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Hertfordshire Limited 2016 Investing for growth
TOP 200 COMPANIES
Cambridgeshire Limited 2015 Accelerating profitable growth | Top 100 companies 1
in association with
2
Hertfordshire's Top 200
800 Limited | A C Georgiades Limited |A.M.P. Air Conditioning Limited | Abbey Pynford Holdings
Limited | Abbeyfield Society | Action For Children | Altro Group Plc | Amazon Group Limited |
Andusia Holdings Limited | Annodata Limited | Arisen Chef Limited| ARJ Construction Holdings
Limited | Armour Home Electronics Limited | Ashe Group Holdings Limited | Ashley Wilde Group
Limited | Ashridge | Astute Electronics Limited | Austin (GB) Limited | Away Resorts Limited | Azebra
Group Limited | B & M Care Group Limited | B.P. Mitchell Haulage Contractors Limited | Bathstore
Group Limited | Benchmark Fabrications Limited | Berkhamsted Schools Group| Berry Recruitment
Group Limited | Blue Square Marketing Limited | Boston Limited | Bourne Leisure Holdings Limited |
Brayleys Cars Limited | BRE Trust | Brighthouse Group PLC | Bristol Laboratories Limited | Brooks
Events Limited | Brora Limited | Bugler Group Limited | Burton's Foods Limited | C P Timber Limited |
C.F. Capital PLC | C.U. Phosco Limited | CAE Technology Holdings Limited | Cantillon Holdings
Limited | Capital City Service Limited | Chapman Ventilation Limited | Churchill Contract Services
Group Holdings Limited | Commercial Body Fittings Limited | Conamar Building Services Limited |
Cornelius Group PLC | CP Holdings Limited | Crown Motors Bushey Heath (Distributors) Limited|
David Howard (UK) Limited | David Lloyd Leisure Limited | Davroc Limited | DDD Investments
Limited | Designer M & E Services UK Limited | Displayplan Holdings Limited | Donatantonio Group
Limited | Durkan Holdings Limited | E.F.G. Housewares Limited | European Flavours & Fragrances
PLC | Evergood Associates Limited | Exclusive Contract Services Limited | Express Vending Group
Limited | Extrastaff Limited | Fishpools Holdings Limited | Fluorocarbon Group Limited | Flynn
Pharma (Holdings) Limited | Focus Hotels Management Limited | Formula One Auto Centres Limited
| Fraser Capital Management Limited | Freedom Communications (U.K.) Limited | Freedom
Destinations Limited | FT Solutions Limited | G.J.W.Titmuss Limited | Giffen Holdings Limited |
Gilbertson & Page Limited | Glinwell Public Limited Company | GPF Lewis PLC | Grant & Bowman
Holdings Limited | Gravity Media Group Limited | Ground Construction Limited | H. G. Construction
(Holdings) Limited | Haileybury | Hanmere Polythene Limited | Harlow Agricultural Merchants Limited
| Harper & Guy Consulting Limited | Hertsmere Leisure | HRS Investments Limited | IHP Limited |
Incorporated Bishop's Stortford College Association(The) | Ingleby (1884) Limited | Institute of
Grocery Distribution | International Exhibition Co-Operative Wine Society Limited | Invesco Capita
Holdings Limited | IT Luggage Limited | J S A Group Limited | Jarvis Group Limited | JAS Bowman &
Sons Limited | JCA HQ Group Holdings Limited | John A.Taylor & Sons Limited | JRL Group
Holdings Limited | JSM Construction Limited | Knight Precision Metals Limited | L Bennett & Son
Holdings Limited | Lamex Food Group Limited
2
3
Lawsons Holdings Limited | Leisuregrow Holdings Limited | Lengard Holdings Limited | Life Build
Solutions Limited | London Pharma & Chemicals Holdings Limited | M.P.I. (Herts) Limited | Make
Believe Ideas Limited | Mane Contract Services Limited | Martin Mathew & CO. Limited | Masters
Pharmaceuticals Limited | Masterson Holdings Limited | Matthew Homes Limited | Mcginley Support
Services (Infrastructure) Limited | Mcmullen & Sons Limited | Mcnicholas Construction (Holdings)
Limited | Medlock Electrical Distributors Limited | Millennium Ladieswear Manufacturers Limited |
Morrison Utility Services Group Limited | Morrisroe Group Limited | Motocaddy Holdings Limited |
Motor Fuel Group Limited | Motor Parts Direct Limited | MPL Home Limited | Muraspec Decorative
