John Lewis tops non-listed table
High street retailer John Lewis is the biggest private company in the UK, according to the latest Top 100 table compiled by KPMG and The Sunday Times.
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John Lewis, which recorded sales of more than £4bn, topped the pile followed by food wholesaler Palmer & Harvey (£3.3bn), travel agents Hogg Robinson (£2.06bn) and Arcadia (£1.98bn), the rapidly expanding clothes empire spearheaded by Philip Green.
Arcadia, at number four, was also the highest-ranking newcomer to the list
Two of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin companies feature on the league table, with Virgin Atlantic, the UK’s second biggest airline, ranked 13th biggest with sales of more than £1.4bn, while Virgin Rail was 59th biggest,
In total, the Top 100 generated sales of more than £80bn employing 796,000 people, and more than half the companies operate from London (29) and the South East of England(25).
Mel Egglenton, head of middle market at KPMG, said: ‘Unquoted companies of all sizes are vital to the success of the economy, and the KPMG Top Track 100 highlights the quality of privately-owned companies in the UK, as well as the diversity and depth that exists across the regions.
‘The league table also shows that management are increasingly involved as stakeholders in their businesses, with private equity being the principal source of funding for the new entrants that feature, and we expect this trend to continue in years to come.’
Click here to view the whole table.