In association with

Who is the biggest and best of 2012?

In association with

Turnover up, profit down, but surviving

The first numbers that jump out of the Top as no surprise to many. Costs especially fuel keep on 100 2012 are the rise in average turnover rising and, in a market that certainly feels like it is in up 8.5% to 162.4m and the even bigger recession even if the official numbers are showing weak decline in average profit down 70% to just economic growth, stiff competition means it is nigh on 1.4m. This means an industry that is impossible to increase rates to keep pace with costs. essential to the UK economy is surviving But it is not all doom and gloom. There are still plenty Steve Hobson just on margins of less than 1%. That is of good, well-run firms out there managing to turn a Editor Motor Transport clearly not sustainable, as such a low level decent profit. And a key figure that better reflects of profit makes it extremely difficult to financial health is return on capital employed (Roce). invest in fleets and other assets needed to merely stay in This is not included in the Top 100 because the move to the game, never mind move the industry forward. off-balance sheet funding of assets such as vehicles and The increase in average turnover is probably more due warehouses makes it hard to calculate for many to takeovers and mergers than operators. significant organic growth among But a spot of number crunching on the Top 100 averages the leading players. Kuehne+ accounts of CM Downton the 2012 MT Nagels acquisitions added more Turnover latest 162,467,912 Haulier of the Year and undoubtedly a than 100m in turnover, Yodel Turnover previous year 149,630,499 very successful firm reveals that while (still trading as Home Delivery Profit latest 1,432,650 it makes a much more respectable than Network in its last set of published Profit previous year 4,779,970 average 7% pre-tax profit margin, its accounts) virtually doubled in size Employees latest 1,956 Roce is 15%. That is not just respectable Employees previous year 2,016 in haulage it stands comparison with with its acquisition of DHLs Day Sales per employee 109,313 some of the most successful companies Domestic arm, and Norbert Profit per employee 3,964 in Britain, including Tesco and Easyjet Dentressangles spending spree Change in profit per employee -56.33 (both 13%) and Barclays Bank (7% helped to add 160m turnover. Return on sales 0.86% return on equity). The low levels of profit will come

Are you a key player?

Laura Hailstone reviews the movers and shakers in this years tables and what it took to get there
For the fourth consecutive year I have spent the best part of two weeks poring over the financial results of the biggest and smallest operators in road transport, and everyone in between. Compiling Laura Hailstone the Top 100 is a labour of love and Group content its always satisfying if a smaller editor operator has expanded significantly to make it into the rankings for the first time so welcome to Bedfords, which has boosted turnover an impressive 77% from 12.4m to 22m; and Birds Groupage, which has reported turnover up 28% from 13.4m to 17.2m this year. And while we know that running a successful transport operation today, and one that will last the distance, is not about boosting turnover but retaining and hopefully boosting profit, the Top 100 Largest 100 companies (by turnover) table (p4-5) provides a snapshot of who the key players are and how theyre faring. Unsurprisingly, the big boys in the top 10 remain the same as last year. But there has been a slight re-jig of positions with Yodel (listed as Home Delivery Network) rising five places to take the 5th spot this year. This is largely due to Yodels accounts including the first full year of trading since it bought the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express, in March 2010. Next years top 10 however, will look very different as UPSs deal buying TNT will be complete and, according to our calculations, will give UPS a UK turnover of approximately 1.3bn placing it above Wincanton to become the second largest operator. Eddie Stobarts acquisition of Autologic (awaiting final shareholder approval) will see it overtake Norbert Dentressangle next year, with the deal boosting its turnover to about 583m. DX Group will also rise up the ranks next year once it amalgamates the revenue derived from its acquisition of Nightfreight this year. The cut-off point for entry into the Top 100 this year has risen 2.5% to 16.3m of turnover, so there were several firms that just missed out: AKW Group with 16.1m; Potter Group with 14.8m; Foulger Transport with 13.8m and EM Roger with 13.7m. As usual, the Top 100 has been compiled using the most recent set of accounts published at Companies House for each operator. Only thirdparty road transport operators are eligible for inclusion in the Top 100 we do not include ownaccount operators or networks where turnover is mainly derived from hub fees. Where possible, we strip out any revenue derived from non-transport activities such as vehicle maintenance, manufacturing or vehicle sales. The notes on p15 explain the thinking behind some of the trickier entries.

