Glasgow-based Edrington, has joined Wm Grant & Sons in the annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table which ranks Britain’s 100 private companies with the biggest sales. Edrington came in at 91, with sales of £739m in 2018. The company joined Wm Grant & Sons which has moved up 12 positions to 50th in the league with sales topping £1 billion.
The distillers join four other Scottish companies to make it into the Top 100. They are Arnold Clark, Parks Motor Group, John Clark Motor Group and KCA DEUTAG Group.
This year, the 100 companies reached a record £205bn in total sales, up an average of 16% on the prior year, with record total profits of £23.5bn, up by 10%. An impressive 90 companies increased sales in their latest financial year.
The league table is sponsored by HSBC, Linklaters and PwC and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.
Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC UK, said, “Once again, Britain’s most ambitious private enterprises have shown their mettle by shrugging off uncertainty to grow at an even faster rate than the year before. The businesses in the Top Track 100 are an inspiration to all, showing just what can be achieved with entrepreneurial spirit and a determination to succeed. The six companies in Scotland are the kinds of firms that provide the backbone of our economy, and we at HSBC UK are thrilled to see them thrive.”
Biggest private companies in Scotland, by county and rank
| HQ location County | Rank [2017 rank] | Company
Activity |
Sales £m | Profits£m ‡ | Staff | Year end | Main shareholders |
| Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire |
66 [60] | KCA DEUTAG Group
Drilling and engineering contractor |
904 | 171 | 6,117 | Dec 17 | Pamplona Capital, Al Qahtani Investments, BlackRock, Golden Tree, EIG Partners, other funds |
| Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire |
90 [88] | John Clark Motor Group
Car dealer |
742 | 11 | 1,337 | Dec 17 | John Clark and family (100%) |
| Keith
Banffshire |
54 [66] | William Grant & Sons
Spirits distiller |
1,062 | 270 | 2,113 | Dec 16 | Grant and Gordon families |
| Glasgow
Lanarkshire |
7 [7] | Arnold Clark
Car dealer |
*3,931 | *276 | 11,427 | Dec 17 | Clark family and trusts (100%) |
| Glasgow
Lanarkshire |
91 [ – ] | Edrington
Whisky and rum distiller |
739 | 220 | 2,255 | Mar 18 | The Robertson Trust (77%), employees, former employees (23%) |
| Hamilton
South Lanarkshire |
82 [ – ] | Park’s Motor Group
Car dealer |
777 | 29 | 1,847 | Mar 17 | Douglas Park and family (100%) |
‡ Profits = EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation)
* Supplied by the company
The full league table is published as a six-page supplement with the business section of The Sunday Times on 8 July, both in print and in the digital edition, and on www.fasttrack.co.uk.
