Whilst the latest data on business demography shows that whilst the total turnover for all Welsh businesses is £118 billion, the total turnover of the Top 300 businesses is £35 billion.
This means that the Top 300 firms in Wales are responsible for around 29 per cent of the turnover of the entire Welsh business community (which is currently around 250,000 firms)
Similarly, the number of people employed by Welsh businesses currently stands at 1.1 million, with 151,000 based within the Top 300 firms (or equivalent to 15 per cent of the Welsh business workforce).
Over their last 12 months of trading, the overall turnover of the top 300 businesses has increased by 12 per cent whereas employment has only grown by 5 per cent, suggesting that these firms have become more productive in the last year.
The top ten firms - which included Iceland at number one - account for 37 per cent of total turnover and 28 per cent of total employment. They are also 45 per cent more productive in terms of turnover/employee than the rest of the Top 300 firms and there are lessons there for other firms as to how they have achieved this.
By location, the majority of firms are to be found in the Cardiff Capital region which given that 43 per cent of Wales’ businesses are located there shows a clear predominance of larger firms in this part of Wales. In contrast, North and Mid-Wales have 28 per cent of the total.
The sectoral make-up of the Top 300 is somewhat unexpected with 132 firms (44 per cent) based in manufacturing and engineering. The performance of the industry is also better than the average for the Top 300 in terms of both turnover and employment growth which reflects the remarkable renaissance for manufacturing since the dark days of the recession of 2008.
Whilst it had declined to 14.5 per cent of the Welsh economy in 2008 (the lowest level recorded in modern times), it has since grown to 16 per cent in 2015 and during the period 2008-2015, it expanded by 27 per cent and accounting for a quarter of all Welsh economic growth over this period.
In terms of a comparison with UK manufacturing, Wales is second only in performance to the Midlands with growth being double that for the overall UK sector.
The future of the UK economy post Brexit may be largely dependent on those industries that are able to grow their markets overseas and in that respect, the manufacturing sector will be critical.
Given the presence of so many large manufacturing firms in Wales (and North East Wales in particular), it is critical that policymakers do not miss a trick by ensuring that these businesses are fully supported to maximise their potential.
Therefore, the performance of Top 300 firms in Wales shows us not only where the economy is doing well, but where there are also challenges ahead of us in the years to come.
Of course, it is absolutely vital that we encourage greater numbers of entrepreneurial and innovative firms but we must also ensure that those large firms which have such an impact on the Welsh economy are given the right environment to thrive by both the Welsh and UK Governments.
Indeed, we have some fantastic companies in Wales that are creating jobs and wealth within their local communities and if they continue their growth and development over the next few years, there should be cause for optimism as our economy faces considerable challenges in the future.