe top 50 in the North East (froma recent and similar surveyconducted by Durham BusinessSchool).

It's also impressive that comingout of a recession nearly 60% ofour top companies are stillgrowing and 20% grew by morethan 10%.

Growth rates, though, were cutacross all sectors.

North West-run businesses areparticularly good at finding theniche areas that deftly cut aroundlarge players. Examples would beShop Direct, TJ Morris, Icelandand Done Brothers, offeringalternatives to large nationalbrands.

This is an indicator ofentrepreneurial health. Inindustries such as retailing thatare dominated by two or threenational brands, it is not sensibleto replicate their model.

To win in these areas requiresfinding niches that are attractiveand enable good growth.

TJ Morris is a clear example ofthis: exploiting a niche by offeringlowest cost on branded products.

Customers do not eschew thedominant players but they aredrawn to keep coming back to findsomething useful at a bargainprice. While the North West hasclear niche leaders in retailing,this is still an industrial area:55% of firms are inmanufacturing, industrialservices, energy or materials.

If we want to grow this regionwhat can we learn from this data?A key issue for the new LocalEnterprise Partnerships is tounderstand the role of theirgeographic segment in thisindustrial heartland.

The Liverpool and ManchesterLEP's should note that 66% ofthese firms are not in Liverpoolnor Manchester.

The M6 corridor is the main

regional artery generatingeconomic output.

Apart from having less of thetop 200 we do not see a hugedifference between Liverpool CityRegion, Manchester City Regionand the M6 corridor in the typesof companies.

Both Liverpool and Manchesterhave about the same number ofdirect manufacturing companies.Manchester has more directservice businesses and capturesholding company addresses.

Liverpool has more businessesin food manufacturing anddistribution and more in shippingand logistics, reflecting theendurance of the port. So as a portLiverpool makes a distinctivecontribution to the rest of theregion.

Outside of this survey, we alsoknow that Liverpool andManchester share theprofessional services(accountants, lawyers and other

ANALYSIS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

Murray Dalziel

26

27

LIKE CITIES WHICH GROW AND INTERCONNECT RANDOMLY SOTOO COMPANIES WILL DEVELOP IN HAPHAZARD WAYS

advisors) for the whole of theregion.

Liverpool and Manchester arealso creative and cultural hubs forthe rest of the region.

But it is the shape of industrialgrowth that we should payattention to.

Industrial growth may be morehaphazard than policy plannerswould like but there are keyinterdependencies betweencompanies.

For example, about 30% are indirect manufacturing, materialsor energy production but another23% are in some form ofindustrial services (for example,logistics).

This relationship is veryimportant. Although these servicecompanies are national and insome cases truly international,

the core seed of their businessoriginates from key relationshipsin the region (for example,Suttons with the materialmanufacturers in the region).

Supporting the growth of coremanufacturing companiesactually generates additionalservice companies.

This is hugely important forcreating employment. The largestemployers in the region are theretail companies. Manufacturingand energy companies employfewer people.

However, this is deceptive.These companies create a networkof suppliers to service them. If weattract or develop 10 more we gainnot 10 but 17 companies (plus

professional services andfinancial services to supportthem).

So it is easy to imagine that 100jobs created in manufacturinggenerates another 100 jobs indirect support plus more roles inconsumer businesses and creativeand cultural industries that makeworking in the region enjoyable.

Should the future priority be onattracting more manufacturingcompanies or in developing theservice infrastructure to supportthem?

Looking closely at the diversityof companies available as supportmanufacturing companies as wellas the depth of professionalservices available in the region

this is no longer a chicken andegg scenario.

Building on the strong base ofmanufacturing industriesparticularly in the M6 corridorshould be the priority across theregion.

The LEPs might also want toconsider how they add value toeach other.

Does this mean that we shouldnot be supporting companies inhigh growth industries such as ITor Bioscience just because we donot have companies of scale inthis region?

The region has a rich collectionof universities that can spawnnew ideas. So supportingpotential growth businesses is

prudent. For example, there isnothing in the fundamentalstructure of the Seattle regionthat made it the natural home forMicrosoft or Starbucks.

Like cities which grow andinterconnect randomly so toocompanies and industries willdevelop in haphazard ways.

Supporting core manufacturingis not as sexy as looking for thenext Microsoft. But this is notSilicon Valley.

This is the North West, a viableindustrial region.

When you consider that incompiling the Top 200 weexcluded a number of largemultinationals operating largeemployee bases here (forexamples, Unilever and AstraZeneca) as well as a large numberof financial service firms (becauseit's difficult to compare based onturnover) you see a very dynamicbusiness environment.

ANALYSIS

CONTINUED FROM P25

28

THE North West has been leadingthe way with major industrial,scientific and technologicaldiscoveries for more than 200years.

The entrepreneurial spirit atthe heart of this region hasformed the foundation on whichour prosperity is based.

And this prosperity is closelytied in with the development ofour region’s "knowledgeeconomy".

In essence, this describes aneconomy where prosperity is builton ideas and innovation.

The North West region isregarded as having one ofBritain’s pre-eminent “knowledgeeconomies” because of thebusiness research anddevelopment (R&D) undertakenhere, the success of the NorthWest’s universities, and thepresence of excellent researchinstitutes and science parks.

The 12 universities educate one

of the largest academicconcentrations in Europe – a totalof 235,000 students – which resultsin there being a constant supplyof highly-trained recruits to drivebusinesses forward.

Certainly, the tradition ofresearch and learning continuesand thrives in the North West'sprivate sector.

The region is home to four ofBritain’s top 10 research ledbusinesses. All of them areundertaking large scale R& Dactivities. Annual private sectorR&D investment in the region isaround £2.2bn, some 40% higherthan the UK average and biggerthan that of many Europeancountries.

Many of the key players work inclose collaboration with ouruniversities, either directly with

academic departments or throughthe expanding network ofuniversity-backed researchinstitutes.

The four top 10 research ledbusinesses based in the NorthWest are: Lancashire-basedaerospace company BAE Systems;personal product and foodmanufacturer Unilever, in Wirral;Rolls Royce’s Lancashireaero-technology centre; andCheshire-based pharmaceuticalgiant AstraZeneca.

The research undertaken hereis frequently used across eachcompany’s worldwide operations.

AstraZeneca's site leader forR&D, Rodger McMillan, sums upthe importance of its Cheshirebase. He said: “A key site in theAstraZeneca global network, ourfacility at Alderley Park is home

to some of the world’s most skilledscience professionals working atthe frontiers of pharmaceuticalresearch."

After these top-level investors, a“second-tier” of majorinternational companies make asignificant contribution to theregion’s R&D output.

These include Bristol-MyersSquibb’s PharmaceuticalResearch Institute (PRI), inWirral, and Nuclear ManagementPartners, which operates theSellafield site in Cumbria.

The North West has becomefamous around the world for itscontribution to major sciencebreakthroughs – and these havesubsequently been converted intovibrant businesses.

The splitting of the atom andthe creation of the world’s firstmodern computer are bothattributed to researchprogrammes at the University of

Manchester.Today, the North West remains

at the forefront of high-qualityinternational academic researchwith hundreds of specialistresearch groups collaboratingwith other universities andprivate sector partners onimportant scientific projects.

Manchester University isBritain’s largest single sitecampus and has renownedstrengths in life sciences,medicine and economics. It hashelped to create more than 100spin-out companies – includingNanoco, which is profiled (right).

Professor Michael Luger,director of Manchester BusinessSchool, champions GreaterManchester as the region's“knowledge hub”.

He explained: "GreaterManchester has one of the densest

NWknowledgeeconomyoneofmostadvanced

UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL IS WIDELYREGARDED TO BE LEADING COMMERCIALKNOWLEDGE RENAISSANCE IN CITY

by BEN ROOTHBusiness Correspondent

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Media City at SalfordQuays and, right, ChrisMusson outside theLiverpool Science Park

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

29

TheLiverpoolMBA,timededicatedtoyoursuccess.As anMBAstudent at theUniversity ofLiverpoolManagement School you’ll haveaccess to an unrivalled rangeof academicexpertise, support andguidance froma teamof dedicated teaching staff.

What’smore,we’ll ensure that youhave therelevant skills andacumen to add valueto your future employers fromdayone.

To find outmore, sign up to oneof ourupcomingMBAonline information sessionsby visitingwww.liv.ac.uk/managementschool

30

ACCOMMODATION WHERE LIKE-MINDED KNOWLEDGE-BASEDCOMPANIES CAN INNOVATE AND COLLABORATE

concentrations of knowledgeresources anywhere, not just inthe UK, but globally.

“The quality of the knowledgeinfrastructure and supply ofexpertise, including over 100,000university students here, hasdrawn to, and retained in, theregion's knowledge-basedcompanies in all sectors – fromAstra-Zeneca to BAE Systems toBNY-Mellon to the BBC and manymore.

"I believe that Manchester willcontinue to develop as arecognised knowledge hub, fuelledby the continuing strength of theUniversity of Manchester inparticular, but Salford andManchester MetropolitanUniversity as well.

“Playing an important part inthis will be the maturation ofMedia City as a centre for thecreative sector, and therecognition by financial andbusiness service companies thatthe region is an ideal locationbecause of its accessibility to theworld, its lower cost of doingbusiness, and its supply ofuniversity trained workers andexpertise."

With almost 5,000 staff – 2,000 ofwhom are academics orresearchers – the University ofLiverpool is widely regarded to beleading the city’s commercialknowledge renaissance.

It specialises in biosciences,veterinary science andengineering and collaborates witha large group of private sectororganisations including Ford,RBS, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca,Rolls Royce, GlaxoSmithKline andUnilever.

Lancaster University isacknowledged to have world-classstrengths in both business,management and environmentalscience while ManchesterMetropolitan University (MMU) isone of the largest providers ofscience, engineering andtechnology education in thenational system.

Liverpool John MooresUniversity’s key strengths includeastronomy, astrophysics, sportsscience and media science and theUniversity of Salford is developinga new higher education centre atthe Media City development atSalford.

The North West has over 50research institutes and centres -many of which complementresearch departments withinuniversities by providing facilitieswhich turn research programmesinto commercial entities.

Some are self-funding researchfacilities – and revenue generators– which work with businesses ofall sizes from large multinationalsto SMEs.

For example, LancasterUniversity’s InfoLab21 is a leadingfacility for research anddevelopment in ICT.

InfoLab21 is acknowledged tohave assisted the university todevelop close workingpartnerships with many leadingtelecom and innovation specialistsincluding: Microsoft, BT, Orangeand Nokia.

The North West’s five majorscience parks are also importantcontributors to the region’s R&Doffering.

Enjoying close links touniversities and researchinstitutes – many of which arestakeholders – they provide aknowledge infrastructure that ishelping to shape the growth ofboth new and existing businesses.

Designated by the governmentas one of only two major nationalscience research facilities, theDaresbury Science andInnovation Campus hosts theDaresbury Laboratory and theCockcroft Institute which is theUK’s national centre foraccelerator science andtechnology.

The laboratory employs around550 staff, with more than 5,500scientists and engineers – mostlyfrom the academic researchcommunity – using its facilitieseach year.

Manchester Science Park alsosupports the growth of innovativecompanies across industries suchas digital media, biotechnologyand ICT, providing businessincubation and facilitatingknowledge transfer between thecity’s academic base and itsthriving enterprise community.

Westlakes Science andTechnology Park in Cumbria is animportant knowledge centre forthe North West’s nuclear,healthcare informatics andenvironmental science sectors.

The Heath Business andTechnology Park, in Cheshire,

provides serviced office andlaboratory space for over 200science-based and IT businesses.

Liverpool Science Park hasrecently added a second phase ofhigh-specification office andlaboratory workspace to enable itto meet demand from the area’sscience and technologycommunity.

Chris Musson, LiverpoolScience Park’s chief executive,said: “The North West is home toworld-leading knowledge assetsand companies.

"Key Liverpool playersrecognise that maximising thebenefit from these assets bycreating new companies andattracting leading technologycompanies into the city will bevital to powering the futuregrowth of the economy.

"Here at Liverpool Science Parkwe are continuously evolving ouroffering to support their needs.

"Already this year 18 newcompanies, ranging from start upsto SMEs, have moved intoLiverpool Science Park and in thesummer we will be launching ournew commercial laboratorieswhich will provide much-neededaccommodation for the lifesciences sector.

"Liverpool Science Park isuniquely positioned in the heartof Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarterbetween the two universities andprovides first-class, flexibleaccommodation wherelike-minded knowledge-basedcompanies can innovate andcollaborate.”

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Quantumdotsmakerbornintheuniversity

Nanoco chief executive Michael Edelman

CONTINUED FROM P 28

CUTTING edge research andpioneering technologies are inthe life-blood of the North West.

This is as true now as it waswhen the atom was split byErnest Rutherford at theUniversity of Manchester back in1919.

The world of the atom and the'nano' – which literally means'the one billionth' – is whereManchester still leads.

And this is particularly thecase in a field known as 'materialscience'.

A Manchester UniversityIncubator Company tenant calledNanoco is continuing this longline of tradition.

In 2001, Nanoco was foundedand set up within theuniversity's School of Chemistryby two academics – ProfessorPaul O'Brien and Dr NigelPickett.

It was established to developand manufacture quantum dots –particles which emit light andhave the potential to be anessential element of the nextgeneration of TV and computerscreens.

These dots can help providebrighter images, lower powerconsumption, improved colourpurity and longer screen life.

In addition, they are also beingused in biotechnology andmedicine where they illuminatespecific cancer cells, allowingthem to be accurately removed.

In 2005, the company securedinitial finance and wassubsequently spun out ofManchester University.

One year later, it signed itsfirst major joint developmentagreement in Asia.

It has been growing, signingdistribution agreements withmajor Japanese electronicscompanies and successfullymeeting its research andproduction targets ever since.

In addition to its headquartersand research facilities atManchester University, it nowalso has a factory in Runcornand employs a total of 44 staff.

Its Runcorn facility has thecapacity to make up to 40kg ofdots a month – enough tomanufacture four million 40 inchTV screens.

The company is currentlydesigning a new £10m factorywith the capacity of 200kg amonth and this is hoped to befully operational by 2013.

Other applications forquantum dots include solar cellsand security printing.

MESSAGEFROMOURSPONSORThe education sector isundergoing the biggest shakeup for a generation.

Funding mechanisms arechanging and long establishedschools, colleges anduniversities have to adapt tonew ways of operating.

Considerable savings have tobe made. Wage bills, whichaccount for around two-thirdsof costs, are being contained bythe public sector pay freeze,but institutions are also beingforced to look for new revenuestreams, share procurementprogrammes and back officefunctions to lower costs.

Collaboration is now vital inthis changing landscape andthis can take the form ofshared services, outsourcingand partnerships to full-scalemergers or takeovers.

There will undoubtedly bewinners and losers as thereforms take effect and thosetaking action now will be bestplaced to overcome thechallenges in this huge sector.

Challenges facing highereducation (HE) are daunting.HE employs around 355,000academic staff with nearly half

a million UK students atuniversities.

Overseas student numbershave also soared in recentyears and now account for afurther 300,000-plus students.

The largest increase hasbeen from China, which nowprovides the majority.International studentscontribute £5bn a year intuition fees and off-campusspending.

In fact, income fromoverseas students hasincreased twice as fast asoverall fee income since 2000.

The HE sector has received£7.2bn in government grantsfor 2010-11, the majority(£4.7bn) for teaching with£1.6bn allocated for research.

However, following theComprehensive SpendingReview, teaching grants are tobe reduced to just £700m overthe next four years with moremoney coming into the sectorfrom increases in tuition fees.

In such a fast movingscenario, it is vital thatinstitutions deal with funderswho understand and arecommitted to the sector.

31

32

Rank Company Name Most RecentAccountingDate

Turnover £mLast Year

Turnover £mPrevious Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mLast Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mPrevious Year

Number ofEmployees

Sector Location

1 DONE BROTHERS (CASH BETTING) 31/03/2010 3,502.06 2,772.33 0.36 8.53 2930 Betting Warrington

2 AMEC 31/12/2010 2,950.60 2,539.10 258.20 203.50 18610 Engineering/construction Knutsford

3 UNITED UTILITIES GROUP 31/03/2010 2,439.10 2,434.70 474.20 529.80 9365 Water utility Warrington

4 MBNA EUROPE BANK 31/12/2009 2,436.00 671.00 -213.00 -44.00 5374 Financial services Chester

5 ICELAND FOODS GROUP 31/03/2010 2,264.86 2,080.90 110.13 86.86 21464 Food retail Deeside

6 TOTE BOOKMAKERS 31/03/2010 2,203.98 2,297.63 14.77 10.90 1980 Betting Wigan

7 GB OILS 31/03/2010 1,992.53 1,927.96 19.54 27.64 1693 Heating oil distribution Warrington

8 MARCH UK 30/04/2010 1,903.70 1,848.00 2.70 -96.20 16206 Home shopping Liverpool

9 LOOKERS 31/12/2009 1,883.80 1,749.00 31.10 11.50 5487 Motor retail Manchester

10 EUROPEAN METAL RECYCLING 31/12/2009 1,843.06 3,099.10 91.10 63.44 2136 Scrap metal Warrington

11 MARLOWE HOLDINGS INVESTMENTS31/12/2009 1,107.02 1,030.38 25.03 66.59 4398 Electrical wholesaler Knutsford

12 MATALAN RETAIL 28/02/2010 1,104.10 1,020.00 103.20 53.80 16627 Retail Skelmersdale

13 PRINCES 31/03/2010 1,093.22 1,081.00 40.66 39.09 3201 Food production Liverpool

14 BIBBY LINE GROUP 31/12/2009 1,089.14 1,034.09 21.80 22.97 24 Shipping Liverpool

15 CHICAGO BETA 31/12/2009 991.63 849.85 0.20 219.91 1271 Telecommunications Crewe

16 PHOENIX HEALTHCARE DIST 31/01/2010 957.68 962.38 19.20 25.27 1633 Pharmaceutical wholesaler Runcorn

17 TALKTALK COMMUNICATIONS 31/03/2010 870.91 0.00 11.52 25.22 956 Telecommunications Warrington

18 MAKRO SELF SERVICE W.SALERS 31/12/2009 867.89 899.53 -44.75 -26.76 5086 Wholesaler Manchester

19 CFS MANAGEMENT SERVICES 31/12/2010 787.94 683.98 -0.53 1.31 2913 Financial services Manchester

20 PZ CUSSONS 31/05/2010 771.60 838.10 101.80 84.40 8312 Soap manufacturer Manchester

THE TOP 200 TABLE

THE TOP 200 and the other tablespublished here have beencompiled by Professor MurrayDalziel, director of the Universityof Liverpool Management School,and a team of his MBA students.

