FT SPECIAL REPORT Mid-Market Companies Friday March 8 2013 www.ft.com/reports | twitter.com/ftreports market, posting 4.1 per cent sales growth in 2012, compared with an average 3.2 per cent. Inside » Efficiency, and an ability to adapt to trading conditions quickly, have been The resilient major factors. Grant Thornton calcu- lated that turnover per employee at Holding the line midsized companies was 18 per cent higher than the UK average. Rail operators pick “Mid-sized businesses are dynamic up pieces after organisations focused on improving middle their own performance in every way – West Coast products, procedures, costs, manage- main line debacle ment and structure,” says Mr Max- well. “They are more nimble than Page 2 large corporates in their approach to innovation and – unlike small entities – have the infrastructure in place to Big vs medium becomes manage change.” He argues that mid-market compa- debate has legs nies grasped the “realities of post 2008 Both sides are markets” – low interest rates and a devalued currency – far more quickly set to keep the that larger businesses. “They are argument going adept at identifying new markets and place to be Page 2 developing the techniques to get into these areas,” Mr Maxwell explains. Trouble in store ‘Mid-sized businesses are Retailers find Britain’s mid-sized enterprises more than dynamic organisations themselves at the match smaller and larger rivals in terms of job focused on improving their sharp end of woes creation and retention, writes Matthew Vincent performance in every way’ on the high street Page 3 f politicians and lexicographers financial crisis, between 2007 and However, it is has not been new are to be believed, the worst place 2010, these mid-market businesses industries leading the way. Grant Investors eye for Britons to be stuck is the “mid- increased their workforces by 26,000. Thornton’s figures show that there dle”. So pressured has the Larger UK groups shed 692,000 staff. are more UK midsized businesses in centre ground “squeezed middle” of the work- They have continued to punch well the manufacturing sector than any Businesses in the Iforce become that it gave the Oxford above their middleweight classifica- other, and the sector has generated English Dictionary its phrase of the tion, in economic terms. According to some of the fastest productivity FTSE 250 offer year in 2011. For their British employ- GE’s research, mid-market companies growth of any segment over the past profitable returns ers, however, the middle appears to be account for only 1.37 per cent of total 10 years. not at all under pressure: mid-market UK businesses but contribute 32 per GE Capital’s sees the UK’s mid-mar- Page 3 companies have continued to defy the cent of private sector GDP, and more ket companies beginning to rival Ger- downturn, to the relief of both work- than one in three UK jobs. many’s Mittelstand – the country’s ers and investors. David Maxwell, partner and mem- multitude of medium-sized, often fam- Brokers hang on In its 2012 study, “Leading from the ber of the national leadership board at ily-originated, manufacturing firms – Middle, the Untold Story of British advisers Grant Thornton, says: “The although the UK businesses are not Hopes remain of a Business”, finance provider GE Capi- UK midsized business segment is the yet achieving German levels of merger recovery tal found that UK businesses with unsung success story of the UK econ- growth. €20m-€1bn in revenues and 150-3,000 omy.” Among the listed mid-market but it would be employees have been “significantly Grant Thornton’s own “Agents of groups, though, share price growth from a low base more resilient” than smaller and Growth” research shows that UK mid- has more than kept pace. Taking the larger rivals in terms of job creation sized businesses – employing 50-499 Pulling a pint: Fuller, Smith & Turner was named 2012 Company of the Year last FTSE 250 index as a measure of mid- Page 3 and retention. During the worst of the people – have outperformed the wider night in the PLC Awards (details of all awards on Page 4) Charlie Bibby Continued on Page 2 Downturn survivors find reasons for optimism amid the gloom “Much of mid-market Prospects companies’ success has been dependent upon the Mark Wembridge sector in which they operate says some fears are and where they have con- centrated their attentions,” receding as hopes of says David Silver, chief foreign growth rise executive of investment banking at Robert W. Baird, a US investment bank. The global economic down- He says: “The ones that turn has not been kind on have picked their targets the UK’s mid-market com- sensibly have come out of panies. When the credit the downturn well. If their crunch began to take hold focus is