Contents
Top 100 data

Performance does matter

4 6 7 10 11 14 15

Features

Motor Transport Top 100 supplement is free with the 9 July issue of Motor Transport
Data compiled by Editor Production Advertisement production Editorial director Sales director Managing director Laura Hailstone Steve Hobson Clare Goldie Jasmine Jahromi Justin Stanton Vic Bunby Andy Salter

Largest 100 companies (by turnover) Growth in turnover

Profit is not a dirty word

Fowler Welch MD Nick Hay says keeping customers happy helps it remain a regular in the MT Top 100

To email us: name.surname@roadtransport.com

Growth in profit

Return on sales

Sales per employee

Profit per employee

12 Cost, credit and compliance

Editorial office Road Transport Media Ltd, 2nd floor, NINE Sutton Court Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4SZ. Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publishers terms of control. To apply visit: www.rbisubscribe.com/cc/mts or email: roadtransport.controlledcirculation@quadrantsubs.com Existing readers can update their address details and renew their free copy at www.rbisubscribe.com/renewfree Subscriptions Tel 01444 475635, visit www.rbisubscribe.com/sub/mts or email: roadtransport.subs@quadrantsubs.com Published by Road Transport Media Ltd, 5 The Courtyard, Timothys Bridge Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 9NP. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper. 2012 Road Transport Media Ltd. ISSN 0027-206 X

Notes

MAN Truck & Bus UK chief executive Des Evans looks at the three big issues facing operators
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AN Truck & Bus UK has always kept a sharp focus on the total cost of ownership for operators: all those things that can make a real difference to an operators bottom line. And that means we have always understood the value of honest and efficient measurement of a fleets true performance, which is why we are delighted to be supporting the Motor Transport Top 100 again this year. Its also why we have invested so much time and expertise into developing what has become one of the finest driver and vehicle performance reporting systems on the market, MAN EcoStyle. With fuel accounting for about 40% of total operating cost, with the truck just 10%, we all know that any truck will only ever deliver the economy and performance the driver allows. You have to start with fuel-efficient trucks to begin with, of course, and MAN has a long record of consistent efficiency in that regard, but real-time management of how they are being driven and how they are performing is the real art to transport executive sanity. Today, with the effects of the recession still
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biting, the management of total cost of ownership embraces so many aspects from initial finance to final disposal, fuel efficiency to driver satisfaction and with every aspect of repair, maintenance and mechanical compliance in between. For us, todays operators should be able to simply put in the driver, the fuel and the load, and leave

the rest to us, allowing them to concentrate on their core business. Its a partnership approach to which we are fully committed, and one that is proving increasingly successful.

Des Evans

Chief executive, MAN Truck & Bus UK

MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 3

2 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

In association with

Largest 100 companies (by turnover)

Latest rank Previous rank Company or trading name Financial year end Latest year turnover (000s) 3,590,495 1,202,800 947,906 758,436 725,064 669,631 637,100 519,479 429,000 389,793 379,317 307,257 282,203 247,646 225,646 213,513 211,496 190,209 185,443 164,000 157,336 154,441 152,400 140,899 133,007 121,975 117,817 114,508 114,500 109,329 108,029 88,211 87,140 85,386 82,817 78,690 76,670 69,473 67,555 65,449 62,757 61,654 57,300 55,400 55,083 53,609 53,094 53,035 51,217 44,732 Latest year pre-tax profit (000s) 67,542 -47,400 26,644 8,075 -131,836 14,966 11,180 27,442 12,900 13,258 24,494 -78,349 35,040 3,888 21,600 2,355 17,512 16,067 9,702 -16,600 7,226 7,508 3,900 1,421 3,585 2,256 -2,157 -2,666 3,300 8,703 1,062 1,052 8,525 6,090 3,096 2,621 2,521 -111 2,736 1,609 1,161 867 840 1,098 1,526 662 5,393 1,949 2,408 577 Latest year employees Previous year turnover (000s) 3,391,365 1,328,300 833,162 740,567 366,111 634,461 478,329 475,279 395,800 400,581 340,432 335,171 255,530 230,217 195,113 183,926 199,557 182,109 186,726 164,900 121,431 165,139 144,200 127,732 137,689 126,874 121,807 105,653 110,600 102,476 69,278 95,242 78,722 73,729 75,176 72,746 71,397 68,330 59,393 46,403 52,976 60,571 44,427 47,897 51,435 50,322 50,999 51,577 46,520 42,628 Previous year pre-tax profit (000s) -14,919 3,600 14,979 307,726 -20,473 5,932 -523 34,233 16,100 2,948 23,855 -30,236 34,452 7,045 22,224 -3,271 11,666 9,562 7,823 -44,300 1,323 5,334 2,800 -54 3,847 5,265 1,293 -11,086 3,500 8,588 502 2,169 7,004 6,015 1,848 3,098 2,127 -103 2,137 2,418 721 418 1,108 1,358 1,808 1,094 6,050 1,995 1,788 1,306
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Latest rank

