Elevate - for business leaders

Lessons in growth from the UK Top Track 250

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Business advice, Economy | Tags: Top Track 250, interviews, CEOs

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Where is UK growth coming from? How have some businesses managed to beat the market and thrive in the downturn? We asked four successful CEOs and MDs from Top Track 250 companies for their insights.

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Overseas deals double in food and beverage industry as foreign buyers snap up iconic UK brands

Thursday, February 14, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: M&A, Reports, Smart Money, Food, Beverage

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Overseas buyers, many from the BRICs, are showing a growing appetite for high-quality food and drink brands in the UK and Ireland, with acquisitions doubling in 2012. Find out more – and the key factor driving growth – in our food and beverage (F&B) report…

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Raising capital for business growth

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: growth, financing, capital, Food and Beverage

Accessing capital is a key challenge for almost all sectors in the current strict lending climate. Our graphic suggests 10 ways to secure finance to help grow your business.

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A CEO’s Vue on UK film industry growth

Tuesday, February 05, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Business advice, Economy | Tags: business, entrepreneurs, Grant Thornton, economy, growth, UK, CEO, insight, video, Top Track 250, interviews

The movies may have proved economically resilient during previous recessions but this one feels a little different, says Tim Richards, founder and CEO of Vue Entertainment.

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UK set to avoid triple-dip recession as confidence rises in Q1 2013

Friday, February 01, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Economy | Tags: business, recession, entrepreneur, economy, report, ICAEW, Scott Barnes, Michael Izza, BCM, Business Confidence Monitor, Recovery

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While others have warned of a triple-dip recession, the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) shows business confidence has increased to its highest point since Q2 2011, with a number of other positive indicators for the UK economy.

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How Arco became the UK’s biggest supplier of safety equipment and workwear

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Business advice | Tags: business, entrepreneurs, Grant Thornton, growth, UK, CEO, Top Track 250, interviews, CEOs, Insight, Video

Achieving growth in a recession isn’t easy, especially when your business is aligned with the public sector. We asked Thomas Martin, Joint MD of Arco, a supplier safety clothing, workwear, safety boots and safety equipment, how he navigates the bumpy economic terrain.

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How Bibby Line’s business culture and people help them sail to growth

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Business advice | Tags: growth, interview, Top Track 250, interviews

How do you buck the economic downturn to achieve growth? We asked Simon Sherrard, Non-Executive Chairman of Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group, how he has steered a shipping company – a volatile industry at the best of times – through the stormy economic waters.

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How Poundland doubled its number of stores

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Retail sector | Tags: growth, insight, video, Top Track 250, interviews, Poundland, online retail, Jim McCarthy

How have Top Track 250 businesses achieved their impressive growth in such tough times for the UK economy? In the first of a series of interviews with Top Track 250 business leaders, we ask Jim McCarthy, CEO of Poundland, for the secret of Poundland’s success, his plans for European expansion and the challenges of discount retailing online.

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Autumn Statement 2012 predictions for companies

Monday, November 26, 2012 | Posted by: Francesca Lagerberg
Categories: Economy, Tax | Tags: business, Francesca Lagerberg, GAAR, patent box, competitiveness, Anti-avoidance

“Autumn is likely to be more about patent boxes and high-end property tax changes than pasties,” says Francesca Lagerberg, Head of Tax, who outlines her predictions for next week’s Autumn Statement…

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Is this the end of the recession?

Monday, November 05, 2012 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
| Tags: business, entrepreneurs, recession, economy, report, ICAEW, Scott Barnes, Michael Izza, BCM, Business confidence monitor

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While business confidence has increased marginally in the final quarter of 2012, business’ plans for 2013 remain cautious. This suggests that while some sectors and regions are beginning to see an improvement, economic recovery will be restrained in the next 12 months, according to the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM).

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10 strategy tips from Green & Black’s founder Jo Fairley

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice, Women in business | Tags: business, entrepreneur, women in business, CEO, insight, advice, video, interview, leadership, Jo Fairley, Green & Black's, ethical

Jo Fairley co-founded a chocolate empire. Here she talks about what she learnt from launching Green & Blacks Organic Chocolate and growing it into a global ethical brand. We’ve also pulled out 10 tips based on her experience and insights.