on specialised in 2007, the subsequent offerings and they have a flight of investors to safety focus on high-growth avoided smaller, and so geographical regions, they potentially riskier, compa- will have withstood the nies. downturn better.” After topping the 12,000- As well as freeing itself of mark in early 2007, the non-core assets, Senior has FTSE 250 index lost more used its cash to buy compa- than half its value over the nies that better tailor it to next 18 months. be a supplier to aircraft But, for those companies makers Boeing and Airbus. that have survived the Such acquisitions include downturn, the outlook Weston, a Lancastrian appears to be getting rosier, maker of turbine blades for with the mid-cap index In a pickle: the Branston brand was sold Bloomberg aero-engines, and US com- passing its previous 2007 ponent maker Damar. peak at the end of last year. Mid-market recruiters, At about the same time, your business plan, it isn’t One example is Invensys, such as SThree, Hays, Rob- Deloitte’s annual survey of too difficult to get funding. the global technology ert Walters and PageGroup UK chief financial officers That was not always the group, which late last year (formerly Michael Page found that some economic case.” sold off its rail division to International) are examples worries were receding. The A separate Deloitte study Siemens for £1.7bn. In the of how emerging markets proportion of finance direc- found nine out of 10 FTSE process, it wiped out most can compensate for stag- tors who were fearful of 250 groups and other simi- of its pension deficit and nant conditions in mature another recession and the larly sized private compa- honed its focus on its con- economies. break-up of the European nies planned to sell off trols and operations man- “It has been difficult for single currency had con- parts of their businesses agement arms. UK-centric companies, tracted from more than a within the next three years. Other recent disposals by those that have not had the third in 2011 to about a fifth This was not in an attempt midsized UK groups include ability to export their busi- a year later. to shore up their finances, the move by FirstGroup, ness abroad and target The study also uncovered which had been the case in the transport company, to expanding markets,” says a fall in credit costs and 2009-2011, but in an effort to Mr Silver. that finance directors felt refocus their businesses Mr Finlay agrees: “Many credit was at its cheapest and implement longer-term UK mid-market businesses level in five years. strategic plans. ‘People have been are looking abroad for “We had to refinance at “The economy in the UK toughening their growth and doing so quite the end of 2009 and that has not been an overly aus- successfully. They are all was much harder – some of picious background for mid- businesses to deal looking for growth to come the banks were a right nui- market companies but the from overseas markets.” sance. But things are much word that you see coming with the economic Although emerging mar- better now,” says David out of the backdrop over uncertainty’ kets are the main target for Landless, chief financial the past few months is many UK mid-market com- officer of Bodycote. ‘resilience’,” says Robert panies, Europe’s apparent Mr Landless says the Finlay, head of corporate pare down its UK bus busi- recovery has tempted Filt- FTSE 250 engineer’s recent finance and broking at ness; and Premier Foods’ rona to eye acquisitions €125m refinancing was Westhouse Securities. bank-mandated sell-off of over the Channel. “smoother and more He adds: “Any real fears assets, which saw the Bran- “We are underweight in straightforward” than pre- of the eurozone collapsing ston pickle brand snapped Europe and would like to vious post-global financial have ebbed away signifi- up by a Japanese food com- make a few acquisitions crisis credit negotiations. cantly. People have been pany in October. there,” says Colin Day, the Neil Jones, finance direc- toughening up their busi- Meanwhile, Senior, the company’s chief executive, tor at ITE, the FTSE 250 nesses to deal with the con- British maker of engineer- who joined the FTSE 250 exhibition group, agrees: tinued economic uncer- ing components, offloaded a plastics and fibre supplier “There is now more of a tainty. Boards have unit that supplies the in April 2011 from Reckitt willingness among banks to adjusted to the new norm of nuclear and construction Benckiser, the consumer lend. If you have a good difficult trading conditions industries to focus on the products supplier. “This is credit rating, are not over and refocused their busi- booming market for com- the moment to get into geared and the bank knows nesses on their core.” mercial aircraft parts.