The management school tappedinto a number of databases thatcontain Companies House dataand other published sources suchas the London Stock Exchange’snew service to obtain the latestavailable financial reports fromthe North West’s biggestcompanies.

In ranking these companies, wewere seeking to identify thosebusinesses that not merely have alarge presence in our region, but

also have a significant controllinghead office presence. Such firmstypically that have at least someof their executive board membersbased in the region.

They are the firms most likelyto call upon the services of localprofessional advisers andbankers, making them big playersin the local market place. Webelieve such locally-controlledcompanies are more likely toprovide a source of private sectorgrowth in the North West in theyears ahead. They are also thecompanies most likely to providejobs growth.

The Management School beganby listing the biggest companieswith a registered office in ourregion. That information had thento be adjusted for our knowledgeabout which companies had agenuine controlling base here.

That is why, for example,Unilever, which still has itsregistered office at Port Sunlight,

is not included. In practiceUnilever’s head office is atBlackfriars in London and Port

Sunlight these days is just one ofa score of detergent plantsthroughout Europe and the rest ofthe world. As a result, the NorthWest can take credit for only asmall fraction of Unilever'smulti-billion pound turnover. Itwould therefore be misleading toshow it as the region's biggestcompany.

The same was felt to be true ofBAE Systems, albeit a hugeemployer in our region. Anotherexcluded company is Suncor, witha registered office in Manchester,but in practice it providesservices from Aberdeen to oil andgas companies operating in theNorth Sea.

As well as the main Top 200 list,we have produced two more tablesthat analyse the20 fastest growingcompanies and the twenty mostprofitable by return on sale.

HowtheTop200wasputtogetherbyMBAstudentsby BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

University of Liverpool Management School team who have puttogether the Top 200 analysis, from left, Srikanth Bhat, MatthewLatham, Sreedevi Arimbra, Prof Murray Dalziel, Sanjay Bala andShinjan Bhattacharya Picture: COLIN LANE

33

Rank Company Name Most RecentAccountingDate

Turnover £mLast Year

Turnover £mPrevious Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mLast Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mPrevious Year

Number ofEmployees

Sector Location

21 JD SPORTS FASHION 31/01/2010 769.79 670.86 61.39 38.22 6128 Retailer Bury

22 TNT UK 31/12/2009 740.57 828.69 307.73 45.48 10506 Mail delivery Bury

23 N BROWN GROUP 28/02/2010 690.00 662.50 85.70 92.30 3189 Home shopping Manchester

24 INVISTA TEXTILES (UK) 31/12/2009 669.25 924.53 -87.59 -198.51 912 Textiles Manchester

25 KELLOGG MARKETING AND SALES 31/12/2009 666.74 627.90 9.73 8.45 352 Food production Manchester

26 TDG 31/12/2009 662.00 26.80 13.10 -4.10 6528 Logistics Manchester

27 ODEON AND UCI CINEMAS GROUP 31/12/2009 640.93 548.10 -77.32 -55.58 9010 Cinemas Manchester

28 BROTHER INTERNATIONAL EUROPE 31/03/2010 611.78 672.03 3.68 10.21 159 Office equip Manchester

29 FINDEL 31/03/2010 600.18 617.44 -76.12 -51.94 3160 Home shopping Hyde

30 T J MORRIS 30/06/2010 590.32 481.58 47.87 42.62 4829 Retailer Liverpool

31 NORWEST FOODS INTERNATIONAL 31/07/2010 589.08 61.20 0.43 0.69 15 Food production Knutsford

32 PILKINGTON AUTOMOTIVE 31/03/2010 584.17 654.13 -31.89 -48.63 739 Glass manufacturer Ormskirk

33 INEOS NORWAY SPV 31/12/2009 584.01 792.08 -36.70 0.29 1037 Chemicals Runcorn

34 WARBURTONS HOLDINGS 30/09/2009 510.47 270.37 32.45 9.43 4921 Food production Bolton

35 BODYCOTE 31/12/2010 499.80 435.40 45.20 -54.50 5603 Thermal processing services Macclesfield

36 FLP2 28/02/2010 486.90 501.90 -21.00 -95.30 4334 Retailer Crewe

37 ABB 31/12/2009 476.43 519.27 12.70 33.27 2021 Electrical equipment Warrington

38 BENTLEY MOTORS 31/12/2009 469.50 829.40 -282.30 -127.60 3424 Car manufacturer Crewe

39 BRAMMER 31/12/2010 468.37 426.09 19.31 -1.49 2400 Mechanical engineering Manchester

40 PETS AT HOME GROUP 31/03/2010 467.71 404.25 26.81 23.10 3092 Retailer Handforth

41 HOLIDAYBREAK 30/09/2010 461.70 473.40 26.00 5.40 3480 Travel Northwich

42 FOUR SEASONS HEALTH CARE 31/12/2009 460.74 437.96 0.93 2.69 20248 Healthcare Wilmslow

43 URENCO UK 31/12/2009 440.18 440.18 237.90 237.90 365 Uranium enrichment Capenhurst

44 MORSON GROUP 31/12/2009 436.63 431.45 9.68 7.90 533 Engineering support services Salford

45 B & M RETAIL 31/12/2009 426.66 255.86 33.85 14.21 4831 Retailers Liverpool

46 ADIDAS (UK) 31/12/2009 412.46 399.32 11.74 16.22 901 Sportswear manufacturer Stockport

47 UK FUELS 31/03/2010 410.21 399.47 1.41 1.12 120 Fuel wholesaler Crewe

48 FIRCROFT ENGINEERING SERVICES 31/08/2010 404.90 280.63 6.31 3.57 311 Recruitment Crewe

49 REDROW 30/06/2010 396.90 301.80 0.70 -140.80 779 House builder Ewloe

50 NWF GROUP 31/05/2010 379.80 380.60 7.10 6.20 902 Agricultural foods and fuels Wardle????

51 EDDIE STOBART 28/02/2010 379.07 319.67 18.45 4.45 4458 Freight transport Warrington

52 JJB SPORTS 31/01/2010 372.49 718.28 -68.59 -189.24 8243 Retailer Wigan

53 BARGAIN BOOZE HOLDINGS 30/04/2010 371.16 356.65 4.28 1.01 226 Retailer Crewe

54 BASF 31/12/2009 367.60 504.14 8.94 -35.28 362 Chemicals Cheadle

55 SMURFIT KAPPA UK 31/12/2009 366.46 410.82 17.62 14.39 2422 Paper manufacturer Liverpool

56 PEEL PORTS S-HOLDER FINANCECO 31/03/2010 362.47 399.08 11.57 10.66 1299 Port operator Liverpool

57 SPEEDY HIRE 31/03/2010 351.10 476.10 -22.80 -70.60 4267 Tool and equipment hire Newton-le-W

58 THE MANCHESTER AIRPORT GROUP 31/03/2010 348.90 371.30 45.60 2.20 2575 Air transport Manchester

59 PARAGROUP MANAGEMENT 31/03/2010 337.97 366.13 0.63 1.16 7717 Payroll services Warrington

60 VEHICLE LEASING (4) 31/12/2009 324.52 240.05 24.14 -12.23 Vehicle leasing Chester

61 NWEN GROUP 31/03/2010 323.40 0.00 -27.70 0.00 94 Intermediate holding Warrington

62 MAWDSLEY-BROOKS & COMPANY 31/03/2010 321.68 302.45 5.46 3.61 770 Pharmaceutical wholesaler Salford

63 ROBERT MCBRIDE 30/06/2010 320.29 304.92 9.94 4.31 2268 Soap manufacturer Manchester

64 SCOTTISHPOWER (DCL) 31/12/2009 320.10 307.40 97.10 98.00 41 Utilities Birkenhead

65 STANLEY INTERNATIONAL BETTING 31/12/2009 318.50 267.00 2.60 7.24 509 Betting Liverpool

34

THE TOP 200 TABLE

Rank Company Name Most RecentAccountingDate

Turnover £mLast Year

Turnover £mPrevious Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mLast Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mPrevious Year

Number ofEmployees

Sector Location

66 NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO UK 31/12/2009 315.83 287.07 51.52 42.30 1007 Oil and gas services Manchester

67 GROWHOW UK GROUP 31/12/2009 315.69 600.05 38.93 135.30 576 Fertiliser manufacturer Chester

68 MARUBENI AUTO INVESTMENT (UK) 31/12/2009 313.35 309.69 4.88 2.23 979 Conglomerate Salford

69 NOVOFERM EUROPE 31/12/2009 300.22 363.83 -2.75 1.65 2076 Door manufacturer Handforth

70 DANISH CROWN UK 30/09/2009 295.99 268.01 0.37 0.37 32 Food distributor Manchester

71 BALL PACKAGING EUROPE UK 31/12/2009 289.89 267.47 34.12 26.34 584 Packaging manufacturer Chester

72 AG PARFETT & SONS 30/06/2010 289.14 277.27 2.77 2.29 618 Wholesaler Stockport

73 MANCHESTER UNITED 30/06/2010 286.42 278.48 25.35 127.65 592 Football Manchester

74 BORREGAARD INDUSTRIES 31/12/2009 278.49 252.90 20.27 15.81 845 Chemicals Warrington

75 WPD HOLDINGS 31/03/2010 275.22 0.00 6.24 0.00 953 Catering supplies Liverpool

76 SWINTON (HOLDINGS) 31/12/2009 271.72 235.85 36.11 45.27 4192 Insurance Manchester

77 EXOVA GROUP 31/12/2009 268.90 0.00 -62.70 0.00 3685 Engineering consultants Manchester

78 T J HUGHES (HOLDINGS) COMPANY 31/01/2010 266.71 261.31 3.58 2.36 4189 Retail Liverpool

79 UK CAR GROUP 30/09/2009 264.67 333.77 5.57 -12.66 655 Motor retail Rochdale

80 PARK GROUP 31/03/2010 263.19 250.54 5.27 6.24 278 Christmas savings Birkenhead

81 MEADOW FOODS (HOLDINGS) 31/03/2010 263.09 246.69 5.48 4.15 306 Food production Chester

82 HALEWOOD INTER’L HOLDINGS 30/06/2010 262.08 245.61 8.79 7.04 1121 Drinks production Huyton

83 CMA CGM (UK) SHIPPING 31/12/2009 258.40 355.15 -28.56 17.56 244 Shipping Liverpool

84 SEDDON GROUP 31/12/2009 253.10 246.44 8.05 1.27 1742 Construction Holmes Chapel

85 NOVELIS UK 31/03/2010 248.93 491.99 -1.64 -75.60 572 Metal recycling Warrington

86 TYCO FIRE & INTEG SOL (UK) 30/09/2009 241.93 228.36 -3.52 -17.08 1596 Fire protection Manchester

87 ELIOR UK 30/09/2010 241.75 256.28 3.17 -1.74 8437 Catering Macclesfield

88 BRUNNER MOND GROUP 31/03/2010 241.27 270.76 -4.17 -9.33 1401 Chemicals Northwich

89 IKO UK 31/12/2009 238.91 244.48 4.75 -2.00 1258 Roofing products Wigan

90 FMC TECHNOLOGIES 31/12/2009 238.79 216.47 41.32 27.30 819 Chemicals Manchester

91 CONVATEC 31/12/2009 238.39 215.96 40.92 55.63 990 Medical equipment Deeside

92 LUXFER HOLDINGS 31/12/2009 236.30 257.70 9.60 11.20 1440 Metal production Salford

93 GEORGIA-PACIFIC GB 31/12/2009 235.43 225.25 16.09 -47.85 914 Paper manufacturer Bolton

94 RULLION 31/12/2009 233.61 255.46 0.88 1.73 1375 Recruitment Altrincham

95 SP MANWEB 31/12/2009 232.10 224.50 95.50 86.80 8 Utilities Birkenhead

96 JOHNSON SERVICE GROUP 31/12/2010 227.40 229.30 4.20 20.60 5577 Dry cleaning Runcorn

97 WILLIAMS MOTOR CO (HOLDINGS) 31/12/2009 223.06 244.42 3.64 -0.64 492 Motor retailer Bolton

98 EXPRESS GIFTS 31/03/2010 221.42 229.44 -8.56 -16.66 1317 Mail order Hyde

99 BASELL POLYOLEFINS UK 31/12/2009 216.86 345.99 4.84 -2.36 210 Chemicals Urmston

100 THE REAL GOOD FOOD COMPANY 31/12/2009 215.61 218.66 1.63 -0.42 754 Food production Liverpool

101 VESTAS OFFSHORE UK 31/12/2009 214.64 78.43 2.95 -5.44 106 Wind technology Warrington

102 KINGSPAN 31/12/2009 211.03 314.32 12.26 21.27 516 Construction Holywell

103 DE POEL HOLDINGS 31/12/2009 209.56 230.27 -0.04 0.06 45 Software Knutsford

104 RENSHAWNAPIER 31/12/2009 205.82 200.73 3.31 2.62 437 Food production Liverpool

105 DATA SELECT NETWORK SOLUTIONS 30/04/2010 198.50 167.18 7.12 2.24 177 Internet services Manchester

106 THE FAYREFIELD GROUP 31/12/2009 194.66 248.25 2.78 2.84 106 Dairy products Crewe

107 CLARITY TECHNOLOGY 30/06/2010 194.16 274.28 -0.22 -0.07 176 Computing Warrington

108 ROMEC 31/12/2009 193.66 188.47 5.37 5.58 4215 Facilities management Stockport

109 INNOSPEC 31/12/2009 193.65 178.05 -22.51 77.75 381 Petrochemicals Ellesmere Port

110 EDWARD BILLINGTON & SON 31/08/2010 190.88 187.49 8.80 6.41 590 Food and agricultural prods Liverpool

35

Rank Company Name Most RecentAccountingDate

Turnover £mLast Year

Turnover £mPrevious Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mLast Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mPrevious Year

