Top Track 250 tiptoes into emerging markets

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Brazil, China , Russia, India | Tags: Grant Thornton, international, emerging markets, sponsor, list, Top Track 250, Sunday Times, league table, Fast Track, sales, BRIC, midmarket

Last weekend’s Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250, sponsored by Grant Thornton, revealed that while the majority enjoyed overseas sales, only 27 of the 250 companies had developed interests in emerging BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

The Sunday Times list shows the 250 UK companies ranking just below the top 100 private firms for sales, provided they have also either increased sales or operating profit. For more details on the full list and key findings, check out our post on Elevate – for business leaders.

The majority had overseas sales and 120 report that they have a foreign subsidiary. The company with the highest international sales is food distributor and farmer Vestey Group (No 4) with overseas sales of £351m, representing 65% of its total sales in 2009.

But only 27 companies reported that they have a subsidiary in one or more of the emerging BRIC countries.

Anuj Chande, Head South Asia Group, Grant Thornton, suggests that this is a reflection of the UK mid corporate sector not waking up to the realities of the new emerging world economic order. He says: “They are ignoring not only the enormous market opportunities, but also the potential threat of competition from emerging markets.”

He adds that there has, however, been a change over the years and increasing interest in emerging markets.

Top of the league for this includes: pay-TV technology provider NDS (7) with customers in more than 70 countries, including India and China, and cash management provider Talaris (68), which operates from more than 20 countries, including Brazil and China.

The full Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 list can be found at Fast Track. 

For more on Grant Thornton’s services for the emerging markets sector, visit our South Asia and China Britain Services pages.

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