Solutions Limited | MW Packaging Limited | Nellsar Limited | North Herts Farmers Grain Limited |
Oakfield (Foods) Limited | Options Energy Services Limited | Palmers & Sons Holdings Limited |
Park Resorts Limited | Pearce Holdings ST Albans Limited | Petface Limited | Price Bailey Group
Limited | Qualapharm Limited | Quanta Consultancy Services Limited | Quanticate Limited |
Ramblers Holidays Group Limited | Rapier Design Group Limited | Ratcliff Group Limited(The) |
Reynolds Catering Supplies Limited | Riverson Group Holdings Limited | RO Trading Limited | Robert
Gibbs (Contracting) Company Limited | Rocket Medical PLC | Rolfe Contracting Limited |
Rothamsted Research Limited | RYE Street Coachworks Limited | Saif Charter Limited | Science,
Engineering And Manufacturing Technologies Alliance | Shephall Way Service Station Limited |
Sifcon International PLC | Simmons Bakers Limited | Simple Simon Foods Limited | SOP
International Limited | Specialist Cars Holdings Limited | Spreadex.Com Limited | St.Albans
Diocesan Board of Finance(The) | Star Cargo PLC | Stevenage Leisure Limited | Stoneforce Limited |
Storm Technologies Limited| Stortford Interiors (UK) Limited | Stubbins Marketing Limited | Surface
Solutions International Limited | T.S.G. Building Services PLC | Tappenden & CO. Limited | The
Aldenham Foundation | The Brand Machine Limited | The Chesterford Group Limited | The Foremost
Currency Group Limited | The GAP Partnership Holdings Limited | The Grass Roots Group Holdings
Limited | The Placement Group (Holdings) PLC | The Premier Pump And Tank Company Limited |
Timber Connection Limited | TLS Energy Limited | Towers Thompson Holdings Limited | Treehouse
Group Limited | Trend Machinery & Cutting Tools Limited | Triangle Aviation (UK) Holdings Limited |
TTP Group PLC | Tuskerdirect Limited | UGO Foods Group Limited | UKD Groundworks & Civil
Engineering Limited | Unitum Limited | Van Hage & Company (Holdings) Limited | Villa Plus Limited |
Vision Group (Holdings) PLC | W.H.Palmer & Co.(Industries)Limited | Watford Association Football
Club Limited(The) | Willmott Dixon Holdings Limited | WJ Management Limited | Woodford Holdings
Limited | Zenith Hygiene Group PLC
3
4
As the new Chair of Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) I am proud to be leading an
organisation which is focused on business-accelerated growth, and to be a champion for the county’s
future economic success.
Foreword
This annual Hertfordshire Limited report is an excellent
bellwether to measure local business health. Grant
Thornton is to be congratulated on collating such an
important piece of analysis.
As the facts here can attest, the Hertfordshire
entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well as evidenced by
robust growth in profits, job creation and remuneration.
This is most encouraging for future success. The details
afforded by this Hertfordshire Limited report allow the
opportunity to celebrate success and strengths, and
equally, to mark areas of potential challenge, all of which
are vital to the LEP’s mandate of ensuring that the
business voice remains at the heart of our work.
Hertfordshire has substantial assets and great potential,
which is why we state that it is Perfectly Placed for Business. Our proximity to London, a truly global city,
brings opportunities and risks in equal measure. We have
outstanding credentials in relation to film and TV
production; sustainable construction; life sciences; agri-
tech; and advanced engineering/manufacturing. In
addition, we define the geographical core of the UK’s
Golden Triangle, which is known around the world for
its truly outstanding science.
In themselves, these assets bring great opportunities but
no guarantees. It is crucial that we realise these
opportunities for the long-term benefit of the people of
Hertfordshire, particularly given the uncertainties
surrounding Brexit and world economic prospects.