Number ofEmployees

Sector Location

111 JAMES HALSTEAD 30/06/2010 186.42 169.26 35.75 33.00 786 Floor coverings Manchester

112 NICE-PAK INTERNATIONAL 30/06/2010 186.33 172.84 6.67 5.92 905 Disposable wipes Flint

113 KOP FOOTBALL (HOLDINGS) 31/07/2009 184.78 161.79 -54.86 -40.91 474 Football Liverpool

114 SERVISAIR UK 30/09/2009 183.62 206.56 3.03 -1.10 5012 Airport services Runcorn

115 KME YORKSHIRE 31/12/2010 180.54 140.34 1.91 4.15 261 Metals manufacturer Kirkby

116 SHEARINGS GROUP 31/12/2009 180.44 183.71 0.92 0.95 2808 Travel Wigan

117 KNAUF INSULATION UK HOLDING 31/12/2009 180.12 181.95 43.02 41.27 597 Insulation manufacturer St Helens

118 VIP COMPUTER CENTRE 30/06/2010 176.75 159.69 2.87 2.04 154 Computer wholesaler Warrington

119 SCAPA GROUP 31/03/2010 176.70 174.00 -5.20 -9.30 1260 Adhesive tapes/ film Ashton U Lyme

120 HENRY BATH & SON 31/12/2009 174.73 83.68 81.35 21.68 106 Logistics Liverpool

121 CLARKE ENERGY HOLDINGS 31/10/2010 172.47 150.07 8.29 5.35 624 Power generators Liverpool

122 SWANSWAY GARAGES 31/12/2009 172.16 153.18 1.53 0.01 389 Motor retailer Crewe

123 JOHN WEST FOODS 31/03/2010 171.54 165.48 35.58 1.30 67 Food production Liverpool

124 NORCROS 31/03/2010 169.60 154.20 -10.00 -4.80 1593 Consumer products Wilmslow

125 RUSSELL HOBBS HOLDINGS 31/12/2009 168.27 100.64 8.33 3.01 216 Electrical appliances Manchester

126 MEDIAVEST (MANCHESTER) 28/02/2010 168.19 206.07 7.08 6.83 200 Advertising Manchester

127 THE CORBETT GROUP 31/03/2010 166.39 177.43 0.22 -0.05 222 Betting Deeside

128 PLEXUS COTTON 31/12/2009 164.41 312.71 0.11 -8.99 1271 Cotton trader Liverpool

129 WARWICK INTERNATIONAL 31/12/2009 163.16 59.10 0.30 -15.77 385 Chemicals Holywell

130 GLOBE UNION (UK) 31/12/2009 162.66 155.44 2.57 1.45 744 Kitchens and bathrooms Bolton

131 ZENTEUM 31/03/2010 159.72 154.84 2.37 2.60 27 Petrochemicals Crewe

132 EMERSON DEVELOPMENTS 30/04/2010 158.61 130.60 24.78 -6.18 645 Property developer Alderley Edge

133 CATALYST INVESTMENT HOLDINGS 31/12/2009 158.02 138.68 13.44 10.61 Financial services Manchester

134 RENOLD 31/03/2010 156.10 194.70 -13.60 2.90 2156 Power transmission products Manchester

135 WILLIAM HARE GROUP 31/12/2009 154.09 213.57 6.24 10.73 1573 Steel manufacturer Bury

136 FLEXTRONICS GLOBAL SERVICES 31/03/2010 153.85 80.54 14.30 0.39 287 Computer parts supplier Manchester

137 ASSESSMENT & QUALS ALLIANCE 30/09/2010 151.91 0.00 6.80 -21.35 1399 Academic examinations Manchester

138 HOMEFORM GROUP 31/03/2010 151.23 148.24 -6.05 -12.30 1349 Kitchens and bathrooms Manchester

139 MARPLACE (NUMBER 638) 30/06/2010 150.55 141.67 1.27 1.05 296 Drinks production Irlam

140 GLANBIA CHEESE 31/12/2010 150.27 123.45 9.55 2.69 336 Food production Northwich

141 DABS.COM 31/03/2010 148.99 193.70 0.88 4.70 247 Technology retailer Bolton

142 MONEYSUPERMARKET.COM GROUP 31/12/2010 148.89 136.87 11.02 3.18 433 Price comparison website Ewloe

143 TETROSYL GROUP 31/12/2009 147.76 81.02 7.84 6.00 1308 Car care products Bury

144 JP MCDOUGALL & CO 31/12/2009 147.60 156.20 -4.71 -1.36 1214 Paints distributor Altrincham

145 S NORTON & CO 31/12/2009 146.05 229.11 2.85 4.17 115 Scrap metal Liverpool

146 STERLING 2000 (HOLDINGS) 31/03/2010 145.53 199.92 0.29 0.45 1667 Construction related services Warrington

147 DAIRY FARMERS OF BRITAIN 31/12/2006 144.35 24.66 10.03 0.37 195 Food production Nantwich

148 SJM 31/12/2009 144.31 95.41 -2.85 0.29 34 Concert promoter Stockport

149 DANIEL CONTRACTORS 30/09/2009 141.65 183.16 1.04 3.36 1364 Civil engineers Warrington

150 STYLES & WOOD GROUP 31/12/2009 139.29 243.15 -1.81 -0.95 263 Shop fitters Altrincham

151 GHD GROUP HOLDINGS 31/12/2009 139.20 135.65 -4.93 7.71 574 Hair care products Manchester

152 THE CO-OPERATIVE PHARMACY 31/12/2009 138.15 142.74 -0.46 13.46 242 Pharmaceutical wholesale Rochdale

153 CALDER FINCO UK 31/05/2010 137.88 133.13 4.79 6.61 557 Metals manufacturer Chester

154 CSM (UNITED KINGDOM) 31/12/2009 137.55 134.23 3.38 5.02 667 Food production Bromborough

155 FLOWSERVE GB 31/12/2009 137.50 130.98 6.12 16.26 632 Pumping/valve manufacturer Manchester

36

THE TOP 200 TABLE

Rank Company Name Most RecentAccountingDate

Turnover £mLast Year

Turnover £mPrevious Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mLast Year

Profit (Loss)before Tax £mPrevious Year

Number ofEmployees

Sector Location

156 JERROLD HOLDINGS 30/06/2010 135.62 149.49 44.12 69.09 282 Financial services Manchester

157 COLOROLL 31/03/1989 134.11 131.94 2.96 4.98 2876 Home fashion

158 AIR ENERGI GROUP 31/12/2009 133.29 113.75 3.47 4.28 119 Recruitment Manchester

159 GLEN DIMPLEX HOME APPLIANCES 31/03/2010 133.22 133.74 7.23 -1.63 1046 Cooker manufacturer Prescot

160 ARJO WIGGINS FINE PAPERS 31/12/2009 133.10 180.40 -0.50 11.20 484 Paper manufacturer Manchester

161 DAVE WHELAN SPORTS 31/03/2010 132.66 0.00 4.75 0.00 1950 Fitness clubs Wigan

162 UMBRO INTERNATIONAL 31/05/2010 130.90 105.69 -41.43 14.33 212 Sportswear manufacturer Cheadle

163 ENER-G 31/03/2010 129.86 96.91 4.52 1.73 693 Energy services Salford

164 NALCO 31/12/2009 129.23 136.28 5.92 -3.88 623 Chemicals Northwich

165 BYROM 31/03/2010 128.63 15.49 4.17 1.78 223 Marketing consultants Cheadle

166 HARRY YEARSLEY 31/03/2010 126.87 141.50 5.27 3.45 1195 Food wholesaler Heywood

167 GRAHAM BELL (HOLDINGS) 31/12/2010 126.59 116.21 4.06 4.09 219 Sale of motor vehicles Winsford

168 MORRIS GROUP 31/03/2010 126.07 112.35 1.26 -11.88 233 House builder Wilmslow

169 MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB31/05/2010 125.05 87.03 -117.79 -89.69 413 Football Manchester

170 BRITTON FLEXIBLES 30/04/2010 124.83 142.55 0.78 -0.77 664 Chemicals Winsford

171 TIMPSON GROUP 30/09/2009 124.61 96.92 10.18 96.92 2633 Shoe repairing Manchester

172 MERSEYRAIL ELECTRICS 2002 31/12/2009 124.45 127.18 10.10 9.35 1147 Transport Liverpool

173 RYMAN GROUP 31/03/2010 123.44 117.45 4.67 4.14 2221 Stationery Crewe

174 EVERSHEDS LEGAL SERVICES 30/04/2010 123.30 151.42 0.00 0.00 2415 Law Manchester

175 GE COMM FINANCE FLT SERVICES 31/12/2009 122.04 120.24 15.45 -9.39 224 Vehicle leasing Sale

176 AMERICANA INTERNATIONAL 30/06/2010 121.58 109.34 -1.70 -8.63 659 Retailer Manchester

177 CROWN OIL 31/08/2010 120.34 103.12 4.14 0.28 90 Fuels distributor Bury

178 ISG REGIONS 30/06/2010 119.28 144.86 1.85 2.62 267 Construction Salford

179 HYDE INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS 30/09/2009 118.62 143.99 13.72 23.79 1091 Engineering Stalybridge

180 BROWNHILLS HOLDINGS 31/12/2005 118.08 118.62 -3.66 3.24 310 Investment holding company Manchester

181 DRL 31/03/2010 117.28 89.07 1.61 0.50 222 Retailer Bolton

182 MULTISOL GROUP 31/03/2010 117.18 113.40 6.75 5.40 128 Solvents distributor Nantwich

183 STELLA TRAVEL SERVICES (UK) 30/06/2010 113.88 138.55 -4.25 -10.12 414 Travel Deeside

184 NATIONAL TYRE SERVICE 31/12/2009 113.86 112.33 9.69 10.46 983 Tyre distribution Stockport

185 OPAL PROPERTY GROUP 30/09/2010 113.86 93.66 -5.01 -21.21 584 Student accommodation Manchester

186 HILL HIRE 31/12/2009 112.08 0.00 -18.98 -65.47 390 Vehicle leasing Chester

187 VITA CELLULAR FOAMS (UK) 31/12/2010 111.08 86.10 1.14 2.63 565 Foam manufacturer Manchester

188 AINSCOUGH CRANE HIRE 31/05/2010 109.74 128.65 19.41 30.03 984 Crane hire Wigan

189 BRADLEY HALL HOLDINGS 31/05/2010 109.74 128.65 -13.24 -7.84 984 Crane hire Wigan

190 ALFRED JONES (WARRINGTON) 30/04/2010 108.33 110.75 1.05 3.44 964 Retailer Warrington

191 SGS HOLDING UK 31/12/2009 107.22 100.50 12.04 100.50 1484 Product safety services Ellesmere Port

192 FAMCO HOLDINGS 31/01/2010 107.10 110.75 0.28 3.44 1229 Furniture manufacturer Prestwich

193 G & J SEDDON 31/12/2009 106.58 112.48 4.51 6.45 612 Construction Bolton

194 OLAER GROUP 31/12/2009 106.49 125.44 1.83 4.82 457 Hydraulic systems Deeside

195 AUSTIN TRUMANNS STEEL 30/06/2009 106.29 83.23 -1.50 6.54 68 Steel stockholder Manchester

196 SUTTONS TRANSPORT GROUP 30/04/2010 105.69 100.83 5.07 5.59 621 Transport Widnes

197 ALPLA UK 31/12/2009 104.47 106.14 9.62 -2.92 464 Plastics manufacturer Wigan

198 BIS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES 31/12/2010 103.04 36.60 4.91 1.51 1353 Engineering services Runcorn

199 MILLIKEN INDUSTRIALS 30/11/2010 102.84 86.55 7.05 4.54 669 Textile manufacturer Wigan

200 TROUW (UK) 31/12/2009 102.26 102.87 4.19 -1.71 154 Agricultural feeds Northwich

37

Rank Company Name Return on sale Turnover th GBP Last avail yr. Profit (Loss) before Taxth GBP Last avail yr.

1 URENCO UK 54% 440.182 237.899

2 HENRY BATH & SON 47% 174.732 81.351

3 TNT UK 42% 740.567 307.726

4 SP MANWEB PLC 41% 232.100 95.500

5 JERROLD HOLDINGS 33% 135.619 44.115

6 SCOTTISHPOWER (DCL) 30% 320.100 97.100

7 KNAUF INSULATION UK 24% 180.117 43.018

8 JOHN WEST FOODS 21% 171.537 35.576

9 UNITED UTILITIES GROUP 19% 2,439.100 474.200

10 JAMES HALSTEAD PLC 19% 186.424 35.751

11 AINSCOUGH CRANE HIRE 18% 109.739 19408

12 FMC TECHNOLOGIES 17% 238.794 413.22

13 CONVATEC 17% 238.387 40.919

14 NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO UK 16% 315.828 51.521

15 EMERSON DEVELOPMENTS (HOLDINGS) 16% 158.607 24.781

16 SWINTON (HOLDINGS) 13% 271.715 36.113

17 PZ CUSSONS PLC 13% 771.600 101.800

18 THE MANCHESTER AIRPORT GROUP PLC 13% 348.900 45.600

19 GE COMMERCIAL FINANCE FLEET SERVICES 13% 122.035 15.450

20 N BROWN GROUP PLC 12% 690.000 85.700

MOSTPROFITABLE

Rank Company Name Turnover change Turnover th GBP Last avail Yr. Turnover th GBPprevious year

1 TDG 2370% 662.000 26.800

2 NORWEST FOODS INTERNATIONAL 863% 589.083 61.198

3 BYROM 730% 128.634 15.493

4 DAIRY FARMERS OF BRITAIN 485% 144.347 24.662

5 MBNA EUROPE BANK 263% 2,436.000 671.000

6 WARWICK INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS 176% 163.159 59.099

7 VESTAS OFFSHORE UK 174% 214.640 78.432

8 HENRY BATH & SON 109% 174.732 83.681

9 FLEXTRONICS GLOBAL SERVICES (MANCHESTER) 91% 153.848 80.537

10 WARBURTONS HOLDINGS 89% 510.468 270.366

11 TETROSYL GROUP 82% 147.760 81.023

12 RUSSELL HOBBS HOLDINGS 67% 168.267 100.639

13 B & M RETAIL 67% 426.657 255.860

14 S.J.M. 51% 144.307 95.413

15 FIRCROFT ENGINEERING SERVICES 44% 404.900 280.632

16 MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB 44% 125.050 87.033

17 VEHICLE LEASING (4) 35% 32.4517 240.050

18 ENER-G PLC 34% 129.863 96.907

19 DRL 32% 117.279 89.069

20 REDROW 32% 396.900 301.800

FASTESTGROWING

38

39

IN THE COUNTRY

ITS NOT all chimney stacks andgasometers in the “industrial”North West.

Even in places like St Helens,there is thriving rural economywoven in and around the disusedcoal mines and glass factories.

John Whaling, economicdevelopment manager at StHelens council, believes theregion’s rural economy plays animportant role.

“The rural economy is not justcarrots and cows,” he said.

“It’s actually any economyactivity that takes place in what isthe majority of the city regionland mass.

“There’s a fundamentalmisperception of what the ruraleconomy is – agriculture is onlyabout 9% of the UK ruraleconomy.

“The rural economy ismainstream economicdevelopment activity that justhappens to be taking place in thenon-urban economy.”

Mr Whaling acknowledgesthat the diversity ofLiverpool and thesurrounding landscapemakes it difficult to define.

A report by consultantsRural Innovation, settingout an economic strategyfor rural Merseyside, GreenZone 2025, took morethan 500 words

to attempt to do so. In essence, itlooks at each council ward andassessed whether its primary landuse was rural or urban.

This does throw up someapparent anomalies, an examplebeing large employment sitesincluding Daresbury’s Scienceand Innovation Campus, and thehospitals at Arrowe Park andClatterbridge, are all categorisedas part of the rural economy.

However, it is in step with otherregions where, for example, theBAE campuses at Salmesbury andWarton, in Lancashire, employ11,000 people and yet areconsidered to be rural.

Mr Whaling said: “Ourdefinition of rural economy iseconomic activity taking place inwhat is defined as a rural area.

“We amalgamated a number offactors. A definition by theDepartment for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) isvery restrictive, so we looked atother definitions and came upwith our own definition.

“The principle and the factsremain the same – economicactivity taking place in a rural

environment is a largepart of the region’s

economy.”The most recent

analysis found that22% of Merseyside’seconomic output came

from rural areas,generated across the full

range of industry sectors.The output per worker is

higher in the ruralareas than the

urban areas.

The rural economy also has directlinks to the four areas identifiedas key drivers for the sub-region’seconomy – visitor economy,low-carbon, superport, whichincludes distribution, andknowledge economy.

The Green Zone 2025 reporthighlights a key, but indirect,economic contribution of ruralareas. It attracts and hosts manyof the highly-skilled and talentedpeople that drive the private,public and third sector deliveringwealth, public services and socialjustice.”

There is an obvious sensitivityaround talking up investment inthe rural economy, with concernsabout taxpayers’ reaction tomoney being spent on low carbonprojects and flood alleviationschemes while frontline publicservices are being squeezed.

The Rural Development

Programme for England (RDPE)is jointly funded by thegovernment and the EuropeanAgricultural Fund for RuralDevelopment.

Although the UK spendingreview hit Defra’s funding,exchange rate movements meantthat the money coming fromEurope was converted into morethan originally expected, whichplugged the gap.

The North West’s RDPEprogramme is worth £374m overits five-year life, to 2013.

Natural England and theForestry Commission isdelivering the bulk, with £299mallocated for livestockprogrammes and stewardship,such as woodland creation andmanagement.

The remainder is targeted atmore general economicdevelopment within a rural

setting. As it stands, it’s one of thefew areas where there is stillpublic funding from Governmentand Europe,” said Mr Whaling.

“There’s huge untappedpotential to unlock more of thegreat competitiveness and greatereconomic output from what wetake for granted every day.

“We recognise that it’s not thetop of the agenda, but we feel ithas a key and bigger role topotentially play in the widereconomy and regenerativeimpetus of the city region.”

He added: “It’s not the be-alland end-all.

“It’s significant, but it’s not thekey driver.

“It has a key role to play but it’snot at the centre. But it requiresgreater attention and cultivation.It’s a lot more than just farmingand agriculture.

“We need to work creativelywithin the legislative andplanning boundaries, to beinnovative and to maximise theproductivity of our land andcreate new business space,without destroying what makes itappealing.”

‘Theruraleconomyisnot justcarrotsandcows’by BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

JohnWhaling

KEY ROLE TO POTENTIALLY PLAY IN THEWIDER ECONOMY AND REGENERATIVEIMPETUS OF THE CITY REGION

BAESystemssite inWarton,Lancashire;DaresburyLaboratory,left, andArroweParkHospital,right

40

Region’sbossesbetterpaidthanFTSE-100directors

THE TOP EARNERS

DIRECTORS of businesses acrossthe North West are receivingsalaries far above the nationalaverage for their peers at the helmof FTSE 100-listed companies.

The average salary for the 10best-paid directors in the Top 200was £3.9m last year.

This figure falls to an averageof £2.6m for the top 20 best-paiddirectors.

By contrast, the average basicsalary for directors of FTSE100-listed companies in 2010 was£625,252, according to thePensions Investment ResearchConsultants (PIRC). Whenbonuses and pensioncontributions are taken intoaccount, the average total cashremuneration of FTSE-100directors was £2.2m.

Here in the North West, thehighest paid director – whoreceived a salary of £6.9m – wasidentified to be at the helm ofStockport-based concertpromoters SJM. While theaccounts don’t name theindividual receiving this pay, it islikely to be company founderSimon J Moran.

A director at Warrington-basedEuropean Metal Recyclingreceived £6m, while the highestpaid director at insurance giantSwinton (Holdings) received£4.9m.

In fifth position is a director ofTJ Morris, who was paid £3.2m.Again, the accounts don’t identifythe individual, but it is likely tobe founder Tom Morris.

TJ Morris operates thediscount store chainHomeBargains which currentlyhas 200 shops nationwide – anumber it intends to increase to500 stores by 2018.

Many of the Top 200 companiesare private companies wheredirectors’ pay can often be used asan alternative to dividends as amethod to distribute profit.

Professor of Leadership atManchester Business SchoolChris Bones has advised thecoalition government, the Bank ofEngland and a wide variety ofblue-chip companies.

Prior to becoming an academic,he was director of grouporganisation with CadburySchweppes and spent more than adecade in various seniorexecutive roles with drinkscompany Diageo.

Prof Bones said: “It is difficult,if not impossible, to makejudgements about theappropriateness of directors’ pay.

"This is partly because we havelost any sense of relative worthbetween directors and the rest ofthe workforce.

“And it’s partly because the'talent myth' has made theperceived worth of an individualin the recruitment market abigger driver of reward than theirperformance.

"Neither of these can be abeneficial influence if you are anowner as they drive neitherconcern for the well-being of theenterprise as a whole or formaximising the owner's financialreturns over the medium-to-long

term. It was Sir RichardGreenbury in his 1995 report whospecifically addressed directorremuneration.