Previous rank

Company or trading name

Financial year end

Latest year turnover (000s) 44,077 43,031 40,391 38,810 35,805 35,746 35,315 33,857 32,800 30,663 30,573 30,193 29,804 29,057 28,252 27,751 27,600 27,155 26,542 26,484 26,026 25,773 25,642 25,641 24,560 24,478 24,385 24,362 24,105 23,716 23,526 22,317 22,148 22,015 21,777 20,800 20,675 20,283 20,181 20,126 19,997 18,715 18,711 18,405 18,285 17,941 17,489 17,272 17,195 16,390

Latest year pre-tax profit (000s) 13 319 2,088 705 668 873 139 200 -13 491 3,542 541 124 1,224 591 1,363 1,553 -300 -144 1,531 2,082 836 571 -155 101 -99 1,082 400 503 210 848 570 1,115 988 655 753 -167 246 -315 582 807 -120 -344 546 -103 141 508 -1,207 561 -1,077

Latest year employees

Previous year turnover (000s) 38,663 49,395 34,550 34,817 34,819 33,811 32,990 28,354 30,297 28,561 30,346 24,669 23,876 24,879 24,007 25,765 24,149 25,076 22,613 20,859 25,670 20,474 23,362 23,405 23,322 21,690 19,901 22,769 18,012 21,125 18,154 20,088 20,894 12,422 18,182 16,982 20,071 18,794 19,761 20,808 18,769 17,602 17,557 17,390 16,135 16,840 15,788 13,464 17,052 23,069

Previous year pre-tax profit (000s) 0 -697 1,969 648 708 655 676 342 -163 37 2,912 329 241 1,212 562 1,196 1,976 145 42 901 2,789 484 478 -450 11 26 1,283 530 398 209 454 266 1,143 -145 647 146 103 43 12 897 811 -35 -776 238 5 221 340 -1,064 404 743

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

1 2 3 4 10 5 6 7 9 8 11 12 13 14 19 16 15 18 17 New 26 20 27 23 22 24 25 28 21 29 35 30 31 37 32 33 34 36 39 46 40 38 49 48 42 44 43 41 45 51

DHL Wincanton Kuehne + Nagel TNT UK Home Delivery Network UPS Norbert Dentressangle Group Eddie Stobart UK Mail Group Ceva Logistics Gist City Link GeoPost UK Bibby Distribution Services (Holdings) Turners (Soham) Yusen Logistics (UK) Hermes Parcelnet FedEx UK DSV Road DX Group Culina Logistics WH Malcolm Fowler Welch NFT Distribution Operations Hoyer Petrolog UK Harry Yearsley Nightfreight (GB) Gefco UK Autologic Holdings Tuffnells Parcels Express Maritime Transport Gregory Distribution Great Bear Distribution CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) Clipper Logistics Group Hargreaves Services - Transport Canute Haulage Geodis UK Langdon Industries Goldstar Transport Europa European Express ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) RT Keedwell (Holdings) Sutton and Son (St Helens) Pentalver Transport Lloyd Fraser Holdings Reed Boardall Group John G Russell (Transport) Howard Tenens Storage & Distribution Boughey Distribution

Dec-10 Mar-12 Dec-10 Dec-10 Jun-11 Dec-11 Dec-11 Feb-12 Mar-12 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-11 Jan-11 Dec-11 Jan-11 Mar-12 Feb-11 May-11 Dec-11 Jun-11 Dec-10 Jan-11 Mar-12 Mar-11 Dec-11 Apr-11 Nov-10 Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec-11 Dec-10 Sep-11 Dec-10 Jun-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jul-11 Jan-11 Dec-11 Jul-11 Dec-10 Dec-10 Oct-11 Apr-11 Dec-10 Aug-11 Mar-11 Mar-11 Sep-11 May-11