This is the reason why the nearly £300 million funding
that the Hertfordshire LEP has secured to date is being
directed at key areas where we can make a tangible
difference to business:
• helping your employees get to their place of work
via improved road and rail connectivity and better
broadband communications
• creating healthy and prosperous town centres
with rejuvenation programmes in places such as
Hatfield, Watford and Stevenage
• building lasting connections between schools and
businesses by investing in the skillsets of school
leavers to meet local employers’ needs with our
Careers and Enterprise Company, Skillmakers and
Apprenticeships Ambassador Network programmes
• accelerating R&D for commercial success by
investing in science-led incubation centres such as
Rothamsted Research and the new University of
Hertfordshire Knowledge and Science Innovation
Hub as well as supporting the Building Research
Establishment
• unlocking new growth and job creation with our
commitment to a Growth Hub offering free impartial
advice, grants and loans to established businesses with
high growth potential; and we are investing in start-up
support
• encouraging new inward investment with the
creation of a new Enterprise Zone; supporting key
sectors to thrive, and growing the visitor economy
with Visit Herts.
We are fully committed to unlocking the full potential of
the talent of the people and businesses of Hertfordshire
and we look forward to working with a wide range of
partners to help make this a reality.
Mark Bretton
Hertfordshire LEP Chair
5
About Hertfordshire Limited
Hertfordshire Limited is part of an annual series of
detailed business analysis by county compiled by Grant
Thornton. This report and the benchmarks it highlights
have already become a key event in the county's business
calendar.
How Hertfordshire Limited is compiled
Hertfordshire Limited is a study of the county's 200
largest privately owned companies, based on turnover,
who have their principal trading address in Hertfordshire.
The population excludes companies that are listed or
owned by listed or overseas businesses, or by larger
corporates located outside of the region.
The report is compiled using the most recent publicly
available financial statements and the results are derived
from the current and previous year's financial
performance of the 200 constituent members (the
Hertfordshire 200) to allow a year on year comparison.
The aim of this analysis is to provide a yardstick against
which the county can assess its economic performance
and businesses can benchmark themselves against their
peers.
Welcome to Hertfordshire Limited 2016 – Grant Thornton's unique insight into the performance of
the Hertfordshire business community.
Inevitably there is a time delay between the availability of
the data used and the presentation of this report. The
report gives a fascinating insight into how Hertfordshire
has performed during these changing times and provides
a snapshot of the county's economy as businesses in
Hertfordshire respond to the challenges that lie ahead.
Following analysis of the 200 companies, eight sectors
were identified to form the basis of this report.
• Automotive and Motor Retail
• Business Support Services
• Food, Drink and Leisure
• Healthcare and Education
• Industrial and Manufacturing
• Property and Construction
• Retail and Wholesale
• Technology
5
6
Findings - Headline results
The companies in our report, which this year range in
turnover from just over £15m to £1.3bn, have posted a
healthy increase in sales of 12.3% but seen a slight
softening in net profit margins as EBITDA rises by 9.6%.
More strikingly, following a few years focused on paying
down debt, we have seen a significant rise in interest
costs, with gearing rising by almost 5%.
Once again, the Hertfordshire 200, has delivered healthy
employment growth, with the county’s largest private
businesses employing almost 103,000 people across the
UK. More significantly, average remuneration has risen
by 3.4% (compared to the 1.7% rise recorded in last years
findings) This suggests that the tightening labour market
(which we anecdotally highlighted in 2015) has started to
feed through to real terms wage inflation. This has been a
pronounced feature of a number of sectors, implying that
skills shortages are starting to be impact financial
performance.
A review of the consolidated balance sheet data suggests
that most of the increased debt has been deployed in
investment in fixed assets which have risen by 4.6%.
Conversely, the key working capital metrics of net current
assets, debtor days and stock turnover all demonstrate a
net improvement in performance in this area, with large
corporates in particular delivering a strong performance
in cash generation.
Whilst the investment trends identified are evident across
both large corporates and SMEs, the rise in fixed assets
and working capital improvements are most evident
amongst larger businesses who have demonstrated a
particularly strong performance in cash generation
through focused working capital management.
Another interesting feature of this years report is the fall
in cost capital experienced by the SME sector, which is in
line with improved security ratios and suggests that a
relatively competitive banking market is responding to the
underlying quality of the business when pricing debt.
Conversely, larger corporates have seen an increase in
their borrowing costs, reflecting the negative movements
on key metrics such as gearing and interest cover.
Once again the Hertfordshire 200 has delivered a positive statement for the business community in the
county, posting a healthy rise in turnover, profitability and employment. This does not tell the whole
story however, as there is a discernible shift in some other metrics which paint a picture of an economy
which has re-engaged in investment activity and is seeing a real terms increase in wages for the first time
for some years.
