Smith Brothers have been included in the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250.
To receive inclusion in the list the business had to meet the criteria list set, which included a minimum growth of five per cent from the previous year.
Out of the 250 companies featured, 130 businesses were previously included in the 2018 list, meaning Smith Brothers was one of the 120 companies who were added this year.
Top Track 250 combined sales in 2018 were £54.8 billion which increased to £63.3 billion this year, an increase of over 15 per cent. Smith Brothers Stores (SBS) finished its trading year at the end of September recording £116+ million sales, 11 per cent growth, out of the group’s total turnover of £124.5 million.
Total combined profits in the report, like sales, saw a noticeable improvement with the analysis highlighting £5.9 billion in 2019 from £4.9 billion in 2018 previously. Nearly two thirds of companies listed increased their margins, which included Smith Brothers that increased by four per cent from the previous year. SBS, like 72 other companies, featured in the ‘10 – 20 million’ bracket for profits highlighting the sustainable growth the business is making.
One area Smith Brothers is keen to highlight is its staff, openly stating it is one of its USP’s. With the group employing around 450 staff members, around 350 located at Smith Brothers Stores, it, like a third of the companies fall within ‘1 – 500 members of staff’ employed.
The publication highlights how the business remains 100 per cent family owned since being founded back in 1897. The family has fifth generation members present within its work force operating at various locations and job roles within the business. Smith Brothers is one of 67 other companies in the publication which is family owned.
Many top-performing private companies are looking beyond the UK for growth, more than half the companies trade overseas. On average, these companies grew international sales by 19 per cent in their latest year. While these companies say they have not yet seen any significant impact from the Brexit vote, they expect to do so in the future.
Although London still has the highest portion of HQ locations the report has highlighted regional development with the northeast growing over the last year. The location shift is linked to the investment in technology software as firms become increasingly web focused.
Smith Brothers has been growing at a sustainable rate since the millennium and even with Brexit uncertainty, the business has still been experiencing growth. Within 2019, three branches within the network relocated to larger premises bringing greater operational output in key locations at Birmingham, Manchester and London. The company also opened a tube distribution centre taking its total number of depot locations to 15.