Taking a leaf
Transformation. Acquisition. Products. Price. Diversification. The secrets of success among Insider’s Growth 100 seem to be as varied as the markets and specialisms in which they operate.
In this month's Insider we profile some of the businesses that have made this year’s Growth 100 list, as decided by the returns they have made to Companies House.
So what’s the secret? Well, it depends on who you ask.
Ken Trinder, head of business development at software and ecommerce business Epyx, has a positive outlook, despite the economic climate, saying: “The recession has been very good for a business like ours, and we have companies queuing up to sign up to our services.” Happy man.
Quantix’s managing director Richard Salmon prefers pricing and regionality as his way in. “Being based in the Midlands means we have an advantage in staff costs and accommodation compared with our rivals, which mainly tend to be based in the south,” he says.
Glenn Briers, director at Lydonford, keeps it simple: “The best products, at the best prices”.
These may seem like simple platitudes for success, but they work because the average adjusted growth among our Top 100 companies this year was 74 per cent, which was fairly consistent with the 74.3 per cent in 2008.
The average turnover in 2009’s figures was £41.3m – a shade under the previous year’s total of £42.17m.
What was impressive, however, was the profitability that management teams extracted from their businesses – an average of £2.3m, which is £1m higher than 2008’s average.
There is a a major health warning attached this year, though. Many of the figures are for pre-credit crunch trading, and many listed this year, particularly in areas such as property, retail and manufacturing, have been hit.
One person, who didn’t want to be named, told Insider: “Turnover has fallen from £30m to £18m and now I’m looking at it going down to £12m because of problems in supplies and trouble in the automotive industry. I wish I could say it’s going to improve, but I think I will be waiting for some time before that happens.”
But let’s dwell on the positive for a moment. These businesses have shown they can hit and surpass growth targets, not just as a one off but consistently over five years. If there’s anyone ready to weather recession, surely it’s them.
To see the full Growth 100 table and to read profiles of some of the companies featured, please purchase the March issue of Midlands Business Insider, in our online Shop.