Results Summary CY £000 PY £000 Variance %
Turnover 15,382,815 13,694,370 12.3%
EBITDA 1,251,574 1,141,827 9.6%
Interest payable 162,230 135,153 20.0%
Average cost of capital 3.9% 3.7% 7.4%
Interest cover 7.71 8.45 -8.7%
Gearing 1.13 1.08 4.5%
Total Employees 102,971 97,343 5.8%
Total employee remuneration 2,680,090 2,450,982 9.3%
Average remuneration (£) 26,028 25,179 3.4%
6
7
Balance Sheet Summary CY £000 PY £000 Variance %
Fixed Assets 5,009,347 4,788,512 4.6%
Current assets 5,817,676 5,018,573 15.9%
Current liabilities 4,289,643 3,328,950 28.9%
Net current assets 1,528,033 1,689,623 -9.6%
Total Equity 3,671,071 3,432,921 6.9%
Total Debt 4,132,162 3,698,888 11.7%
Average Stock turnover days 68 67 1.0%
Debtor days 48 51 -6.1%
Cash 1,140,452 926,210 23.1%
Large CY £000 PY £000 Variance % SMEs CY £000 PY £000 Variance %
Turnover 11,975,272 10,564,734 13.4% Turnover 3,407,543 3,129,636 8.9%
EBITDA 962,161 869,493 10.7% EBITDA 289,413 272,334 6.3%
Interest payable 140,659 110,948 26.8% Interest payable 21,571 24,205 -10.9%
Average cost of
capital 4.0% 3.5% 12.0%
Average cost of
capital 3.6% 4.2% -13.8%
Interest cover 6.84 7.84 -12.7% Interest cover 13.42 11.25 19.2%
Gearing 1.38 1.31 5.5% Gearing 0.53 0.55 -2.6%
Fixed Assets 3,874,021 3,681,914 5.2% Fixed Assets 1,135,326 1,106,598 2.6%
Current assets 4,404,033 3,762,055 17.1% Current assets 1,413,643 1,256,518 12.5%
Current liabilities 3,322,115 2,502,531 32.8% Current liabilities 967,528 826,419 17.1%
Net current assets 1,081,918 1,259,524 -14.1% Net current assets 446,115 430,099 3.7%
Total Equity 2,563,983 2,389,101 7.3% Total Equity 1,107,088 1,043,820 6.1%
Total Debt 3,540,246 3,126,193 13.2% Total Debt 591,916 572,695 3.4%
Average Stock
turnover 74 54 36.1%
Average Stock
turnover 65 73 -11.3%
Debtor days 37 40 -5.6% Debtor days 52 56 -6.2%
Cash 771,797 611,733 26.2% Cash 368,655 314,477 17.2%
Large corporates have turnover more than £50m for the purpose of this
analysis
SMEs are businesses with turnover less than £50m for the purpose of
this analysis
7
8
T
Overview of the Hertfordshire 200
117 30
Turnover range:
<£20m £20m – £100m
53
sectors by turnover
Food, Drink and Leisure
Property and Construction
Business Support Services
of the Top 200
companies
increased
EBITDA
1
2
3
increase in turnover >£100m
Turnover
£15.4bn
xx%
144 of
Top 200
companies
increased
revenue
TOP 3
131
9.6% Increase in EBITDA
TOP 5 sectors by number of companies
Food, Drink and
Leisure
Business Support
Services
Retail and
Wholesale
Healthcare and
Education
Property and
Construction
EBITDA
£1.2bn
8
9
Watford
(22)
xx
Location of Top 100 St Albans
(19)
Hertford (18)
Stevenage (13)
Borehamwood (13)
Other (103)
LARGE CORP
13.4%
SME
EBITDA increase
6.3%
LARGE CORP
EBITDA increase
10.7%
Average Remuneration
SME
8.9%
£26,028
3.4%
TURNOVER
GROWTH XX
Employment
102,971
employees
64 Large
Corporates*
*Large corporates are companies
with a turnover greater than £50m
Large corporate debt
increase 13.2%
SME debt increase
3.4%
Hemel Hempstead (12)
9
Average Remuneration increase
10
Turnover
increase
69.2%
Total number
of companies
Turnover
Total number
of employees: 2,855
EBITDA
£78m
EBITDA
increase
63.4%
Average
Remuneration £27,629
Average
Remuneration
per employee
increase by
The UK new car market continues to go
from strength to strength with new car
registrations up 2.5% year on year and
used car sales up 7.9%. The key driver for
the exceptional growth in this sector
however, is the rapid expansion through
acquisition of St Albans based Motor
Fuel Group, the second largest independent
forecourt operator in the UK.