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Festival of Business conference roundup

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice | Tags: business, links, UK, sponsor, conference, review, mid-market, Festival of Business, Telegraph, high-growth, high-growth companies

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Catch up on last week’s Telegraph Festival of Business event for UK business leaders and entrepreneurs in our summary of quick links, plus some of the key points from our Grant Thornton panellists.

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Jo Fairley on the business of starting Green & Black’s during a recession

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice, Women in business | Tags: business, entrepreneur, women in business, CEO, insight, advice, interview, leadership, Jo Fairley, Green & Black's, ethical, organic

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Chocoholic entrepreneur Josephine Fairley talks about how she co-founded Green & Black’s organic chocolate during the 1991 recession, built it into a global ethical brand and helped pioneer the modern concept of ethical business. “Which,” she says, “only goes to show there are opportunities as well as challenges for businesses in difficult times like these…”

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Top Track 250 league table – meet the top 10

Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
| Tags: Grant Thornton, list, sponsor, Top Track 250, mid-market, Sunday Times, league table, Fast Track

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With the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 list out this week, we take a closer look at the companies topping the mid-market leaderboard in 2012.

The annual Top Track 250 league table, compiled by Fast Track, ranks the next 250 UK companies after the Top Track 100 for their latest sales – provided they have also either increased sales or operating profit.

This year Grant Thornton became the title sponsor with its strong representation amid dynamic companies in the UK mid-market. Barclays also sponsored the list.

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UK mid-sized businesses beating the market

Monday, October 15, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Economy, Thought Leadership | Tags: statistics, report, insight, mid-market, UK economy, David Maxwell, MSB, mid-sized businesses, MSBs, CEBR

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There is secret success story going on in the UK economy at present that tells of high productivity, rising turnover and head count, and faster export growth – so why don’t we know more about it? The Telegraph commissioned Grant Thornton to explore exactly what is happening in the UK mid-sized businesses (MSB) sector, where a significant number are managing to beat the market…

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Be quick to register for Festival of Business 2012

Friday, September 21, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice | Tags: business, UK, sponsor, conference, mid-market, Festival of Business, Telegraph, high-growth, high-growth companies

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Demand will be high and places limited so make sure you’re on the attendee list for next month’s Telegraph Festival of Business, which is free to qualifying business delegates. Here’s a preview of the one-day event and details of how to register.

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Business reports roundup – summer 2012

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: India, business, China, report, financial, retail, guide, food, sustainability, publications, environment, beverage, BRICs

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Information is king so make sure you haven’t missed any of our summer updates. Here’s our business reports roundup covering growth opportunities in the BRICs and tips on accessing capital for growth, plus sector updates and regulatory news.

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Story of the deal: FSG and the process of a management buyout

Friday, September 07, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice, Property & Construction | Tags: growth, acquisitions, Story of the Deal, buying a business, management buy-out, case study, buying a company, facilities management, FSG, Facilities Services Group, MBO, David Simons

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A management buyout (MBO) is similar to any other acquisition, but while the owners and the managers may know each other, there can still be unforeseen obstacles. As part of our occasional ‘Story of the deal’ series, we go behind the steps of how Facilities Services Group achieved its management buyout on the path to growth, and offer some advice for others going through the process.

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Sign up for our free webinar on the new CFC rules

Tuesday, September 04, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice | Tags: tax, UK, advice, expansion, webinar, CFC, controlled foreign company, overseas, multinationals, foreign finance company

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Changes to the UK controlled foreign company (CFC) regime could affect every multinational group. Join us for a free September webinar in which our international tax experts will walk you through the new CFC rules and explain how companies can benefit from the changes. If your group has overseas subsidiaries, or is considering expanding abroad, this webinar is a must. Read on for details and how to attend…

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Social video entrepreneur Sarah Wood on a digital sector that is ‘exploding’

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Business advice, Media sector, Technology sector, Women in business | Tags: business, entrepreneur, digital, CEO, insight, advice, video, interview, online, social media, marketing, advertising, leadership, internet, Elevate magazine, YouTube, social business, viral, Sarah Wood, web

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Sarah Wood started her first business aged 13; now 38, she is the Winner of the 2011 Fast Growth Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award. But you’ll know her better from her social media work, turning brand campaigns such as Compare the Market/Meerkat and Evian’s Roller Babies into viral hits. In true tech entrepreneur style, she sent her interview answers in via smartphone from the middle of a Cambridge conference…

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