54,000 16,000 6,823 10,114 10,907 5,046 9,184 4,862 2,587 5,082 3,938 4,893 4,197 2,597 2,168 1,469 1,245 1,889 873 1,641 2,161 1,931 1,350 1,685 1,186 1,083 1,996 416 1,094 1,880 905 875 1,124 724 1,493 659 1,009 295 832 381 426 539 510 541 332 646 610 591 415 592

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
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53 50 56 New 55 57 58 62 60 61 59 67 73 66 69 63 68 65 76 79 64 81 71 70 72 77 87 75 91 85 90 82 78 New 86 96 83 89 84 80 88 92 93 94 99 97 New New 95 74

C Butt Roadways Container Logistics Maxi Haulage Woodside Haulage (Holdings) Rhys Davies & Sons ARR Craib Transport Currie European Transport Elite Transport Services Owens (Road Services) London City Bond Knowles (Transport) Deben Transport Seafield Logistics Redhead Freight Lenham Storage Knights of Old SJ Bargh Circle Express R Swain & Sons Aspray Transport Grocontinental STVA UK Jack Richards & Son Pass J Holdings AM Widdowson Kammac Bartrums Elddis Transport (Consett) Woodland Group Arcese UK Lomas Distribution NR Evans & Son Saints Transport Bedfords Abbey Logistics Group Acumen Logistics Group Richard Preston & Son Fergusons Transport John Raymond Transport Meachers Global Logistics Stan Robinson Group Archbold Logistics White & Co Laser Transport International Pollock (Scotrans) Wm Armstrong (Longtown) Advanced Processing Birds Groupage JW Suckling Associated Cold Stores and Transport

Apr-11 Dec-11 Sep-11 Mar-11 Aug-11 Mar-11 Dec-10 Jun-11 Jun-11 Sep-11 Dec-10 Dec-11 Jun-11 Mar-11 Aug-11 May-11 Apr-11 Oct-11 Dec-10 Dec-10 Oct-11 Dec-10 May-11 Jan-11 Mar-12 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec-10 Dec-11 Jan-11 Aug-11 Dec-10 Sep-10 Jun-11 Dec-11 Dec-10 Sep-11 Sep-10 May-11 May-11 Dec-10 Jan-11 Dec-11 Aug-11 Mar-11 Jun-11 Jan-11 Mar-11 Jan-11

533 428 213 339 433 292 204 219 486 290 121 220 258 186 396 277 335 280 341 527 291 56 261 205 338 455 252 304 131 140 185 290 317 148 266 160 268 263 231 4,398 272 211 412 131 190 189 444 203 191 210

4 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 5

In association with

Growth in turnover
Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 5 84 31 40 79 7 81 21 43 98 70 72 63 77 86 62 85 58 41 65 69 53 64 16 34 44 15 67 51 3 39 95 76 80 54 11 82 97 33 13 24 35 49 73 74 8 9 28 68 59 Home Delivery Network Bedfords Maritime Transport Goldstar Transport Woodland Group Norbert Dentressangle Group Lomas Distribution Culina Logistics RT Keedwell (Holdings) Birds Groupage Aspray Transport STVA UK Seafield Logistics Bartrums Acumen Logistics Group Deben Transport Abbey Logistics Group Elite Transport Services Europa European Express Lenham Storage R Swain & Sons Maxi Haulage Redhead Freight Yusen Logistics (UK)

Growth in profit
Previous year turnover (000s)
366,111 12,422 69,278 46,403 18,012 478,329 18,154 121,431 44,427 13,464 20,859 20,474 23,876 19,901 16,982 24,669 18,182 28,354 52,976 24,007 22,613 34,550 24,879 183,926 73,729 47,897 195,113 24,149 38,663 833,162 59,393 16,135 21,690 21,125 34,817 340,432 20,088 15,788 78,722 255,530 127,732 75,176 46,520 23,362 23,405 475,279 395,800 105,653 25,076 30,297

Latest year turnover (000s)

725,064 22,015 108,029 65,449 24,105 637,100 23,526 157,336 57,300 17,272 26,484 25,773 29,804 24,385 20,800 30,193 21,777 33,857 62,757 28,252 26,542 40,391 29,057 213,513

Growth in turnover (%)