12
£
£1.7bn
Automotive
11
Business Support Services
Total number
of companies
Turnover
increase
30,029
£23,600
8.6%
decrease in
fixed assets
11.9%
EBITDA
39
EBITDA
increase 8.6%
Average
Remuneration
Turnover
£2.5bn
This sector makes up just under one fifth of the Top 200
population; the second largest in the report. It has seen
an 8.6% increase in turnover, with a corresponding
improvement in EBITDA and an increased average
remuneration of 5%, driven by a rise in employment of
just over 10%. This is a relatively well diversified sector
encompassing recruitment, facilities management and
other support services, that has performed well in
maintaining margins despite a significant real terms
increase in wage costs.
£170m
Average Remuneration
increase by 5.6%
11
12
Turnover increase
2.0%
40 Total number
of companies
Turnover
Average
Remuneration
EBITDA
EBITDA
decrease 5.1%
This sector, encompassing food manufacture, hospitality
and tourism is the largest within our report,
representing 27% of total turnover, and has delivered
a mixed set of results with a small rise in turnover
being offset by a fall in EBITDA as labour costs rise
in real terms and margins come under some pressure.
£21,539
£4.1bn
Sector
Gearing
1.32
Average
Remuneration
increase 2.5%
Food, Drink & Leisure
13
Total number
of companies
EBITDA
£73m
Turnover
decrease
EBITDA
decrease
20.1%
£793m
It has been a difficult year in Social Care with the
introduction of the National Living Wage and
uncertainty over public sector funding. This
challenging landscape is evident in the drop in
turnover and significant margin pressure
underpinned by a relatively large rise average
remuneration.
Debt increased by
6.4%
5.2%
21
Turnover
Total number of
employees
11,960 Average
Remuneration
increased by
4.1%
Healthcare and Education
13
14
EBITDA
decrease
Remuneration
increase
Industrial and Manufacturing has seen a turnover
increase of 3.8%. Significant employment growth
and pressures in the labour market have seen a
real terms increase in average remuneration of
4.2% which has subdued EBITDA performance.
3,123
Total number
of employees
Total number
of companies
EBITDA
Employee growth
19
£42m
£485m
7.2%
£33,373
Average
Remuneration
Turnover
0.3%
Industrial and Manufacturing
15
The sector, which remains an important feature of the
Herts economy, has had a strong year with a significant
increase in turnover and an impressive rise in
EBITDA, notwithstanding wage inflation of over
10%, fuelled by the shortage of skilled labour in the
industry.
Property and Construction
Turnover
increase
Average
remuneration
Fixed assets
Turnover
16.3%
Total number of
employees
£291m EBITDA
17,257
£33,054
42% EBITDA
increase
£828m
Total number
of companies
37
£3.9bn
Employee growth
9.2%
%
15
16
Consumer spending has continued to fuel an
impressive growth in both turnover and
EBITDA and has also driven an increase in
employment of almost 5% with a corresponding
rise in average remuneration of 4.7%.
Retail and Wholesale
Employee growth 4.5%
£1.1bn
Turnover
increase
Total
number of
employees
6,222
8.8%
Total debt increase
2.2%
EBITDA
increase
8.9%
EB
ITD
A
£203m
21 Total number
of companies
24hr
Average
Remuneration
£30,312
Tu
rno
ve
r
17
Total number
of companies
EBITDA
increase
Employment increase
7.8%
11
Average
remuneration
£51,295
EBITDA
£39m
Total number of
employees
Tu
rno
ve
r
£152m
1,8
83
Technology
Remuneration
increase
5%
Turnover
increase
12.6% 0.9%
£5
21
m
Turnover growth in this sector has not been
translated to increased profitability as a
significant rise in employment and average
remuneration has impacted the cost base . The
Technology sector has the highest average
remuneration of £51,295.