"Along with recommendationson transparency and on limitingservice contracts – and thereforepay-offs – to 12 months he made itclear that the pay of those at thetop should be set with reference tothe pay of those in the rest of thecompany.

"It is a principle that today is

more honoured in the breach thanthe observance. Today'scomparators are more often thannot an external peer group,carefully chosen to flatter – as onegets an increase so averageremuneration increases as aresult, so everyone else gets anincrease in order to stay in touchwith the average."

A director at the North West'sonly FTSE 100-listed company,Warrington-based UnitedUtilities, does not feature withinthe list of the region's 20 best paidcompany directors.

A United Utilities' director isranked 108 on the list with atake-home salary of £250,000 ayear. This is likely to be recently

resigned chief executive PhilipGreen.

Prof Bones continued:"Directors take specific andonerous responsibilities andshould be rewarded for them.

“However, they rely on the hardwork and enterprise of manyothers less well rewarded thanthemselves.

“And it is the relative level ofrewards that should be of interestto owners and potential investorsalike.

"If director rewards head over20-30 times the average paid toeveryone else they should berequired to explain, not just interms of market forces, why theirjob is more significant."

by BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

'TALENT MYTH' HAS MADE PERCEIVEDWORTH OF AN INDIVIDUAL A BIGGERREWARD DRIVER THAN PERFORMANCE

Rank Company Name Best-paiddirectors (£000)

1 S.J.M. 6,966

2 EUROPEAN METAL RECYCLING 6,007

3 SWINTON (HOLDINGS) 4,972

4 TJ MORRIS 3,249

5 BIBBY LINE GROUP 3,066

6 AMEC 2,127

7 WILLIAM HARE GROUP 2,064

8 MATALAN RETAIL 2,000

9 MANCHESTER CITY 1,956

10 MANCHESTER UNITED 1,953

High rollers:Former UnitedUtilities chiefexecutive PhilipGreen, left, SimonMoran, above, andSir Michael Bibby

41

For further information contact GrantMcNab 07977 069 589 or grant.mcnab@stobartdevelopments.com

abrighter place for businessThe space to develop:

90 acres of land available nowwith outline conscent forimmediate development forlogistics, light industrial orwarehouse use.

Communications:

M56, M62 just 4m via dualcarriageway, M6 8m. Linkeddirectly to theWCM via on-sitecontainer port. Manchester 24m,Liverpool 10m.

Facilities:

On-site container port and rail-head, adjacent to the site of thenewMersey Gateway Bridge,associated port nearby. Biomassenergy plant planned for the site.

Neighbours in the know!

The UK’s biggest name in retailand the country’s best knowntransport and logisticsbusiness have already sitedmajor facilities at Stobart Park.

42

GIVEN the acres of newsprintdevoted to our beloved game, youmight think the North Westsporting economy simply revolvedaround the lights of Old Trafford,Eastlands, Goodison or Anfield.

To be sure, the collective powerof the region’s now sevenPremiership teams (sorryBlackpool), not to mention thefact that both Manchester clubswill play Champions Leaguefootball next season, is not to besniffed at.

Indeed the North West’s topfour clubs (the two Manchesterplus two Liverpool clubs) wereamong the world’s top 30 revenuegenerating clubs in 2009/10according to the Deloitte FootballMoney League. But a glance atour ranking in this guide of thelargest companies in the NorthWest ranked by turnover showsthat not one of our quartetappears in our top 50 – not eventhe Red Devils.

Instead we find a sportingbusiness of a slightly differentkind topping our tree, albeit abusiness run by as big a Reds fanas you'll find anywhere, namelyFred Done.

Done's Warrington-basedbetting empire – which boastssome 840 shops – has been one ofthe great success stories of NorthWest business in recent times.

But given its private ownershipit has been a success that untilnow has been somewhat muted.Not any longer though, not sinceDone's £285m purchase of thestate-owned Tote was completedthis summer, another NorthWest-based betting businesswhich is itself one of the biggestcompanies in the region.

The sale of the Wigan-basedTote – which comprises of aracecourse pool betting service,517 shops plus online and phonebetting operations – saw morefalse starts than a Grand Nationalwith efforts by the government tosell the business repeatedlyfailing in recent years. Now thatthe sale has gone through, it isalmost inevitable that Fred Donewill remain top of the pile in thisregion for many years to come.

Business founder Fred Donesaid: “Yes, it is fair to say we werenot everyone’s first choice, butsince the announcement wasmade I have had a load of textsand calls from people in theindustry saying ‘OK, now let’swork together’.”

Between them Betfred and Toteemploy almost 5,000 people in theregion, while another North Westbetting business StanleyInternational Betting is also oneof the region's biggest companies.But even their combined strengthis dwarfed by the wider might ofthe North West sporting industryas a whole.

Recent estimates suggest up to100,000 people are employed insport-related businesses in theregion generating around £6.5bn ayear for the economy.

Like elsewhere in the country,sport has become an increasinglysignificant part of the regionaleconomy, but its rate of growth inthe North West has outstrippedthe rest of the UK.

For instance between 1998 and2006 there was a 60% increase insport-related employmentin the North Westcompared to a nationalaverage of 40%.

More recent figures arehard to come by and it iscertain that rates ofgrowth across the boardwill have been dampenedby the downturn.

But Judith Rasmussen,strategic head fornorthern England atSport England, says theNorth West is now firmlyestablished as one of thetop three regions in theUK in terms of thecontribution of itssporting economy, with aconsumer spend runningat around £2bn a year.

Rasmussen says thestrength of the region isdue to an amalgamationof factors. "Obviously theNorth West has a lot ofPremiership footballclubs, but it also has astrong history and legacyof sporting events, while it alsohas its continued strong networkof suppliers such as kitmanufacturers."

Sheldon Phillips, head of majorevents at the NorthwestDevelopment Agency (NWDA),puts it in even starker terms.

"There is no doubt that sport issimply more important to theNorth West than to some otherparts of the country.

“We are probably only secondto the South East in terms of oursporting economy, but we have agreat emotional attachment tosport here too which counts for alot."

Rasmussen adds that theNWDA, which like other regionaldevelopment agencies is nowbeing wound down by thegovernment to be replaced byLocal Enterprise Partnerships(LEPs), has played a key role inselling the North West to thewider international market overthe past decade or so, a campaignwhich has seen a host of majorinternational events such asswimming and cyclingchampionships come to the NorthWest for the first time. "TheNWDA also played a key role interms of making sport an anchorto the redevelopments of a specificredevelopment sites such asSportcity," she adds.

Like many involved in grassroots sport, Rasmussen fears thatsuch momentum could now be

lost with the loss of RDAs. "Withthe coalition government it is acompletely different agenda. Asan organisation we are nodifferent and at the moment thereis no extra cash on the table. Thechallenge is to do more with lessand look at different models ofdelivery."

Such a mantra is also heardwidely in the corridors of localgovernment these days. AddsRasmussen: "When it comes to itssporting agenda, the likes ofManchester City Council has todecide where it thinks it can havea beneficial impact given itsbudget constraints. The city has,for instance, used sport as afantastic driver of development atEastlands."

Phillips believes the city willpull out all the stops to ensure

such development can continue."Both Manchester and Liverpoolrecognise the power of majorsporting events in terms ofdriving the economy andregeneration. I am fairlyconfident that will continuedespite the current financialpressures."

Part of the answer willnaturally come from sportingclubs themselves meeting counciland regeneration bodies half wayon major projects. Talking ofEastlands, earlier this springManchester City signed a £1bnagreement with the city counciland New East Manchester todevelop more land around thestadium into sporting facilities.Meantime construction work isstill continuing at the site with anew £24m national indoor BMXcentre the latest piece of theEastlands sporting jigsaw.

Phillips says continuedinfrastructure projects such as atEastlands are crucial to thecontinued success of the region'ssporting economy. "Contrary towhat some might think, there is

still plenty of development goingon with the new rugby stadiumsin Salford and St Helens comingalong, not to mention a great newindoor space at the LiverpoolEcho Arena. In terms of theheritage angle, we also have thenational football museumreopening in Manchester thisyear."

Add to that list you can also addthe £70m plans of LancashireCounty Cricket Club to redeveloptheir Old Trafford ground. Theclub is confident the plans willeventually be passed despite aprotracted legal challenge bybillionaire Albert Gubay, whoowns the nearby White Valley

Thegrowingcloutofsport

NORTH WEST’S TOP FOUR CLUBS WEREAMONG THE WORLD’S TOP 30 REVENUEGENERATING CLUBS IN 2009/10

JIM PENDRILLBusiness Correspondent

SPORTING ECONOMY

Old Trafford, Manchester,will host Champions Leaguefootball again and this yearCity captained by CarlosTeves, below, will also bepart of the most profitableclub tournament

43

asNWclubs leadtheway

Wayne Rooney, John Terry, David Beckham and Glen Johnson model the new Umbro England away kit

retail park, to thwart thedevelopment.

Phillips adds that anotherdevelopment not to be overlookedis the imminent relocation of BBCSport to MediaCity at SalfordQuays. "There will be businessesthat support sports media activitywho will move to the region onthe back of this and that willcreate more employment in thesector too."

Back to our ranking of theregion's top sporting players andanother sub sector that hassignificant value to the regionaleconomy is retail, with the listheaded by the giants of the highstreet JD Sports and JJB Sports.

However like the rest of theretail world, the icy chill of thedownturn has severely dented thesports retail bubble. Last monthWigan-based JJB warnedinvestors that its plan torestructure the business couldtake up to five years as it reportedpre-tax losses of more than £181min the year to January 30, withrevenues up just 0.5 per cent to£362.9m. The company is pinningits hopes on new product ranges,a store refurbishment programmeand an improved online range toturn things around.

The picture is rosier atBury-based retailer JD SportsFashion, which makes the top 25

of our overall 200 ranking. Thecompany continues to recordstrong sales and profits despitewhat it says are the “multipleeconomic pressures” facing thebusiness, although it warns that itis “extremely cautious” in itsoutlook for 2011.

The company posted a pre-taxprofit of £78.6m in the year to 29January 2011, up from £61.4m theprevious year, while revenues roseto £883.7m.

Meanwhile the outlook for theregion's top football clubs stilllooks remarkably strong despitethe wider economic pressures. Nosurprises that the biggest club inour 200 ranking is ManchesterUnited which is now estimated tobe worth in the region of £2bn.Perhaps just as startling is thestatistic that the club has 14million subscribers to itsFacebook page while its fan baseis thought to be around 140million. So while the defeat toBarcelona in the ChampionsLeague final may have hurt theclub’s pride, it would have donelittle to dent the club’s pockets.The same can be said for the cityof Manchester in general whichwill benefit from both of itsclubs playing ChampionsLeague football next season.

Things aren’t quite asrosy down the M62.Liverpool FC recentlyposted a pre-tax loss of £20min their last financial year toJuly 2010, although the clubstress that the results are a"footnote" to the reignof former owners

Tom Hicks and George Gillett.During the year revenuesincreased to £184m but net debtalso rose to £123m. However theclub say that since the end of thelast financial year new ownerFenway has paid off £200m ofacquisition debt while the clubhas also signed its largest evershirt sponsorship deal withStandard Chartered.

Beyond our own ‘big four’ it isworth noting though that theregion’s clubs generated morethan £900m revenue in the 2009/10season, while the region’s 20professional clubs have around3,000 full-time employees.According to Deloitte’s SportsBusiness Group, around £800mhas also been invested in theregion’s stadiums in recent timestoo.

Talking of kit deals, our regionis also still home to a string of theworld’s best knownmanufacturers including Adidas,Reebok, New Balance, Asics andUmbro, while many other NorthWest businesses in the design andmarketing arena have strong linkswith the industry. For instance

Merseyside digitalmarketing agency

Carpe Diem recentlywon a pan-Europeancontract to designonline advertising

campaigns for Asics.Sports

management is alsoa growing industry,typified byCheshire-based

InternationalSportsManagement,which

manages the careers of dozens ofwell-known sportsmen. Thebusiness recently stretched itswings across the pond, acquiringRule 1.02 Marketing, a New Jerseymarketing consultancy.

Marketing and brandpositioning also come into play asthe region continues to positionitself as global centre for sportingevents, typified by the tremendoussuccess Manchester has achievedsince the Commonwealth Gamesin bringing new sports to the city.Today that drive extends toconcepts such as the recent ‘GreatWeekend of Sport’ which featuredthe 10k Great Manchester Run,street sprinting on a speciallymade athletics track downDeansgate, and the GreatManchester Swim at SalfordQuays. As Phillips extols: “Thewhole weekend generated terrificmedia coverage. It really keepsthe city brand out there. Liverpoolalso has great strengths now withits waterfront offering at the EchoArena.”

And finally, what of 2012? Theextent to which regions like theNorth West will benefit from theLondon Olympics has been thesource of much debate in recentyears. What is known is that onthe sporting front we will at leastsee some of the football action,while several of our businesseshave also worked on theinfrastructure at the Olympic siteitself. These companies will nowbe better placed to bid for othersporting contracts either here oroverseas. As Phillips adds: “Thesecompanies can tap into contractsfor the World Cup and Olympicsin Brazil. That’s a real lastinglegacy for business.”

SheldonPhillips

Fans queuefor ticketsat Anfield

44

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Agility is the key to theNorth West’s successPwC’s senior partners in Liverpool andManchester offer advice for regional businessesTHE environment in which UKbusinesses operate hasfundamentally changed, alteringthe shape of business for manyyears to come.

It has been a testing time forNorth West businesses. Against abackdrop of public spending cuts,constrained credit conditionsand low business and consumerconfidence, the last year has beena difficult one for UK plc.

PwC’s annual global CEOsurvey showed that CEOscontinue to have major concernsabout the ongoing fear ofrecession, public debt and deficit,and the need to implementgreater cost-reduction initiativesthan expected.

Challenging economicconditions, coupled withdecreasing trust in markets,increasing pressures on naturalresources and significantchanges in customer andemployee demographics all meanthat we won’t be returning to‘business as usual’.

The economic outlook suggeststhat the UK is in for a period ofrelatively low growth.

The GDP for the final quarterof 2010 has recently been revised

to -0.6% and the current GDPforecast for the next 12 months is1.8% – far lower than historicgrowth rates.

At the same time, UKbusinesses are also likely toexperience a range ofinflationary pressures, such asfuel and wages – a potentialdouble whammy which will putpressure on margins.

We believe that in this climate,businesses need to look at howthey will create competitiveadvantage and continue todeliver shareholder value.

Simplifying business processBusinesses need to re-think the

way they operate. They need toreduce organisational complexityand create more flexible, scalableoperating models which arecapable of quickly responding tonew market opportunities andoperating at a lower cost.

In short, to maintaincompetitive advantage and besuccessful, businesses need tobecome more agile.

Many businesses operate withfragmented and duplicatedbusiness processes andsub-optimal use of technology.

This can reduce theorganisation’s ability to mobiliseresources in pursuit of marketopportunities, slow downorganisational responses andincrease operating costs.

Business benefitsAn ‘agile enterprise’ is one in

which the corporate structure,channels, processes, systems anddata are simplified, standardisedand aligned in an operatingmodel designed torespond efficiently tomarket changes.

Introducing moreagility in businessbrings many benefitsin terms of customerexperience,performance andemployeesatisfaction.

A greaterunderstanding ofconsumer behaviourallows businesses todevelop markets,products andservices, provide better customerservice, and build customerloyalty.

Business performance can beimproved through simpler, fasterand cheaper processes and ITsystems.

This can lead to significantfinancial improvements as moreefficient organisations are able togrow and deliver withoutincreasing their cost base.

In terms of employeesatisfaction, stripping away timeconsuming and repetitive tasksmeans that staff feel empowered

to drive change and improvetheir skills.

More successful and stableorganisations provide greaterlong term employment prospectstoo.

Agility leads to growthSome companies are making

great strides and offer insightsinto the hallmarks of agility: acommon vision and a culture ofcontribution to constant change.

Agile and flexiblebusinesses will besuccessful andcontinue to delivermarket growth,despite difficulttrading conditions.

With more than250,000 businesses inthe region, theNorth West has aconsiderable role toplay in the UK’seconomic recovery.

The most resilientorganisations acrossthe region are

flexing their operating models toadapt, and positive news isstarting to emerge.

For instance, the digital andcreative, environmentaltechnology, manufacturing andbio-medicine sectors arereporting strong performance,and fantastic opportunities lieahead in renewable energy.

Help is at handHaving worked with many

organisations across a variety ofindustry sectors, PwC hasdeveloped an approach to assist

its clients in identifyingopportunities for significantimprovements in order to helpthem adapt to change.

If you’d like to hear moreabout how PwC can make yourbusiness more agile, itsconsulting team can help.

Just contact our partner, NeilMcTiffin, in the consultancypractice via email:neil.mctiffin@uk.pwc.com.

This is just one of the topicscovered in PwC’s ‘Essentials’seminar programme, which isrun regularly for senior financeprofessionals across the NorthWest. If you would like to find outmore about the sessions, pleaseemail: nw.events@uk.pwc.com.

■ For more information onPwC’s services, or if you wouldlike an informal chat aboutyour business, please contactsenior partners JonathanMain in Liverpool onjonathan.main@uk.pwc.comor Nick Boden in Manchester onnick.boden@uk.pwc.com.

www.pwc.co.uk/north

Nick Boden, PwC’s senior partner in Manchester

Jonathan Main, PwC’s senior partner in Liverpool

‘Tobesuccessful,businessesneed tobecomemoreagile’

45

Thebiggestofthebigfightfortopspot intheregion

Done’splantounlockthevalueofTote

Fred Done: Saw off string of rival bids

THE 30 largest companiesin the region are a dynamicbunch.

Even as the Top 200 wasbeing prepared thesituation was proving fluidas Fred Done acquired sixthplaced Tote.