98.04 77.23 55.94 41.04 33.83 33.19 29.59 29.57 28.98 28.28 26.97 25.88 24.83 22.53 22.48 22.39 19.77 19.41 18.46 17.68 17.37 16.91 16.79 16.09 15.81 15.66 15.65 14.29 14.00 13.77 13.74 13.33 12.85 12.27 11.47 11.42 11.10 10.77 10.69 10.44 10.31 10.16 10.10 9.76 9.55 9.30 8.39 8.38 8.29 8.26

Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 36 88 66 14 37 60 45 57 78 30 93 96 91 46 92 83 17 1 94 56 23 6 50 18 47 29 87 48 55 4 89 42 38 71 99 61 20 19 10 27 90 25 26 22 32 12 2 52 100 Hargreaves Services Transport Fergusons Transport Knights of Old Bibby Distribution Services Canute Haulage London City Bond Pentalver Transport Currie European Transport Elddis Transport (Consett) Tuffnells Parcels Express White & Co Wm Armstrong (Longtown) Stan Robinson Group Lloyd Fraser Holdings Archbold Logistics Saints Transport Hermes Parcelnet DHL Laser Transport International ARR Craib Transport Fowler Welch UPS Boughey Distribution FedEx UK Reed Boardall Group Autologic Holdings Richard Preston & Son John G Russell (Transport) Rhys Davies & Sons TNT UK John Raymond Transport ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Geodis UK Grocontinental JW Suckling Knowles (Transport) DX Group DSV Road Ceva Logistics Nightfreight (GB) Meachers Global Logistics Hoyer Petrolog UK Harry Yearsley WH Malcolm Gregory Distribution City Link Wincanton Roadways Container Logistics

Latest year turnover (000s)

78,690 20,283 27,751 247,646 76,670 30,663 55,083 35,315 24,362 109,329 18,711 17,941 19,997 53,609 18,715 22,148 211,496 3,590,495 18,405 35,746 152,400 669,631 44,732 190,209 53,094 114,500 20,675 53,035 35,805 758,436 20,181 61,654 69,473 26,026 17,195 30,573 164,000 185,443 389,793 117,817 20,126 133,007 121,975 154,441 88,211 307,257 1,202,800 43,031

Previous year turnover (000s)

72,746 18,794 25,765 230,217 71,397 28,561 51,435 32,990 22,769 102,476 17,557 16,840 18,769 50,322 17,602 20,894 199,557 3,391,365 17,390 33,811 144,200 634,461 42,628 182,109 50,999 110,600 20,071 51,577 34,819 740,567 19,761 60,571 68,330 25,670 17,052 30,346 164,900 186,726 400,581 121,807 20,808 137,689 126,874 165,139 95,242 335,171 1,328,300 49,395 23,069

Growth in turnover (%)

8.17 7.92 7.71 7.57 7.39 7.36 7.09 7.05 7.00 6.69 6.57 6.54 6.54 6.53 6.32 6.00 5.98 5.87 5.84 5.72 5.69 5.54 4.94 4.45 4.11 3.53 3.01 2.83 2.83 2.41 2.13 1.79 1.67 1.39 0.84 0.75 -0.55 -0.69 -2.69 -3.28 -3.28 -3.40 -3.86 -6.48 -7.38 -8.33 -9.45 -12.88 -28.95

Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year pre-tax profit (000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (000s)

Growth in profit (%)

Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year pre-tax profit (000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (000s)

Growth in profit (%)

100m-plus turnover
24 7 1 21 10 16 6 31 3 28 18 20 17 22 23 19 11 13 30 15 29 25 8 9 14 26 4 12 27 5 2 NFT Distribution Operations Norbert Dentressangle Group DHL Culina Logistics Ceva Logistics Yusen Logistics (UK) UPS Maritime Transport Kuehne + Nagel Gefco UK FedEx UK DX Group Hermes Parcelnet WH Malcolm Fowler Welch DSV Road Gist GeoPost UK Tuffnells Parcels Express Turners (Soham) Autologic Holdings Hoyer Petrolog UK Eddie Stobart UK Mail Group Bibby Distribution Services Harry Yearsley TNT UK City Link Nightfreight (GB) Home Delivery Network Wincanton 1,421 11,180 67,542 7,226 13,258 2,355 14,966 1,062 26,644 -2,666 16,067 -16,600 17,512 7,508 3,900 9,702 24,494 35,040 8,703 21,600 3,300 3,585 27,442 12,900 3,888 2,256 8,075 -78,349 -2,157 -131,836 -47,400 -54 -523 -14,919 1,323 2,948 -3,271 5,932 502 14,979 -11,086 9,562 -44,300 11,666 5,334 2,800 7,823 23,855 34,452 8,588 22,224 3,500 3,847 34,233 16,100 7,045 5,265 307,726 -30,236 1,293 -20,473 3,600 2731.48 2237.67 552.72 446.18 349.73 172 152.29 111.55 77.88 75.95 68.03 62.53 50.11 40.76 39.29 24.02 2.68 1.71 1.34 -2.81 -5.71 -6.81 -19.84 -19.88 -44.81 -57.15 -97.38 -159.12 -266.82 -543.95 -1416.67