17
18
Vibrant Economy Index
Prosperity Dynamism and
Opportunity
Inclusion, and
equality
Health, well being
and happiness
Resilience and
sustainability
Community, trust and
belonging
We have an economy
that is producing
wealth and creating
jobs.
Our economy is
entrepreneurial and
innovative, with a skill
set that can drive
future growth.
Everyone benefits
from economic growth.
The gap between
richest and poorest
narrows, regional
disparities reduce, and
there are opportunities
for all.
People are healthy
and active, leading
fulfilling lives which
provides individual
prospects.
Our economy has a
neutral impact on the
natural environment
and our built
environments are
resilient places we
want to live in.
Vibrant communities
have a lively and creative
cultural life, and a clear
identity that all its people
are proud of. People feel
safe, engage in
community activities and
trust the integrity of
businesses and
institutions.
Indicators:
• Total GVA (£m)
• GVA per job (£000)
• Mean workplace
weekly pay (£)
• Knowledge-driven
employment (%)
• Businesses turning
over >£1 million (%)
• Businesses turning
over >£100 million
(%)
• Foreign owned
businesses (%)
Indicators:
• Business formation
rate (%)
• High level skills (%)
• Knowledge workers
(%)
• Patents granted
(per 100,000 pop)
• GCSEs A*-C
achieved (%)
• Higher education
employment (%)
• R&D employment
(%)
Indicators:
• Deprivation (score)
• Inequality (score)
• Average income (£)
• Child poverty
(score)
• Housing affordability
(score)
• Employment rate
(%)
• Benefit claimant
rate (%)
• Homeless
households (per
000 households)
• NEETs (%)
• Housing benefit
claimant rate (% of
all households)
• Long-term
unemployment (%)
• Fuel poor
households (%)
• Unemployed
inequality (ethnicity)
Indicators:
• Sports participation
(adults) (%)
• Adults overweight or
obese (%)
• Life satisfaction
(score)
• Life worthwhile
(score)
• Happiness (score)
• Anxiety (score)
• Diabetes prevalence
(%)
• Average life
expectancy (yrs)
• Child obesity (Year
6) (%)
• Mean hours worked
differential
Indicators:
• Air quality (score)
• Recycling rate (%)
• Co2 emissions per
capita (Kt Co2)
• Energy consumption
(GWh)
• New residential
addresses created
in National Flood
Zone (%)
• Previously
developed land
usage (addresses
per ha)
• Dwellings
completed (no.)
• Households on LA
waiting list (%)
• Planning
applications (no.)
Indicators:
• Community assets
(per 1,000 pop)
• Cultural amenities (per
ha)
• Living alone, aged
over 50 and over (%)
• Valid voter turnout (%)
• Violent crimes (per
1,000 pop)
• Ethnic diversity (score)
We believe that our economy should benefit society as a whole, taking into account not only financial
growth and economic returns within an area, but also a wider set of characteristics. Our Vibrant
Economy Index measures the current position in 324 English local authority areas across six baskets
of socio-economic indicators, to provide an indication of the vibrancy of the area.
19
Hertfordshire Scorecard
Prosperity
Dynamism and
Opportunity
Inclusion, and
equality
Health, well
being and
happiness
Resilience and
sustainability
Community,
trust and
belonging
Vibrant
Economy
Index
Broxbourne 74 132 134 112 242 195 133
Dacorum 63 208 57 94 69 124 77
East Herts 183 85 16 79 26 53 43
Hertsmere 37 103 60 126 129 51 55
North Herts 112 74 44 51 149 30 49
St Albans 104 53 18 1 153 8 11
Stevenage 54 120 164 232 277 164 180
Three Rivers 61 173 49 110 184 113 92
Watford 25 244 83 88 270 91 101
Welwyn
Hatfield
35 8 132 115 181 131 31
Average of
county 75 120 76 101 168 96 77
Comment The lack of a strong correlation between prosperity and
the other baskets suggests that focusing solely on
improving a place’s economic performance will not
necessarily have a meaningful impact on improving
performance in other baskets, or filter through quickly
enough to the most excluded. This multidimensional
nature of vibrancy means that local areas need to consider
which element/s are most important to them to change.
In an age of austerity, there is no doubt that local place-
shaping will be best managed by localities themselves
determining what is important to them and devolution
offers an opportunity for this to happen faster. Creating
vibrant societies isn’t simple, and as we’ve seen recently,
policies to increase growth don’t necessarily translate into
societies that feel they are making progress. Creating
economic and societal change where businesses,
communities and people can thrive, needs the public,
not for profit and business communities to be united, if
the vision for growth is to be more sustainable and
widely shared.