Another top firm,distribution business TDG,is going through the throesof merging its operationswith Norbert Dentressangleafter the French firmacquired it in the spring.

MBNA Europe Bank, thecredit card business ownedby Bank of America, hasestablished itself as one ofthe region’s biggestemployers in the almost two

decades it has been inBritain. March UK’s highranking reflects itsownership of both homeshopping group Shop Directand Home DeliveryNetwork. It also reflects theresilience of the businessthat used to be Littlewoods.Probably doomed tofinancial collapse in itsformer incarnation as acatalogue and high street

retailer, the enterprisinginvestment of its currentowners, Sir Freddie and SirDavid Barclays, hastransformed its fortunes asthey have turned it into amodern day online retailer.

Another business thatmarks a relatively recentarrival at the top of theNorth West’s league of bigcompanies is TalkTalk. Itwas last year demerged

from Carphone Warehouseto become a major fixed lineand broadband competitorto BT with a headquartersat Daresbury. Through whatwas Opal Telecom, it alsooffers a business tobusiness service.

Making an appearance atnumber 30 is TJ Morris,reflecting the recent rapidexpansion of the discountretailer that didn’t let the

recent recession deter itfrom its growth plans. If theoperator of theHomeBargains store chaincontinues to achieve itsplanned growth trajectory,it will certainly movefurther up future Top 200rankings.

At the same time,established names likeBibby and Princes continueto grow.

'AND RIGHT` said Fred!Congratulations are inorder to Betfred and its bossFred Done who celebrateshis place at the top of ourtree after achieving alifetime ambition when his£265m bid for thestate-owned Tote wasapproved earlier thismonth.

For Mr Done it was botha business and personaltriumph after he saw off notjust a string of rival bidsbut also the racingestablishment which hadlargely made it clear theydidn't want to see Mr Donein charge of the historicTote.

Instead, most industryleaders chose to back theSports Investment Partners’bid, a consortium led byBritish Airways chairmanSir Martin Broughton –which if successful wouldhave led to an immediateflotation of the business.

The deal also representedthe end of a long-runningsaga in the government'sefforts to offload the Tote. Inthe end the politicalnecessity of selling off astate asset in thesehardened times, andparticularly one whichreally didn't need to be inthe state's hands at all,forced the pace on a dealwith the coalitiongovernment announcing

that the sale process wasback on within weeks oftaking power 12 monthsago.

So what now? Well, MrDone plans to expand theTote's pool bettingoperations internationallyand in the UK, as well asthe number of bettingshops. For his money, MrDone has picked up thefamous racecourse poolbetting service, a chain of517 shops, and – of course –the ever more significantonline and phone bettingoperations.

For privately-ownedBetfred and its owner it is ahuge move, not just for theWarrington business but interms of its wider and nowfar more public profile.

Betfred itself currentlyhas 840 betting shops andMr Done believes he isperfectly placed to unlockthe value of the Tote whichis headquartered just downthe road in Wigan. Giventhe proximity of the twobusinesses there willinevitably be some job cutsto make the combinedbusiness as efficient as

possible, but Mr Done hasinsisted he will keep theseto a minimum. The dealwill also help him close thegap on the big three in thebetting industry – Coral,Ladbrokes and William Hill.

For 68-year-old Mr Done,who runs the £3.5bnbusiness with his youngerbrother Peter, there mustinevitably be a feeling thatall this expansion (thoughentirely logical) and morepublic persona has come alittle late in his extra-ordinary career (he openedhis first betting shop whenhe was 24). Indeed headmitted as much duringthe hustings to take overthe Tote. Things would havebeen very different if thebrothers had decided tofloat the business back in2007, but their reluctance tobet at least part of thebusiness on the stockmarket has provedwell-founded given therollercoaster of the marketsin recent times. However ifthe group gets much biggerthere will inevitably becalls for the brothers to lookat a listing again.

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitDone Brothers£3,502m/£0.36m

1

by BILL GLEESONBusiness EditorLiverpool Daily Post

46

ConsultancyservingthepowersectorGLOBAL engineeringspecialist AMEC isheadquartered inKnutsford, Cheshire, andhas sites across the NorthWest in Chester,Birchwood,Barrow-in-Furness andManchester.

Over the last five yearsthe business has moved outof its troubled interests inUK-based PFI projects torefocus as a consultancyserving the oil and gas,water and environmental,nuclear and powergeneration sectors.

Last month the companymade one of its mostsignificant everacquisitions when it paid$280m for US projectmanagement companyMactec which wasmajority owned by NauticPartners, a US private

equity firm.Mactec is based in

Georgia and employs 2,600staff. Amec says the dealwill enhance its presence"east of the Mississippi"and was consistent withtheir strategy of increasingexposure to environmentalremediation and waterresources sectors.

Mactec held gross assetsof $283m at the end of lastyear during which itgenerated earnings beforeinterest and tax of $32m.

Chief executive Samir

Brikho hinted that moredeals could soon be in theoffing too.

"We still have marketswhere we areunder-represented," hesaid.

"This acquisition is fullyaligned with AMEC'sVision 2015 growthstrategy and providesAMEC with the right scaleto service this importantand growingenvironmental andinfrastructure engineeringservices market."

Giant portable floodlight lets Amec construction workers continue through the nightand, inset, Chief Executive Samir Brikho

EfficiencythechallengeforgiantutilityEARLIER this summer theUK's largest listed waterutility revealed that theregulatory price review inthe water industry had hitsales and profits asrevenues from continuingoperations fell by £60m to£1.5bn in the year to March31, 2011, while underlyingpre-tax profits were 32%lower at £329m.

Industry regulator Ofwathad previously ordered theWarrington-based companyto cut its prices by 4.3%,while the cost ofinfrastructure renewals andproperty rates alsoimpacted on results.

Chief executive SteveMogford, who took the helmof United Utilities in Marchwhen he succeeded PhilipGreen, said the 4% cut inrevenues reflected theregulator's price review"translating through".

This year the businesswill have to cut prices byanother 0.2%.

Mogford's appointmentwas something of a surprisein the City. He was formerlychief executive of Essexdefence electronicscompany Selex which hehad led since it was spunout of BAE Systems andsold to Italy's Finmeccanicathree years ago.

However it was widelyexpected that Mr Greenwould step down aftercompleting the majorrestructuring of UU overthe past four years whichhas seen it focus on itsUK water andwastewater business.

In so doing, thecompany has completedthe £600m sale of itsnon-regulated assets.

Mr Mogford toldinvestors that thebusiness was nowpushing through amajor efficiencyprogramme up until2015 and pledged tomake £50m ofoperational savings bythat date. The companysays it is well positioned tohit the target, not least afterwinning union backing forchanges to its pensionscheme which will reducethe deficit and futurefunding costs. Mogford toldinvestors that thecompany's aim was tobecome the UK's leading

water company."We are focused on

providing the best service,at the lowest sustainablecost and in a responsiblemanner, for the long-termbenefits of our customers,our shareholders and theenvironment."

To that end the companyhas recently announced astring of related initiatives.

For instance it has madea £100m investment in itsDavyhulme wasteprocessing plantwhich generates gas

TOP 30 PROFILES

power; while its £120minvestment in the West EastLink pipeline connectingManchester and Liverpoolis scheduled to open thisyear and will allow thecompany to transfer wateraround the region moreeasily.

In a rather more quirkydeal, the company alsorecently teamed up withDirect Tyre Management to

convert old tyresinto useful

products suchas playgroundand sportssurfaces.

Turnover/profitAMEC£2,950.6m/£258.2m

2

Turnover/profitUNITED UTILITIES£2,439.1m/ £474.2m

3

United Utilitieschief executiveSteve Mogford,who joined thecompany inMarch 2011

47

48

Innovation inonlineworldINNOVATION remains thename of the game at Bank ofAmerica’s European creditcard arm, which operatesunder the MBNA brand.

Like all its competitors,MBNA, which remainsChester's largest employer, isbusy working out how best toserve its customers in today'sonline and increasinglyvirtual world, yet at the sametime keep security numberone.

For instance earlier thisspring the bank announcedthat the first AmericanExpress-branded, contactlesscredit cards in the UK will beissued for use by MBNA'scustomers.

The move is part of aphased initiative by MBNA toissue contactless-enabledcards for new andreplacement credit cards forall of its UK customers. To usetheir new contactless cards,customers simply touch thecard at payment terminalsthat display the contactlesssymbol and AmericanExpress logo without the needto enter their PIN.

Naturally alongside the

move MBNA has added layersof security to its customers'credit cards. For example,contactless cards cannot beused until a PIN is entered onfirst use. Payments arelimited to up to £15 pertransaction, and customerswill occasionally be asked toenter their PIN for securitypurposes.

Meanwhile MBNA has alsolaunched new online bankingservices under the banner ofOnline Card Services. Theseinclude providing step-by-stepguidance on how to get themost from online banking;more concise content; andbetter navigation of the site.The bank has also launched anew mobile phone serviceenabling UK customers to textfor their credit cardinformation. By using the

new Mobile Banking Textservice, customers can usetheir mobile phone to getcredit card accountinformation, includingbalance, payments andtransactions, by simplytexting to a dedicated number.

As Ian Craig, Sales, Serviceand Operations executive forBank of America Europe CardServices, explained: "Ourcustomers' needs andexpectations are changing.They want greater control andchoice in managing theirfinances, and they want to doso in a way that fits theirlifestyles. Newer technology,including mobile phonefunctionality, SMS, theInternet and voice recognitionsystems are transforming theway our customers expect usto interact with them." Ian O'Doherty, Europe Card Executive for Bank of America

TastytargetfortakeoverWITH failed Icelandic bankLandesbanki poised to sell its67% stake, the battle for thefrozen food specialist couldturn out to be one of thetastiest on the high streetthis autumn.

Although the sale process isnot expected to beginofficially until September, thebig guns are already lining upas the guessing game as towho will make the first movebuilds by the week.

While the majority of thehigh street continues to behard hit by the post-recessionheadwinds, food retail has forobvious reasons escapedrelatively unscathed.

That said, the sectorcontinues to go throughserious realignment as the bigplayers rush to ensure theyhave the right offering andfoothold in various parts ofthe country, whether it belarger stores or convenienceoffering.

For instance Morrisons,under relatively new chiefexecutive Dalton Philips, hasaggressively been outbiddingrivals to secure new stores,while also opening its firstconvenience stores next

month along the M62 corridor.No surprises then that it

has already been rumoured tohave been talking to itsbankers over a potential£1.8bn bid for Iceland whichhas 780 stores.

Given their wider plans theBradford giant must remainone of the favourites to pickup a fair number of the stores.

However fellow Yorkshireretailer Asda will also beexpected to lodge a bid too.

And then there's MalcolmWalker, the founder and chiefexecutive of Iceland, whotogether with managementholds a 23% stake in thebusiness, and will be sure tobe putting his own bidtogether.

Mr Walker has been back atthe helm of the company since2005 after heading up aconsortium that took thecompany private.

The company, which made a£135m pre-tax profit in theyear to March 2010, isexpected to be valued between£1.7bn and £2bn. Littlesurprise that Landesbanki arerumoured to have rejected a£1bn offer from Walker lastyear.

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitMBNA£2,436m/£-213m

4

Turnover/profitIceland Foods£2,264.8m/£110.1m

5

Malcolm Walker founded the frozen food chain more than 30 years ago and has been back in charge since 2005

49

Apartofeveryracecourse

The Tote at Chester racecourse

Coldwinterboostedprofits

Turnover/profitTote Bookmakers£2,203.9m/£14.7m

6

Turnover/profitGB Oils£1992.5m/£19.54m

7

IT SEEMS the gloom anddoom surrounding the UKeconomy has done little toquell our love affair withthe flutter as a secondbookie appears in our top10, this time the soonnot-to-be state-ownedTote.

Its eventual sale toBetfred (see number 1)marks the end of one ofthe most protracted everprivatisations which wasonly finally given themuch-needed kick itneeded after the coalitiongovernment decided therewas no time to waste incutting the deficit.

Even so, the coalitionshould be applauded forfinally getting the deal tostack up.

It was new Labour whomade a manifesto pledgeto sell the operation, butever since then a string ofbids have either fallenfoul of EuropeanCommission state-aidrules or haven't matchedgovernment expectations.

Many thought a dealwould finally happenwhen £320m was put onthe table from aconsortium comprising ofracing interests such asthe RacecourseAssociation (RCA), themanagement of the Toteand LDC, theprivate-equity arm ofLloyds TSB.

Many will look backwith irony given the£265m price that wasfinally paid by Betfred.

It was back in 1928 thatthe Tote was establishedto distribute profits for"purposes conducive tothe improvement ofbreeds of horses or thesport of horseracing".

Fifty years ago when

betting shops were firstallowed to open the Totewas restricted fromopening shops but adecade later thoserestrictions were lifted.

In 1992 Tote Direct wasset up to channel Totebets from high streetbetting shops into Totepools.

At the same timebetting terminals wereinstalled in more than4,500 shops across the UK,including all totesport,Ladbrokes and Coralshops.

Today the business hasmore than 3,500employees, 500 shops, and– of course – a presenceon all 60 racecourses inBritain.

BIRCHWOOD based GB Oils, asubsidiary of the giant DCC energygroup, is the leading distributor oftransport and heating fuels to thebest part of half a million domestic,commercial, industrial andagricultural customers throughoutthe country.

In the year to March 31, 2010, itsold 4bn litres of oil products, ofwhich almost 20% was kerosene, theheating oil for domestic users.

GB Oils has acquired a number ofbusinesses in the oil distributionsector in Britain since entering themarket a decade ago, but hascontinued to sell products undertheir brand names.

However, the oil distributionindustry in Britain still remains veryfragmented with in excess of 175distributors.

In its latest results DCC Energy’soperating profit was 17.2% ahead ofthe prior year on a constant currencybasis and the business said itbenefited from the successfulintegration of a number ofacquisitions completed in prior yearsand another extremely cold winteroverall.

In total DCC Energy sold 7.1bnlitres of product, an increase of 15.5%on the prior year.

The company said the oildistribution business had another"excellent" performance in Britain,benefiting from the "integration,consequent synergies and strongperformance of recent acquisitions".

DCC further strengthened itsposition in the British marketthrough the acquisition of Pearts, a190m litre business in Northern

England, completed in May 2010, andfrom the acquisition of two oilimportation and storage terminals inInverness and Aberdeen in Scotlandin June 2010.

In February this year DCC Energyreached conditional agreement toacquire the entire issued share

capital of Pace Fuelcare, a British oildistribution business.

In its last financial year PaceFuelcare sold 515m litres of fuel toindependent retail petrol stations anda broad range of commercial,industrial, agricultural and domesticcustomers.

GB Oils' headquarters atWarrington's BirchwoodBusiness Park

50

SettodeliverfirstprofitALL EYES will be onCompanies House data laterthis summer when MarchUK, the holding company ofShop Direct – the Spekeheadquartered retail giant –announces itslatest annualresults.

Last year itschiefexecutiveMark Newton-Jones said thecompany wason course for what isbelieved to be its firstpre-tax profit since theBarclay Brothers boughtthe former Littlewoodsbusiness from the Mooresfamily for £750m in 2002.

Now re-positioned as anonline retailer, rather thanas a traditional cataloguesbusiness, the group, whichis based on Speke's EstuaryCommerce Park, reported asignificant reduction inpre-tax losses for the year toApril 30 2010, from £114m in2009 to £21m.

Mr Newton-Jones said heexpected to deliver profitgrowth in the year aheadthrough continuedimprovements to product

ranges supported by furtheroperational efficiencies.However, like any retailerin the present climate, he iscautious on outlook and itremains to be seen whether

the ill winds blowingthrough the high streethave derailed the group'shoped for return to profit.

In the year to April 2010sales were broadly flat at

£1.7bn although online salesgrew by 19% during theyear and represented about70% of group retailturnover. One would surelyexpect both figures to have

risen again over the pastyear. It will also beinteresting to report on thesuccess of the group's questfor a greater share of theover 50s female market

which, according to variousstudies, represents thefastest growingdemographic using theinternet and yet is the leastcompetitive market.

Shop Direct's moremature websites, whichinclude Kays, MarshallWard and Empire, wererebranded this Spring andthe over 50s customerrepresents about 30% ofShop Direct's business.

The company was formedin 2004 when the billionairebrothers Sir David and SirFrederick Barclay boughtthe catalogue retailer ShopDirect and merged it withtheir Littlewoods business.The company adopted theShop Direct Group name in2008 but still usesLittlewoods and a numberof other brands, includingKays and Additions Direct.The group tradesexclusively throughcatalogues and the internet,having sold its unprofitablehigh street stores in 2006.

The group remains asignificant employer allacross the North West andhas its national distributioncentre in Shaw, Oldham.

Mark Newton-Jones expects profit growth but remains cautious

Firmanattractivetarget

ANOTHER of our top 10businesses that is attractingacquisitive interest is Manchestercar dealership Lookers.

Last month it rejected atakeover approach from aconsortium made up of Trefick, aprivate investment vehicle forveteran investor Jack Petchey,real estate firm Moor Park andventure capitalist Brett Palos.

The offer was "firmly rejected"by the board and the TakeoverPanel has now ruled that theconsortium must make a firm offerby early June or walk away fromthe deal. Mr Petchey holds a 17.3%stake in Lookers.

It is little wonder that thecompany makes an attractivetarget. In May chief executivePeter Jones said the business hadmade an "excellent start" to theyear, with trading in the firstquarter ahead of the same periodlast year, despite the stillconsiderable pressures in theindustry.

Mr Jones said: "Both the motorand parts divisions have produced

strong trading results in theperiod which gives us confidencethat we will continue to tradesuccessfully this year and be in aposition to take advantage ofgrowth opportunities should theyarise."

