Skip to main content

THE TOP 300 FIRMS IN WALES

Last month, the South Wales Business School, in partnership with Wales Online, compiled a list of the largest Welsh businesses and examined their effect in terms of employment and sales. 

As a result, the Wales Top 300 demonstrates the significant contribution of some of the largest businesses in Wales at a time when there are major economic challenges for all firms as we prepare to leave the European Union in 2020.

Of course, new entrepreneurial ventures are important to the dynamism and vitality of any economy but large firms continue to make a disproportionate impact on the Welsh economy.

For example, the latest data on business demography shows that whilst the total turnover for all Welsh businesses is £122 billion, the total turnover of the Top 300 businesses is £38.4 billion with three firms - Admiral, Iceland and GE Aircraft Engines - accounting for 22 per cent of total turnover of the 300 firms.  

This means that the Top 300 firms are responsible for 32 per cent of the turnover of the entire Welsh business community. In addition, the number of jobs within the Top 300 firms is currently 132,500, which is equivalent to nine per cent of the Welsh business workforce. 

In terms of growth, the overall turnover of the top 300 businesses has increased by 7.7 per cent over their last 12 months of trading whereas employment has expanded by 10.9 per cent. 

Within the list itself, we find that the top ten firms - which account for 37 per cent of total turnover and 30 per cent of total employment - are also a third more productive in terms of turnover/employee than the rest of the Top 300 firms. 

Given ten of Wales’ local authorities are based there, it is not surprising that 59 per cent of the top 300 businesses are to be found in the Cardiff Capital region, followed by North and Mid-Wales (27 per cent) and Swansea Bay (14 per cent). Indeed, with only 41 of the top 300 firms based within the Swansea Bay region, it will be a major challenge to ensure that they all play a full and active part in the city deal plans for the region although, unfortunately, there is little evidence of this to date.

The sectoral make-up of the Top 300 is fascinating with given that 38 per cent are manufacturing firms although this should not be too surprising given that it remains a significant industry and has shown a remarkable renaissance since the recession of 2009 with Wales now being the most manufacturing intensive of any part of the UK.

And as 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 to Wales. 

Given the presence of so many large manufacturing firms within Wales, it is critical that politicians do not miss a trick by ensuring that these businesses are fully supported to maximise their potential after we leave the European Union. 

The new manufacturing strategy for Wales currently under consideration by the Welsh Government is definitely overdue for the sector given that the last one, launched in 2011, achieved very little. In addition, there has been much fanfare over how the UK’s Industrial Strategy would focus on improving the productivity of some of the key manufacturing sectors in Wales although more needs to be done to ensure existing firms actually benefit from this.

Financial and professional services had the largest increase in turnover (15 per cent) and employment (19 per cent) of any sector and given the increasing focus in Cardiff on this sector, it looks set to continue its progress over the next few years.

Therefore, the performance of Wales Top 300 shows us not only where the economy is doing well, but where there are also challenges ahead in the years to come. 

Of course, it should be a key imperative for both Westminster and Cardiff Bay to ensure that greater numbers of entrepreneurial and innovative firms are encouraged to set-up and grow here in Wales but the Welsh and UK Governments must also ensure that this group of the 300 largest firms which have such an impact on the Welsh economy are given the environment in which they can thrive.

Certainly, with the new UK Government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson having made a pledge to focus efforts on growing those economies outside the more prosperous London and the South East of England, it is clear that those large companies operating across the whole spectrum of sectors in Wales must be given the right incentives to maximise their contribution to the Welsh economy going forward as we enter a new decade.


Popular posts from this blog

THE CRACHACH

Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales?  As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales.  Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience.  They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is...