In the context of the 324 local authority areas, the
performance of the Hertfordshire area is positive, with
an average Vibrant Economy Index across its ten local
authorities that places it in the top quartile in England. St
Albans is ranked the 11th most vibrant economy in
England, with Welwyn and Hatfield also in the top 10%.
North Herts, East Herts and Hertsmere perform
consistently well across many of the baskets. We look
forward to assessing in the future how the focus on
rejuvenation in Stevenage and Watford by the
Hertfordshire LEP improve the vibrancy of those
locations.
19
20
The 'ones to watch'
As part of our analyses, we have identified a number of exciting growth businesses that are currently
outside the Hertfordshire 200. The 25 companies below stand out to us, as having the potential to
join the Top 200 in future years.
Company
Birkin Cleaning Services Limited
Brandt Kitchens Limited
Chameleon Information Management
Services Limited
D.W. Windsor Limited
Dysk PLC
G.B. Kent & Sons plc
G.T. Towing Limited
GC Project Management Limited
Glanville Consultants Limited
Heverin Haulage Limited
Hfis plc
Itri Limited
Company
Kain Knight Limited
Lightning Packaging Supplies Limited
Limelight Sports Group Limited
M.H. Goldsmith & Sons Limited
Oakman Inns And Restaurants Limited
Pakex (UK) plc
PCC plc
PMC Soil Solutions Limited
Stanmore Implants Worldwide Limited
Total Construction Limited
Veruth Holdings Limited
Verex Group Limited
Wilden Services Limited
20
21
• UK member firm of Grant Thornton
International Limited
• 26 offices nationwide
• £521m turnover
• Services over 40,000 individuals privately
held businesses and public interest entities
• 185 partners and 4,500 people
• Winner of the Accountancy Firm of the
Year – Larger clients – 2016 (FD
Excellence Awards)
• 42% FTSE 100 are non-audit clients
About Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance,
tax and advisory firms.
More than 42,000 Grant Thornton people, across over
130 countries, are focused on making a difference to
clients, colleagues and the communities in which we live
and work. The UK Grant Thornton member firm
provides services to over 40,000 privately held
businesses, public interest entities and individuals.
It is led by 185 partners and employs more than 4,500 of
the profession's brightest minds.
Grant Thornton International Limited
These firms help dynamic organisations unlock their
potential for growth by providing meaningful, forward-
thinking advice. Proactive teams, led by approachable
partners in these firms, use insights, experience and
instinct to understand complex issues for privately owned,
publicly listed and public sector clients and help them to
find solutions.
Grant Thornton UK LLP
• Fastest growing of world's six largest
accounting organisations
• Fee income = £4.7 billion
• World's most attractive employer s
(Universum 2015)
• 42,000+ people in 130 countries
• Global methodologies, strategy, global
brand, global values – consistent
global service
• Winner of Global Firm of the Year –
2015 (The British Accountancy
Awards)
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St Albans client space - Work, Connect, Collaborate
If you imagine part executive business lounge, part
collaboration suite and a dedicated, changing event
space…with good coffee thrown in - you won’t be far
wrong.
Our client space in St Albans is the perfect place to:
Work differently:
• An innovative space for our clients, contacts and the
local business community
• A creative and dynamic environment helping to
promote agile working
• Hold strategic board level discussions in our dedicated
‘CEO Room’
• 30 seat theatre/presentation room
• Our café and kitchen seats 10 - 12 and caffeinates
thousands
• Standing desks, sound insulating meeting booths,
write on our glass walls
• Wi-Fi with no pesky dead spots
• We even have printers…if you just have to print!
Connect:
• Meet other businesses and local business people
• Share ideas and problem solve
• Regular, thought provoking events that you won’t
want to cancel
Collaborate with others:
• Need help? - we may know someone who can
• Co-create projects with like-minded people
• Meet new businesses every time you come in
• You may bump into a few Grant Thornton people
too!
To come in and see us contact:
Laura Bailey
T: 01727 221233
@StAlbans_Herts
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M +44 (0)7966 583 814
E [email protected] M +44 (0)7710 748 532
Steve White Jeremy Read Audit Advisory
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