Sales of new cars were actually10.5% lower than last year, butthis was better than the overallUK market, which declined by18%. Margins remainedsatisfactory and ahead of budget.

The firm said the broad base ofits franchises and therestructuring of its motor divisionover the last two years now gaveit greater resilience in thesechallenging times.

The group added it has asignificant amount of unused bankfacilities which enables it tocontinue to seek acquisitionopportunities.

Reports suggest the biddingconsortium would split thebusiness into an operatingcompany selling and servicing carsand a separate property companycontrolling its 71 forecourts.

A bid could split the business into an operating company selling and servicing cars and a separate propertycompany controlling its 71 forecourts

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitMarch UK£1,903.7m/£2.7m

8

Turnover/profitLOOKERS£1,883.8m/ £31.1m

9

51

Still at No.1

www.hilldickinson.com

From our headquarters at No.1 St. Paul’s Square,Liverpool, we work in partnership with clients across anumber of business areas; from health, insurance andthe public sector, through to corporate, banking andfinance, property, employment, transport, marine andretail; delivering a full complement of award-winninglegal services, to first class standards.

Contacts:Peter JacksonManaging Partnerpeter.jackson@hilldickinson.com

David WareingSenior Partnerdavid.wareing@hilldickinson.com

Bill DohertyDirector of Business Developmentand Marketingbill.doherty@hilldickinson.com

WINNERLaw firm award (six or more partners)Liverpool Law Society Awards 2011

WINNERCommercial awardLiverpool Law Society Awards 2011

WINNEROnline initiative of the yearClaims Innovation Awards 2011

WINNERNational law firm of the yearLegal Business Awards 2010

WINNERCorporate law firm of the yearInsider NorthWest Dealmakers Awards 2010

WINNERCorporate philanthropy award 2010Spirit of Merseyside Awards

No.1 St. Paul’s Square, Liverpool, L3 9SJ t: 0151 600 8000

Full service commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has beenrecognised with a number of industry accolades over thepast 12 months, both locally and nationally.

52

Global leader inrecycling

HundredsofsitesacrosstheUK

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitEuropean Metal Recycling£1,843m/ £91.1m

10

Turnover/profitMarlowe HoldingsInvestments£1,107m/£25m

11MARLOWE Holdings is the holdingcompany of the giant Cheshirebased electrical products distributorEdmundson Electrical.

Today, the business has some250 sites across the UK and morethan 3,000 staff.

The business is privately ownedby the Delaware-based BlackfriarsCorporation which is controlled bythe Chicago-based Colburn familywhich owns plastics and electricaldistribution companies throughoutthe world.

Edmundson supplies every corner

of the industry including electricalcontractors and engineers,industrial companies, governmentagencies, local authorities, powergeneration businesses, utilitygroups, construction and

petrochemical sectors.For the latest figures available for

the year ending 2009, EdmundsonElectrical posted an annual turnoverof £782m and came in with profitsof £45.4m.

WARRINGTON headquarteredEuropean Metal Recycling is aglobal leader in recycled productsand environmental services,managing more than 10m tonnes ayear of materials from consumers,industry and demolition works.

The company was formed backin 1994 by the Manchester basedSheppard Group which hassubsequently made a string ofacquisitions to turn the businessinto a major force in recycling.

The company today employs2,300 people and is a majoremployer across the North West.It has three sites in Liverpool and

one in St Helens among its100-plus locations around theworld.

The business now has extensive

ferrous and non-ferrousoperations. It has also been busydeveloping its processes towardsmixed plastics, rubbers, glass andtextiles. The latest figuresavailable are for 2009 when groupsales came in at £1.93bn.

Publishing the results last year,the group admitted that it hadbeen hit by lower commodityprices and reduced volumesbecause of continued challenging

market conditions in the wake ofthe financial crisis. However, itsaid strong margins and strictcost control helped pre-tax profitsrise 43% to £91.1m.

The Sheppard family's wealthwas recently valued at £635m inthis year's Sunday Times RichList. Meanwhile, the grouprefinanced its UK operations atthe start of last year to provideadditional liquidity.

The sun sets behind theEuropean Metal Recyclingplant at Bootle Docks

Distributor supplies every corner of electronics industry

53

NumberofstorestorocketMATALAN, theSkelmersdale-basedretailer, which todayboasts 205 stores across theUK, said earlier this springthat it planned to increasethe number of its storesafter completing a £300mrefinancing to simplify itsdebt structure.

The business secured aLloyds Bank-ledsyndicated bankingpackage involving a £50mrevolving credit facilityand a £250m high yieldbond to invest inexpanding the chain.

At the time, PaulGilbert, acting chiefexecutive and financedirector, said: "We are nowin a position to focus onthe implementation of ourgrowth strategy, which willsee continued storeroll-outs, significantinvestment in our brandand development of ourmulti-channel vision."

Paul Foster, deputy headof Lloyds Bank CorporateMarkets in Manchester,said that Matalan washighly cash generative andhad "strong prospects forthe future".

At the time of theannouncement Mr Fostersaid: "The retail markethas been difficult for sometime, but the business,largely on account of itsstrong brand, is wellpositioned to grow throughits planned new store

openings, strengtheningonline proposition and thecontinued success of itsclothing lines.

“We have been workingvery closely with Matalanfor some time andrestructuring its balancesheet in this way will give

the management team theflexibility it needs to pushforward with its plans forthe coming years."

Matalan is still ownedby founder JohnHargreaves and othermembers of his family.Last year he pulled the

plug on talks to sell thechain because he said theoffers from private equityfirms were not highenough. Bidders, includingTPG, Advent and WarburgPincus, reportedly refusedto meet the £1.5bn price tagfor the business.

Matalan in Wavertree and, right, founder John Hargreaves

£40.7mfoodgroupprofitsIN ITS last availablefigures, the Liverpool-basedfood group, which operatesa range of householdbrands including Napolina,Crisp 'n Dry and Jucee,reported that sales hadincreased marginally to£1.09bn in the year toMarch 2010, while profitscame in at £40.7m.

Earlier this year Princesreached agreement toacquire the canningoperations of PremierFoods for £177m.

As part of the dealPremier Foods' sites atLong Sutton and Wisbechin East Anglia transferredto Princes' ownership.

The sites collectivelyemploy over 1,000 people.The Crosse & Blackwell,Fray Bentos and Farrow'sbrands were acquired byPrinces while a number ofPremier Foods' brands,including Branston andBatchelors, remainedunder Premier Foods'ownership but are nowlicensed to Princes.

The deal expandsPrinces' branded portfolioin the canned foods sectorand increases thecompany's range ofcustomer own-label andbranded products.

It also takes annualrevenues towards £1.5bnand total headcount to 4,500employees, of which about300 are based at its RoyalLiver Buildingheadquarters.

Princes also operatesproduction sites across theUK in Bradford, Kent,Cardiff, Chichester, ChurchStretton, Eden Valley inCumbria, London, Glasgowand Manchester.

Ken Critchley, PrincesManaging Director, said atthe time the deal wasannounced: "This proposedacquisition is an excellentstrategic fit for our groupand will enable us tofurther grow our businessin the UK and continentalEurope by offering ourcustomers a broader rangeof ambient food products

and brands."Princes started life back

in the 19th centuryimporting canned fish asthe Simpson, Robertspartnership. Its currentowners, Japanese giantMitsubishi Corporation,bought Princes Buitonifrom Nestlé in 1989.Mitsubishi has an annualturnover of £150bn andoperates in more than 80countries.

The UK generates asignificant majority ofsales for Princes and thedomestic market continuesto perform very strongly.

The European mainlandremains a key market forPrinces, which opened aPolish office last year inorder to accelerateContinental expansion.

The joint venture hasbeen undertaken with itsestablished partner ADMand strengthened Princes'retail and wholesalecustomer support acrosscentral and easternEurope. Some of the product range of Princes Food and Drink Group

Turnover/profitMatalan Retail£1,104.1m/ £103.2m

12

Turnover/profit13 Princes Limited£1,093.2/£40.6m

13

54

GrowththebestcourseLIVERPOOL-based Bibbyhas global interestsranging from shipping,marine services andlogistics through tofinancial services, offshoreservices and retailing.

This very diverse rangeof services and productshas enabled it to continueto steer a profitable paththrough the very choppywaters of the downturn.

With Sir Michael Bibbyat the helm, who has ledthe family firm sincetaking over as chiefexecutive in 2000, thegroup has enjoyedconsiderable expansionthrough both organic andacquisitive growth.

In its latest availableaccounts turnover for thewhole group increased by 5% to £1.09bn last year.

In particular the grouphas diversified fromowning, operating andmanaging ships intologistics, financial servicesand retailing.

Today its interests rangefrom woodland burials todeep-sea diving, and fromcorner shops to Transitvans.

Sir Michael said lastyear that the recession wasproviding opportunities inmost areas in which thegroup operated, withfinancial services seeing alarge increase in business

as banks become more riskaverse.

Last year the companyannounced a return todeep-sea cargo carrying,three years after itdisposed of most of itsformer deep sea fleet.

In January this yearBibby Group of Factors -the UK's largestindependent factoring andinvoice discountingprovider – secured a £340mrefinancing with abanking syndicate led byBarclays Corporate. Thedeal, which saw Bibbyrefinance an existingfacility which was due toexpire in 2012 early andsecure its funding until2014, is important giventhe fact that manybusinesses are switchingto such alternative formsof finance in the currenteconomic climate.

Barclays provided£175m, Lloyds £75m, RBS£50m and Credit Agricole£40m.

As Mark Hartigan,group risk and finance

director at Bibby FinancialServices, said: "As theeconomy begins itsrecovery, it's vital thatbusinesses can gain quickaccess to funding to enablethem to capitalise on anypotential growthopportunities.

Since the amount thatcan be borrowed growsdirectly in line with sales,invoice finance is an idealsolution in the currentclimate."

In May this year BibbyFinancial Servicesannounced an 84 % growthin pre-tax profits to £34.3m,following a 25 % growth innew business year-on-yearin 2010. With a client baseof more than 5,000factoring £5.8bn debtsaround the world, all of thecompany's 13 globalbusinesses have beentrading profitably. Thegroup's recent acquisitionsof Kopparberg Finansbased in Sweden andAston Rothbury in the UKhave also supported itsgrowth strategy.

Sir Michael Bibbyat the helm Mobilephone

distributorCHICAGO Beta is an affiliateof UK private equity firmDoughty Hanson that, backin 2006, paid £347m for thedistribution and logisticsarm of the Caudwelltelecoms empire which itrenamed 20:20 Mobile.

Today the businessremains one of the largestdistributors of mobilephones and mobileaccessories through itsDextra Solutions business.Headquartered in Crewe, thebusiness employs 1,300across the globe, with morethan 8,000 customers.

It's been a troubledinvestment for Doughty,which, in 2008, was forcedto hand back half its equitystake to the banks behindthe original buyout andmake a fresh capitalinjection of £15m. Doughtyretained a 45% stake in thebusiness.

However Doughty's moveto inject cash early in thefinancial crisis, which hit inearnest later in 2008,appears to have done thetrick. Earlier this year, thebusiness won a 12-monthcontract to exclusivelysupply a new range ofBlackBerry OEM mobilephone accessories to mobilephone retailer TheCarphone Warehouse.

The supplyagreement saw20:20 Mobiledistributeanextendedrange of

BlackBerry OEM accessoriesfor a wide range ofBlackBerry mobile phones,and launch new lookBlackBerry packaging withinThe Carphone Warehouse's800 stores across the UK.

The range of products willcontinue to develop toensure new releasehandsets are matched withthe latest accessories.

Following a tenderprocess, 20:20 Mobilesecured the exclusivesupplier contract.

Commenting on thedeal James Browning,UK ManagingDirector of 20:20

Mobile, said: "Mobileaccessories have alwaysbeen a major part of the20:20 portfolio and bycontinually introducing newaccessory ranges andsigning exclusiverelationships with majorretailers, we have ensuredour mobile phoneaccessories division remainsat the forefront of theindustry.

“We have always had avery strong relationship

with The CarphoneWarehouse with a

trading historyof over nine

years."

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitBibby Line Group£1,089.1m/£21.8m

Turnover/profit20:20£991.6m/£0.2m

14

15

20:20distributes anextendedrange ofBlackBerryOEMaccessoriesfor a widerange ofBlackBerrymobilephones

55

stanley park anfield road liverpool l4 0td telephone: 0151 263 0363info@theislagladstone.co.uk www.theislagladstone.co.uk

Steeped in history and culture,the Isla Gladstone Conservatory offers a Unique and Exquisite

experience for all of your guests.The conservatory itself is the pinnacle of Stanley Park in Anfield.

The renovation has brought life and a sense of tranquillity to the area,offering a taste of Victorian class.

The Isla Gladstone Conservatory has been specially adapted to contain allof the conveniences of modern amenities, as well as maintain its Victorian

charm and original identity. Set in beautiful landscaped grounds, theunique glass building is not only striking in appearance,

but is a fully usable space.

incorporating the following…• Conservatory can comfortably accommodate up to 300 people for a formaldinner or up to 400 for a canapé style reception.

• A specialist air conditioning system, making the space completelyclimate-controlled

• Fully integrated sound system• Secure parking for 100 cars• Complete disabled access• Fully equipped and functioning bar with soft seating area

See some of the apprenticeslooking to work in your sector

log on to:

liverpoolchamber.org.uk/apprenticeships.htmlor scan the QR code

Free recruitment0151 227 1234

Liverpool ChamberTraining can help you

recruit skilled staff

CIPS Open Enrolment Day

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is an approved CIPS (CharteredInstitute of Purchasing and Supply). The Chamber is hosting aseries of CIPS Open Enrolment days 4th July, 4th August and 8thSeptember from 10am at Liverpool Chamber so you can meet thetutors and see how CIPS can help your business. If you would like tochat to the tutors one to one we would also be able to arrange thisfor you.

The Chamber’s study centre delivers procurement and supply chaintraining to businesses across Merseyside to improve their buyingskills. Stephen Sullivan, CIPS Centre Manager explained: “This eventis designed for potential students to meet the tutors and see howCIPS can help their business. Purchasing and supply professionalsare valuable assets to any company, especially when highly trainedand qualified. CIPS qualifications are internationally recognised andhelp people make the most of their career whether just starting out orhave been professional for some time.”

The event begins at 10am with registration, refreshments andnetworking followed by introduction to the Chamber and publicsector courses, a run down of course structure and the benefits to abuyer’s role. The event concludes with real life case studies and aninteractive learning demonstration.

Use Scan this QR code to see the full range of courses forthe following year or visit

http://www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/cips-timetable.html

56

RuncornfirmwithGermanparent

RUNCORN head-quartered Phoenixemploys 1,500 peopleat its 15 depotsacross the UK, and ispart of the group thatincludes pharmacychains Rowlands andNumark.

Its parent companyis the huge GermanPhoenixPharmahandel Group,which has more than23,000 employees in24 countries.

The pharmaceuticalwholesaler suppliespharmacies, GPs andhospitals, and lookingat its last filedaccounts for the yearto January 2009,sales came in justunder the £1bn markat £962m. Pre-taxprofits slipped by £1mto £25.3m in thesame period.

Phoenix UK wasfounded in 1998 with

the combinedacquisition ofL.Rowland based inWrexham and PhilipHarris Medical inBirmingham.

The acquisition of anumber of furtherregional wholesalersfollowed and thesewere all combined toform one wholesalingcompany.

In the year toJanuary 2008Phoenix saw sales fallnearly £37m afterdrug giant Pfizer'sdecision to switch to amodel known as'direct to pharmacy'.This is wheremanufacturers enterinto contracts forcertain selectwholesalers to deliverproduct on theirbehalf to pharmaciesand dispensingdoctors for a fee perpack of product.

The wholesaler supplies pharmacies, GPs andhospitals

‘Theteenageoctopus’PHONE group TalkTalkreported good progress thisspring in its first year sincedemerging from CarphoneWarehouse.

The broadband and voiceprovider, which employs 1,000staff at a Warrington callcentre, saw revenues rise by4.7% to £1.76bn and post-taxprofits improve by 24.5% to£122m in the year to March 31.

Integration of the Italiantelecoms group Tiscali –which TalkTalk acquired in2009 – was also completed,generating £55m of synergies.

The new-look Talk Talk ismaking a big push for thesmall and medium-sizedenterprise (SMEs) marketthrough its TalkTalk Businessdivision.

However the Tiscaliintegration was not withoutits difficulties. TalkTalkadmitted that it lost 25,000customers to rival broadbandproviders in the final threemonths of 2010 amiddifficulties in transferringformer Tiscali customers to itsnetwork.

The transition caused somecustomers to be withoutinternet access for severaldays and left a third of Tiscalisubscribers with higher billsthan previously.

At the time chief executiveDido Harding said thecompany's key focus was toimprove its offerings and keephold of existing customers

rather than expanding itsbase. She said the businessresembled a "teenage octopus"."Like companies that havegrown very fast. . . we don'thave control of our arms andlegs, like a gangly teenager.And we have a lot of arms andlegs. The teenage octopus willtake a while to grow up."

TalkTalk also tops customercomplaint leagues in thesector. Regulator Ofcomreceived more complaintsabout the business in the fivemonths to February thanabout any other fixed linetelecoms provider.

For fixed line telephony, itreceived 1.8 complaints for

every 1,000 TalkTalkcustomers in the period - morethan four times the rate forBSkyB, which had thesecond-worst score.

TalkTalk also received thehighest rate of complaints forfixed broadband services, at1.3 per 1,000 customers.

Meanwhile chairmanCharles Dunstone has pledgedto reward shareholders fromnext year, saying: "From fullyear 2012 our dividend policywill reflect our progress andthe strength of our cashgeneration and we aim todistribute 50% of our headlineearnings per share as regulardividends."

Demerging from Carphone Warehouse has proved a good move

Loyalcustomerbase

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitPhoenix HealthcareDistribution£957.6m/£19.2m Turnover/profit

Makro Self ServiceWholesalers£867.8m/£-44.7m

Turnover/profitTalkTalk Communications£867.8m/£-44.7m

16

17

PART of the Metro group, thereare now more than 600Metro/Makro cash and carrystores operating in 30countries.

Indeed if you feel they'vebeen around for a long timenow, you wouldn't be farwrong. This year thewholesaler turned 40 and itnow has 30 stores across theUK.

At the heart of its successlies a very loyal customerbase and a model ofcustomer loyalty thathas been much used byrivals in recent times.But like any retailer inthe present climate thecompany cannot afford tostand still.

Earlier this year itappointed Peter Mitchellas head of multi-channelsales delivery, in astrategic move to pushforward the company'smulti-channel operation.

Mr Mitchell will furtherdevelop the continuedroll out of its Foodserviceand Drive initiatives, aswell as supporting itsSelect and Collect

service, and online offering. Forinstance Makro Foodserviceoffers access to the full Makrorange of over 30,000 lineswhich are delivered direct to

customers' premises. It offersthem a one-stop-shop of freshand frozen foods, generalgroceries, beer, wines andspirits and non-food solutions.

Foodservice was launched in2010 and has now beenimplemented at more than halfof Makro's UK stores, withplans to roll out the initiativeto the remaining stores during2011. Late last year Makrointroduced an online shopoffering customers delivery onover 2,000 professionalcatering equipment andappliances.

After identifying areas in theUK where customersare not currently beingserviced by a Makrostore within a one hourdrive time, the companyis also currentlypiloting Makro Drivedepots at two locations,York and Milton Keynes.

As Mr Mitchellexplained: "Our aim isto ensure we cater forthe needs of a fullspectrum of customers,from pubs andrestaurants to hotelsand caterers, and theroll out of thismulti-channel operationtakes us a step furthertowards doing this."

18

Customers are offered a one-stop-shop of fresh and frozen foods, generalgroceries, beer, wines and spirits and non-food solutions

57

ToughtimeshitsoapstarNEW headquarters atManchester Business Parkare proof that PZ Cussons,the soap and shampoomaker, has been one of thestar performers of theNorth West economy inrecent times.

But with majorinternational operations, itis no surprise that thebusiness has more recentlybeen buffeted somewhat byglobal ill winds.

Last month, thecompany said that tradingremained tough as a resultof higher raw materialcosts and also because ofongoing political issues inNigeria, its biggest market.In a trading statementcovering the period from 26January to 13 April, it said

UK trading conditionsremained challenging, withhigh levels of promotionalactivity and a continuingsqueeze on consumerspending. But the company,which owns such famousbrands as Imperial Leatherand launches up to 50 newproducts a year in the UKalone, added that thepressures on its businesswould be partially offset bythe resilience of is morepremium brands in the UKand by growth in Asia.

Late last year, thecompany also startedselling branded cookingoils and spreads in Nigeriaand says it will continue tofocus heavily on the foodarea. In its latest figuresthe company reported a1.3% increase in revenue to£374.8m in the six monthsto 30 November 2010, withprofit before tax andexceptional items rising3.4% to £46.2m. Operatingprofit was flat in Africaand fell 5% in Europe.

PZ Cussons’ headquarters at Manchester Business Park

AtalenttogetthingsrightECONOMIC pressures aredoing little to dampenspirits at sportswearretailer JD Sports Fashion,which continues to reportimpressive rises in salesand profits despite themany pressures facing theretail industry.

The Bury-headquarteredcompany admitted it was"extremely cautious" in itsoutlook when reporting itslatest results, but unlikemany in its sector it hasconsistently got thingsright under the helm ofimpressive executivechairman Peter Cowgill.

In its latest annualresults, JD posted a pre-taxprofit of £78.6m in the yearto 29 January 2011, upfrom £61.4m, whilerevenues rose to £883.7mfrom £769.8m. It was the

seventh straight year ofgrowth.

Mr Cowgill said: "Suchsustained performancecontinues to reflect thestrength and uniqueness ofour brand and fascia offersas well as the strength ofour management teams.”

Earlier this year, JDbought a majority stake inLancashire sportswearbrand Kukri in a £1m deal.Preston-based Kukri had aturnover of £13m in theyear to March 2010. JDtook an 80% share in thebusiness, with the

remaining 20% retained bythe managing director ofKukri, Phil Morris.

JD also said that it hadrecently negotiated termson new credit and workingcapital facilities totalling£75m, a deal which gives itthe firepower to lookfurther afield.

In early June JD acquiredthe major assets of BrandAcquisitions, the businessbehind menswear brandPeter Werth and contem-porary womenswear brandPink Soda, which had goneinto administration in May.

Phil Morris managing director Kukri and Peter Cowgill

Targetof20millioncustomers

Turnover/profitJD Sports£769.7m/£61.3m

Turnover/profitPZ Cussons£771.6m/£101.8m

CO-OPERATIVE FinancialServices is part of theManchester-basedCo-operative Group, the UK'slargest consumerco-operative. CFS is thegroup of businesses thatincludes Co-operativeInsurance and Co-operativeBank including Smile andBritannia.

CFS now has some 6.5mcustomers offering them amix of financial products.Within the wider Co-opgroup, CFS remains a starperformer.

In the last financial year,CFS increased revenues by23.6% to £2.5bn, whileoperating profit grew 17.7%to £208.6m.

The group said the growthwas despite the continuing

challenges and weakness ofthe financial servicesmarket.

On a wider front, Co-op'schief executive Peter Markssaid the company'sperformance in 2010 cappeda "truly remarkable andexhilarating period" for thebusiness which revealedanother record financialperformance, with salesgrowing 9.1% to £13.7bn inthe year to 1 January 2011.

Underlying profit before

payments to and on behalf ofmembers leapt 48.3% to£545.7m. The proposeddividend to consumermembers was up 55% to£77.4m.

Mr Marks said thecompany had now completedits three-year business planduring which it doubledprofits, sales andmembership numbers, andhad now set its stall onreaching 20m customers by2020.

"We have achieved oursuccess due to continuedinvestment in our store andbranch estates and in ourbrand, our products and ourservice," said Mr Marks.

"In addition, we made twoambitious andtransformative acquisitions– Somerfield in food andBritannia in financialservices."

The Britannia deal in 2009added 3m new members tothe Co-op.

However, Mr Marksadmitted that the economicrecovery had been slowerthan the group wasexpecting and he anticipatedchallenging tradingconditions through to theend of this year and into2012.

Turnover/profitCFS Management Services

£787.9m/£-0.53m19

CFS increased revenues by 23.6% to £2.5bn

20

21

58

Turnover/profitN Brown Group£690m/£89.7m

Turnover/profitInvista Textiles£669.2m/£-87.5m

23

24

SettopounceontheMail

LIKE the whole of itsindustry, TNT willhave a very close eyeon the PostalServices Bill which iscurrently goingthrough Parliamentand which will bringmore privatisation tothe industry.

The Bill will seestate-owned RoyalMail sold off alongsidean overhaul of theregulatory regimegoverningcompetition in thepostal market.

The Bill is ofinterest to TNTbecause it uses RoyalMail's postal workersfor the so-called 'finalmile' to deliver bulkand direct mail tohomes. Half of all mailthat Royal Maildelivers for itscompetitors comesfrom TNT Post.

The Dutch TNTgroup has alreadyvoiced concerns that

Royal Mail will not berequired in future toautomatically give itand other rivalsaccess to its deliverynetwork.

Taking advantageof thequasi-privatisationthat has alreadyexisted in themarket for sometime, TNT ExpressServices UK andIreland has grownto become thecountry's leadingbusiness-to-businessexpressdeliverycompany withthe largestindividual shareof the nationalmarket.

Established in theUK in 1978, it nowemploys 11,000people in the UK &Ireland and operatesfrom more than 70locations.

A TNT electric delivery truck

Onlinesalesrocket

HOME shopping increasinglymeans internet shoppingtoday. No surprise then that NBrown impressed the Citywith its latest results afterrevealing a 19% rise inecommerce sales to £324m inthe year to February.

In fact, online sales nowaccount for 45% of totalrevenues at the groupcompared to 39% a year ago,while online sales have alsonow overtaken the value oforders taken in N Brown'scontact centres.

In the coming year, thecompany expects online salesto account for the majority of

all sales. Growth at N Brownis coming from all age groupsbut in the next few years itsays it will be aiming to growthe proportion of online salesfrom its mid-life customers asyounger customers arealready largely shoppingonline.

Last year was a particularly

busy year for the group, as itacquired Figleaves, developedits High & Mighty stores andlaunched its Simply Be brandin the US.

Alan White, chief executive,said: "We have been rewardedwith record results, both interms of revenue and profit,for the seventh consecutive

year. Our key focus this yearwill be to expand our homeshopping business, both in theUK and internationally,particularly by furtherdeveloping our onlineactivities.

“While the current year willbe challenging, I am confidentthis strategy will deliveranother good result this year."

Mr White said the youngerbrands, targeted at customersaged between 30 and 45,continued to be the fastestgrowing part of the overallportfolio. Jacamo was thefastest growing brand withtotal revenue up by 66%.

Phil McCall celebrates the opening of the new High and Mighty store in Liverpool with Paul Worrall, Claire Twiss and Peter Parr

Global leader inspecial fabrics

Lycra is used by themovie industry for suchsuperhero costumes asSuperman and Batman

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitTNT UK£740.5m/£307.7m

22

INVISTA might not be ahousehold name but the

chances are that you'llfind its innovations inyour home.

The company is aglobal leader in nylon,

spandex, polyester andspeciality materialsindustries, and itsproducts are literallyinside your clothing,carpets, cars, andcomputers, to namebut a few.

A subsidiary ofKoch Industries,the USconglomerate,Invista isheadquarteredin the UK inManchester,and operates

four global businesses thatserve many industries withvalue-added chemical,polymer and fibre products.

The company also offersprocess technologylicences for the polyester,nylon and spandex valuechains through InvistaPerformance Technologies.

59

The first choice for quality office accommodation in South Manchester.

Park Square has been completely transformed by extensiveand innovative re-modelling works to the reception and entrance.

9,000 - 110,000 sq ftFitted, full cabled floor of 22,500sqftIMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE

Excellent access to J2 M60 andManchester Airport

Flexible and competitiveleasing options

Extensive on-site parking

On-site restaurant, conferencingfacilities and golf experience

Our latest offering in Stockport

Call us 01625588200www.orbit-developments.co.ukwww.park-square.co.uk

Flexible LeasesCompetitive RatesStrategic LocationsLeading Specifications

CHEADLE SK3 0XN

Continuing our success across the North West

60

TDG’sFrenchconnectionTRANSPORT group TDGwas acquired by FrenchRival NorbertDentressangle last Marchafter competitionauthorities gave thetakeover their blessing.The French group paid£196m in cash.

Combined, the twobusinesses have a turnoverof £3bn, and, significantlyfor Dentressangle, 57% ofthat is from outside France.A total of £1.6bn will comefrom transport, and thegroup will have the largestwholly owned fleet inEurope: more than 8,000tractor units and 11,000trailers. Logistics willaccount for £1.4bn withnearly 6.5m sq m ofwarehousing.

In the UK, the combinedgroup will be the thirdlargest transport andlogistics company afterDHL and Wincanton:Dentressangle's and TDG'scombined turnover in 2009would have been £956.9m.

Recently the companyagreed a new three-yearextension to continuerunning Argos’distribution centre inScotland. TDG hasoperated the distributionfor Argos since 2004.

The Cumbrian port ofWorkington is also working

with TDG to open up a newcontainerised logistics basewith the aim of developingthe port into a significantcontainer and logistics hubfor the North West.

Last year the portsecured £4m from NuclearManagement Partners and£1.7m from the NuclearDecommissioningAuthority to develop theplan.

TDG already has ahistory of working at ports

including Teesside, Tilbury,Dagenham, Felixstowe andBilbao in Spain.

Talking of foreignshores, TDG also recentlyentered into an agreementwith John Keells Holdingsto cover freight forwardingservices between Europe,India and Sri Lanka.

David Barron, director ofinternational services, saysthe company sees the tradelanes as hugely importantto the group.

TDG operates freight forwarding offices in the UK,Ireland, Benelux, Hungary and Spain

£90mswitchtodigitalworldTHE days of going to thecinema simply to watch afilm are long gone.

As Odeon & UCI chiefexecutive Rupert Gavinpredicts, 3D sales alonecould account for 50% ofall UK box office saleswithin three years, whilemore than half of Odeon’sscreens are now digital andall will be by next year asthe group invests £90m inconverting its cinemas.

Mr Gavin recentlydescribed the move as a“complete infrastructurechange” and says it comesas Hollywood itselfchanges its wholeeconomic model toembrace the digital world.

Reports earlier thisspring suggested ownerprivate equity firm TerraFirma, run by financierGuy Hands, wasconsidering selling Odeonand UCI after rivalsexpressed interest in thebusiness. Mr Hands boughtand merged the Odeon andUCI chains in 2004.

The chain, Europe’slargest cinema group, ownsaround 200 cinemas today

with a total of 1,850screens, the majority ofwhich are in the UK.

The business generatedpre-tax earnings of £80m in2009 and the cinemaindustry continues to enjoysomething of a resurgence,buoyed by the growth of 3Dfilms.

Odeon & UCI has 23% ofthe UK market, just aheadof the other two big playersCineworld and Vue.

Rupert Gavin (inset) has converted more than half of Odeon’s screens to digital

CostcuttingboostsprofitsKELLOGG’S is the mostsuccessful breakfast cerealmanufacturing company inthe world producing morethan 40 different varieties ofcereals in manufacturingplants within 19 countries andmarketing its products inmore than 160 countries. In itsworldwide organisation itemploys 26,000 people.

Based at Trafford Park inManchester, it employsaround 600 people in a varietyof roles includingengineering, food safety,maintenance and technicalservices and it plays a big partin the local economy. It alsohas a site in Wrexham andimports many thousands oftonnes of cereals and grainsthrough the Port of Liverpool.

Kellogg’s began in 1906when William Keith Kelloggfiled the papers that officiallyincorporated the Battle CreekToasted Corn FlakesCompany. Since then, thecompany name has been

shortened to Kellogg’s.The popularity of Mr

Kellogg’s new ‘Corn Flakes’cereal, discovered almost byaccident in 1876, encouragedhim to set up the Kelloggcompany, now the mostsuccessful cerealmanufacturer in the world.

In 1906, Mr Kellogg decidedto risk a portion of his capitalon his first advertisingcampaign, with spectacularresults.

One full-page advert in theLadies’ Home Journal boostedsales to 2,900 cases per dayand by 1909 the smallcompany in Battle Creek wasproducing and selling onemillion cases per year.

Kellogg’s was among thefirst producers to voluntarilylist the amounts of sugar in itsproducts. And in more recentyears it was one of the first inthe food business to printGuideline Daily Amounts(GDAs) on the front of thepacks, showing clearly thepercentage of therecommended intake ofcalories, sugar, fat, saturatesand salt for each portion ofproduct.

Kellogg’s worldwiderevenue for 2010 was $12.4bn,a 1% drop from the yearbefore, whereas profits rose by4% to $1.24bn due to costsavings made within thecompany.

TOP 30 PROFILES

Turnover/profitKELLOGG’S£666.7m/£9.7m25

Kelloggs employs about 600 people

Turnover/profitTDG£662m/£13.1m

26

Turnover/profitODEON£640.9m/£-77.3m

27

61

RegionHQforgiantofEurope

THE JapaneseBrother Group is aworldwide electronicsand manufacturingcompany, with salesin over 100countries.

Its UK subsidiary,Brother InternationalEurope, is based inManchester andprovides sales,marketing, technicalsupport, warehousingand distribution, anda customer supportcall centre for all UKcustomers.

The UK operationmoved from Londonto Manchester whenthe business took

over the JonesSewing MachineCompany in 1968 asa base for marketingits range oftypewriters, knittingand sewing machines.

The company stilloperates out of thatoffice today, which isalso the headquart-ers of BrotherEurope. Anyone whoworks in an office willknow that Brother'sUK market includessuch essential itemsas printers, faxmachines, inkjetprinters and the like– not to mentionsewing machines too.

UK market includes such essential items asprinters, fax machines and inkjet printers

SecureandinprofitafteryearofturmoilIN ITS annual results for theyear to April Findel remarkedupon its “year of turmoil” andthat isn’t far wrong.

The financial year startedwith the discovery ofaccounting irregularities at itsEducation Supplies divisionand was followed by anemergency debt refinancing inJuly 2010.

However, with noirregularities found elsewherefollowing a review of thebusiness, and with therefinancing successfullyraising £75m, the Manchestergroup says it is now in the fullswing of a turnaround and hasa secure financial platformfrom which to grow.

It insists all of itsbusinesses – home shopping,education and healthcare –remain profitable despite“significant” challenges.

It has new committed debtfacilities for a five-year periodand the group’s net debtposition at the year-end was£227.8m, down some £81.8mduring the year.

The group has been hit byweak consumer confidence,uncertainty over public sectorbudgets and inventoryshortages arising from cashconstraints. It announced afall in full year revenues from£547m to £533m, and pre-taxprofits were down to £7m.

It says the “highly visible”challenges faced by the groupcreated difficulties in itssupply chain, with asignificant reduction or

withdrawal of credit termswith many of its suppliers.

Chief executive RogerSiddle said: “This in turn ledto a reduction in stockdeliveries, which had aknock-on effect on sales and

service, which then had anegative impact on cashgeneration. A damagingdownward cycle developed.”

Despite the wider group’sproblems, the company’sreplica sportswear division

Kitbag had a strong year,growing operating profits 8%to £1.86m. Teams includingBarcelona, Real Madrid,Everton and ManchesterUnited outsource online kitsales to the company.

Manchester United striker Michael Owen signs shirts at the Kitbag World Cup store in Manchester

£1bnsalesthetargetTurnover/profitBrotherInternational£611.7m/£3.6m

28

Turnover/profitFindel£600.1m/£-76.1m

29

Turnover/profitTJ Morris£590.3m/£47.8m30

TJ MORRIS, the discountretailer, has reportedconsistently high annual salesgrowth and strong profitmargins over the past twodecades and now has its eyeson breaking the £1bn sales

mark within the next fewyears.

The business, which tradesas Home Bargains, hascontinued to perform in thedownturn.

It has continued to invest in

Merseyside.Its recently expanded £35m

distribution centre atGillmoss’ G-Park, services its400 stores.

The company ultimately hasits eyes on seeing the latter

figure reach 600, stretching itstentacles to every corner of theUK.

In its latest figures, thecompany saw turnover up 22%to £590m with an operatingprofit of £46.6m.

YouthOlympianTae Kwondostar SophieDicksontakes onJoe Morris

62

63

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

WhichcompaniesaudittheNorthWest’sTop200THE strength and diversity of thenorth west's economy have longresulted in a strong demand foraccountants, auditors andbusiness advisors.

All the major firms have officesin the region and the companieswhich they work for are amongthe country’s most dynamic.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers hasthe lion's share of the region'sbusiness – and it represents fourof the region's top 10 performingcompanies including MBNAEurope Bank, GB Oils, March UKand Marlow HoldingsInvestments.

In total, it accounts for 26% ofthe North West's total marketshare – which is seven per centmore than its closest rivals.

PWC has major offices in bothLiverpool and Manchester andmore than 1,900 partners and staffacross its six northern officeswhich also include: Sheffield,

Leeds, Newcastle and Hull.In joint second place – and each

of them have 19% of the totalmarket share – are Deloitte and"others".

Among the Deloitte's clients areFTSE 100 listed company UnitedUtilities and Lookers PublicLimited.

Interestingly, the firms includedin the "others" category includesBeever and Struthers whichworks for the region's bestperforming company – DoneBrothers (Cash Betting).

Beever and Struthers operatesfrom offices in Manchester,Blackburn and London and hasbeen offering business advice toits clients for over 100 years.

Also in the "others" category is

Manchester-based Sadiq Metcalfand Co which works for the top20-ranked Attock Oil Company.

KPMG has a 16% stake of themarket share with top 20 clientsincluding Phoenix HealthcareDistribution and Makro SelfService Wholesalers.

Ernst and Young has 11 percent of the region's market shareand its clients include ToteBookmakers [which was sold bythe government at the start ofJune to Done Brothers (CashBetting)] as well as Amec Plc.

Grant Thornton UK has thefinal nine per cent of the market -with two top 10 clients includingIceland Foods Group andEuropean Metal Recycling.

The Confederation of British

Industry's north west directorDamian Waters said: "OutsideLondon, the north west is the bestregion in the UK for professionalservices – it’s as simple as that.

"We've got a strong and diverseeconomy here and this hasresulted in us attracting excellentaccountants and businessadvisors.

"In many ways, this is asymbiotic relationship – boththese firms and theirclients help each other toexcel.

"What also pleases meis that many of thesecompanies are startingto witness an increase inbusiness activity.

"They are a goodbellwether for what'shappening in the widereconomy – and that bodeswell for the future."

Kieran Maguire,principlelecturer inaccounting

and finance at ManchesterMetropolitan University,expressed his belief thatManchester can now assert itselfas the region's leading city foraccountancy firms.

He said: "All of the majoraccountancy firms, and asignificant number of Londonfirms, have offices in Manchester.

"A further advantage isthat, whilst by no means

being cheap, thesebusinesses normallyhave lower chargeout rates than theirLondoncounterparts, and sothere are costsavings that can be

passed onto clients."

STRONG AND DIVERSE ECONOMY HASATTRACTED EXCELLENT ACCOUNTANTSAND BUSINESS ADVISORS TO REGION

CBI NorthWestdirectorDamianWaters

19%

11%

9%

16%

26%

19%

DELOITTE LLP

ERNST & YOUNG LLP

GRANT THORNTON UK LLP

KPMG LLP

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP

OTHERS

Major Auditors

PROFESSOR BEN ROOTHBusiness Correspondent

Kieran Maguire, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, saysManchester can now assert itself as the region's leading city for accountancyfirms

Princes Dock in Liverpool home to KPMG andPricewaterhouseCoopers who have their Manchester basein Barbirolli Square, right

64

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

BanksbattleformarketshareamongNorthWest’leadingfirmsTHE "big four" dominate the North West'sbanking landscape and work on behalf ofthe vast majority of the major companiesbased here.

They act for more than 80% of thebusinesses located in this region and havea strong network of branches.

Leading the field is Britain's largestcommercial and retail bank, the NatWest –which has been part of Royal Bank ofScotland Group since 2000.

It is acknowledged to be the world'slargest bank by assets and accounts for35% of all the business undertaken here.

Indeed, this figure is 13% higher thanthe amount of work undertaken by itsclosest rival, Barclays.

Barclays – which is the world's10th-largest banking and financial servicesgroup – has 22% of the North West's marketshare.

The combined might of various "other"banks are in third position with 17% of theNorth West's biggest businesses.

In fourth position is Lloyds BankingGroup – which has included HBOS sinceLloyds took it over in January 2009 - with15% market share.

And finally, HSBC – the world'ssecond-largest banking and financialservices group and second-largest publiccompany - works on behalf of just 11% ofbusinesses in the region.

Graham Holt, head of the accounting andfinance division at ManchesterMetropolitan University's Business School,expressed his belief that Manchester'simportance as a centre for banking withinthe North West should not be understated.

He said: "Greater Manchester is the UK'sleading regional centre for financial andprofessional services.

"The region encompasses a wide range ofactivities including investment and retailbanking, insurance, corporate finance – inaddition to law and accountancy.

"Additionally, Greater Manchester'sposition is consolidated by regionalrepresentation of the London StockExchange, the CBI and the Bank ofEngland.

"The growth in the region can beattributed to the fact that manymulti-national companies have relocated tothe area and are consolidating back or

middle office operations into the region."Because of the lower salary and

building costs, these companies can makesignificant savings by moving to GreaterManchester.

"Additionally, the lower cost andabundance of housing makes it attractivefor employees to relocate," said Mr Holt.

NatWest has an enviable list of clientsacross the region includingWarrington-headquartered Done Brothers(Cash Betting) which has the highestturnover of any company based here.

In total, NatWest lists three of the NorthWest's top 10 companies and seven of theregion's top 20 companies as its clients.

In the top 10 category, it counts GB Oilsand Marlow Holdings Investments inaddition to Done Brothers (Cash Betting)as customers.

In the top 20 category, NatWest alsoworks for Princes, Makro Self ServiceWholesalers and Edmundson Electrical.

Barclays – the next best performing bankby market share – works on behalf ofMBNA Europe Bank which is the Europeancredit card arm of Bank of America andChester's largest employer.

In addition to MBNA Europe Bank,Barclays also lists Lookers – which isranked in the region's top 10 bestperforming companies – to be among itsclients.

In total, it features five times within thetop 20 list – with its other clients includingMatalan Retail, Bibby Line Group andAMEC.

The "other" banks featuring in the top 20list are Habib Bank Zurich, StandardChartered Bank and ING Bank.

The Swiss-headquartered Habib BankZurich was founded in 1967 and nowprovides trade finance, corporate,consumer, private, retail and other bankingproducts through an international networkof 25 branches.

Standard Chartered Bank was formed in1969 through a merger of two banks: theStandard Bank of British South Africa,founded in 1863, and the Chartered Bank ofIndia, Australia and China, founded in

1853. Both companies were keen tocapitalise on the huge expansion of tradeand to earn the handsome profits to bemade from financing the movement ofgoods between Europe, Asia and Africa.

Standard Chartered Bank is todayheadquartered in Singapore while alsomaintaining offices in London, Jersey andGuernsey.

ING Bank – which works for top 20company Chicago Beta – serves 85 millionprivate, corporate and institutional clientsin over 40 countries.

ING Stands for InternationalNetherlands Group and, in 2009, it had aworkforce of over 100,000 people and ownsING Direct among other retail banking,insurance, investment management, andinvestment banking operations.

Lloyds Banking Group works for two ofthe region's top 10 best performingcompanies: United Utilities and ToteBookmakers – which was recentlypurchased by Done Brothers (CashBetting).

In the top 20 list, its clients also includePhoenix Healthcare Distribution.

HSBC counts Iceland Foods Group andEuropean Metal Recycling among itsclients who are ranked in the top 10.

Apart from these two listings, it does notfeature elsewhere in the top 20 rankings.

Damian Waters, regional director of theCBI North West, acknowledged that it hasbeen a tough few years for the bankingsector.

Mr Waters said: "In 2009, I had someserious concerns about job losses withinthe banking sector across the north west.

"But they never materialised and thebanks now appear to be doing far better.

"They play a vitally important part inthe overall mix of professional serviceswithin the region."

Kieran Maguire, principle lecturer inaccounting and finance and ManchesterMetropolitan University's Business School,agreed with this sentiment

He said: "The north west – andparticularly Manchester – has had anintegrated professional service provisionsecond only to London because it quicklyestablished many years ago a critical massin the accounting, legal, banking and otherprofessional services sectors.

"This was partially due to Manchester'sgood infrastructure links with thesurrounding areas, meaning it is the firstport of call from places as diverse asCumbria, the Potteries, North Wales andinto the Pennines.

"Although the industrial makeup of thenorth has changed over the last fewdecades away from heavy industry, thelegacy of meeting the needs of thesebusinesses has led to Manchester'sprofessional services firms being keen toadapt their skills to the needs of emergingindustries.

"This allowed individual professionalservices firms to set up dedicateddepartments to meet the needs of localbusinesses requiring corporate finance,consultancy and other forms of advice fromspecialists rather than all-rounders.

"This has given Manchester acompetitive advantage over the likes ofLeeds and Liverpool – and the city has fullyexploited this.

"Banks have realised that they canreduce cost bases by offering their servicesin Manchester.

"The willingness of Manchester Counciland the Chamber of Commerce toencourage such expansion - as seen by thedevelopments at places such asSpinningfields – have created a virtuouscircle for all the professional services whotogether can offer a full range of skills tomeet the needs of leading companies."

VIRTUOUS CIRCLE FOR ALL THE PROFESSIONALSERVICES WHO CAN OFFER A FULL RANGE OFSKILLS TO MEET NEEDS OF LEADING COMPANIES

by BEN ROOTHBusiness Correspondent

65

MESSAGEFROMOURSPONSORSHARING industry insight and knowledgehas never been more important to thesuccess of professional services firms.

Following a highly successful decade,many professional services firms havenow been forced to reassess theirbusinesses on the back of the deepestrecession in living memory.

Whilst the sector has historically beenresilient to economic downturns, this timesmaller firms reliant on commodity work(such as conveyancing) have been hithard, and larger firms have sufferedsimilarly by a fall in corporate and M&Aactivity. In addition, regulatory changes(such as the Legal Services Act) willundoubtedly increase competition evenfurther as non-lawyers enter the market,the so called “Tesco Law”.

Some industry experts speculate thatthere may well be 4,000 fewer law firmspost LSA implementation.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom.Litigation, insolvency and family lawsectors are performing well due to the

downturn, and signs of recovery arestarting to show in corporate activity andreal estate (albeit from a low base).

An increasing number of firms aretaking the opportunity to re-assess theirmarket positioning with recent researchsuggesting that a third of firms anticipatea merger in the next five years.

This is likely to lead to stronger firmsand enhanced services for their clients.

The big question for all law firms iswhether their own businesses are fullyequipped to withstand these challengesand take advantage of the opportunities.

Barclays Corporate is helping its clientsby providing industry insight andopportunities to discuss and help clientswith key issues that include funding ofworking capital and improving lock-upmanagement, the right business structurepost Legal Services Act, merger andconsolidation activity, successionplanning, particularly for firms with 10partners or less, and strategy for thefuture forward thinking strategy.

Barclays Bank PLC

Bank of Scotland + Lloyds Bank PLC

Natwest PLC + The Royal Bank of Scotland

HSBC

Others

22%

15%

35%

11%

17%Major Bankers

www.2020mobile.com

For more information contactmarketing@2020mobile.comor follow us on twitter @2020mobile

66

THE past three years have beenunprecedented in the history of the NorthWest’s law firms.

The recent down turn caused a big fall infees, particularly among those firms thatearned commission from corporatetransactions, which all but dried up.

The last Legal 500 report – which ispublished each autumn – begins byhighlighting how Halliwells, one of theregion’s leading law firms, had gone intoadministration after report’s authors hadfinished compiling it.

Halliwells – which had offices in bothLiverpool and Manchester – wassubsequently split up, allowing HillDickinson, Barlow Lyde and HBJ GateleyWareing to either entrench their positionor establish a new foothold in the region.

While Halliwells’ demise raisesinnumerable questions about how lawfirms should be financed, the reportnevertheless ranks it according to workundertaken over the past year. It is foundin the second tier of the ‘regionalheavyweights’ category.

But while Halliwells might have droppedfrom the top tier to the second, AddleshawGoddard, DLA Piper and Eversheds allretained their position in the premier slot.

These are the law firms, dominant in theregion, that will by and large advise theTop 200 here, or, at the very least, regardTop 200 entries as their indigenous marketplace.

The report describes AddleshawGoddard to have "strength in depth across

the commercial spectrum" while also"maintaining a steady flow of businessdespite the recession".

DLA Piper's work in the corporate sectoris also singled out for praise although itcontinues to "provide high-calibre adviceacross the board".

David Gray, the managing partner forDLA Piper's Manchester office, said: "Apartfrom the well publicised demise ofHalliwells, the legal sector appears to befairly strong, although I would still expectto see one or two more casualties over thecourse of the next 12 months or so andpossible defensive mergers of smaller firmsin order to acquire critical mass.

"The economic climate did cause anumber of firms to be a little toointrospective.

“However, we are through this phase andthe focus is now on supporting the region'sbusinesses to help them thrive and sharefinancial risk with them whenever this ispossible.

"The pressure on cost is everywhere andpanel reviews are rife, such that there-assessment of panel appointments willnow become a greater feature of life goingforwards so that the purchasers/legalservices teams get best value for moneyand extract as much added value servicesfrom their law firms in return for a goodstream of business.

"DLA Piper has beaten its 2010/2011budget and we are undoubtedly on anupward curve in terms of our growth andtransactional activity, although still patchy,is very much in the ascendancy.

"We have made additional senior hiresinto two of our local specialist sector areas

– namely financial services and energy –both of which will continue to thrive alongwith our other specialist sectors inmanufacturing and retail, amongst others.

"The firm's global footprint is now of asize – with 76 offices in 30 countries – thatwe will continue to provide local businesswith overseas expertise in a seamlessfashion through our own offices overseas."

The Legal 500 report states thatEversheds' balance of private and publicsector client work "will assist it in ridingout the recession".

Evershed's senior office partner inManchester, Michael Clavell-Bate, said:“We are very positive about the economicoutlook for the North West.

“It’s a fantastic environment for businesswith its airport and transportinfrastructure competing on a global level.

"Developing deep long standingrelationships and working collaborativelywith our clients has been the key toEversheds success in the region.

"There is no doubt that the economicdownturn has had an enormous impact onthe professional services sector inthe region.

"But for Eversheds, the factthat we remain committedlocally but have grown ourbusiness into a globalconcern that can servicethe needs of clients in anyregion around the world,means that we are one ofthe very few law firms thatcan deliver locally for ourNorth West clients but canalso connect them globally.

“For that reason, weanticipate future growth forthe firm in the coming years.”

Eversheds, AddleshawGoddard and DLA Piper have

been joined by Pinsent Masons – up fromtier two in 2009 – which “excels inconstruction and projects work” .

It is also praised for building up itscorporate and banking team in 2009/10with new recruits including Gregg Davisonfrom Addleshaw Goddard and Matt Morganfrom DLA Piper.

The Legal 500 report then goes on tohighlight the achievements of smaller – yetequally effective firms – in lower tiers.

Among the ranks of last year’s secondtier is Beachcroft, whose strength inemployment and insurance is singled outfor praise.

The guide states that Cobbetts' propertydivision has suffered in the recession but ithas also been buoyed by its professionalpublic sector offering – particularly inemployment, health and local government.

DWF's work in the insurance sector "hada fantastic 2009" while the firm also causeda stir in the corporate market place, withhigh profile hires such as Stephen Houstonand Nancy Kelsall, both from AddleshawGoddard.

Hammonds is described as "somethingof a dark horse in the region"

because its “profile has not caughtup with the quality of work” thatit undertakes – particularly inits specialist areas of logistics,energy and chemicals.

Hill Dickinson has one of thebroadest practices in theregion, with the healthcaresector among its particular

strengths while Pannone is a"Manchester institution" and

one of the few firms to provide afull-service offering.

LawyersthatseetheTop200astheirhomemarketby BEN ROOTHBusiness Correspondent

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE DID CAUSE A NUMBER OFFIRMS TO BE A LITTLE TOO INTROSPECTIVE

David Gray, ManagingPartner at DLA Piperin Manchester

Eversheds Senior Partner Manchester Michael Clavell-Bate Halliwells office at 3 Hardman Square, Spinningfiled, Manchester

3

*Liverpool Daily Post Business Awards - Green BusinessAward (2010) and Environmental Business of the Year

Award (2003, 2005 and 2008)

Choose Recycling-led Waste Management with the

award winning B&M Waste Services*:Total waste management solutionNational service provided by alocal companyCompetitive prices

Improved recycling/recovery ratesReduced waste management costsFree waste management advice

Waste ManagementExpertise

ContaCt uS:freephone: 0808 100 2434www.bagnallandmorris.cominfo@bagnallandmorris.com

4