30m-50m-plus turnover
60 52 59 62 56 61 54 53 55 58 50 57 London City Bond Roadways Container Logistics Owens (Road Services) Deben Transport ARR Craib Transport Knowles (Transport) Woodside Haulage (Holdings) Maxi Haulage Rhys Davies & Sons Elite Transport Services Boughey Distribution Currie European Transport 491 319 -13 541 873 3,542 705 2,088 668 200 577 139 37 -697 -163 329 655 2,912 648 1,969 708 342 1,306 676 1,227.03 145.77 92.02 64.44 33.28 21.63 8.8 6.04 -5.65 -41.52 -55.82 -79.44

10m-30m turnover
84 88 86 94 82 81 72 70 74 93 97 99 79 73 66 65 85 64 80 Bedfords Fergusons Transport Acumen Logistics Group Laser Transport International NR Evans & Son Lomas Distribution STVA UK Aspray Transport Pass J Holdings White & Co Advanced Processing JW Suckling Woodland Group Jack Richards & Son Knights of Old Lenham Storage Abbey Logistics Group Redhead Freight Arcese UK Stan Robinson Group Saints Transport Birds Groupage Bartrums SJ Bargh Elddis Transport (Consett) Grocontinental Meachers Global Logistics Wm Armstrong (Longtown) Seafield Logistics Archbold Logistics 988 246 753 546 570 848 836 1,531 -155 -344 508 561 503 571 1,363 591 655 1,224 210 807 1,115 -1,207 1,082 1,553 400 2,082 582 141 124 -120 -145 43 146 238 266 454 484 901 -450 -776 340 404 398 478 1,196 562 647 1,212 209 811 1,143 -1,064 1,283 1,976 530 2,789 897 221 241 -35 743 103 145 42 26 5 12 781.38 472.09 415.75 129.41 114.29 86.78 72.73 69.92 65.56 55.67 49.41 38.86 26.38 19.46 13.96 5.16 1.24 0.99 0.48 -0.49 -2.45 -13.44 -15.67 -21.41 -24.53 -25.35 -35.12 -36.2 -48.55 -242.86 -244.95 -262.14 -306.9 -442.86 -480.77 -2,160 -2,725

CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) 85,386 Sutton and Son (St Helens) Turners (Soham) SJ Bargh C Butt Kuehne + Nagel Langdon Industries Pollock (Scotrans) Kammac Arcese UK Woodside Haulage (Holdings) Gist NR Evans & Son Advanced Processing Great Bear Distribution GeoPost UK NFT Distribution Operations Clipper Logistics Group Howard Tenens Jack Richards & Son Pass J Holdings Eddie Stobart UK Mail Group Gefco UK Circle Express Owens (Road Services) 55,400 225,646 27,600 44,077 947,906 67,555 18,285 24,478 23,716 38,810 379,317 22,317 17,489 87,140 282,203 140,899 82,817 51,217 25,642 25,641 519,479 429,000 114,508 27,155 32,800

50m-100m turnover
42 35 41 49 39 33 37 34 48 38 47 36 45 44 43 40 46 32 ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Clipper Logistics Group Europa European Express Howard Tenens Langdon Industries Great Bear Distribution Canute Haulage 867 3,096 1,161 2,408 2,736 8,525 2,521 418 1,848 721 1,788 2,137 7,004 2,127 6,015 1,995 -103 6,050 3,098 1,808 1,358 1,108 2,418 1,094 2,169 107.42 67.53 61.03 34.68 28.03 21.72 18.52 1.25 -2.31 -7.77 -10.86 -15.4 -15.6 -19.15 -24.19 -33.46 -39.49 -51.5

91 83 98 77 67 78 71 90 96 63 92 100 87 68 69 76 95 89

CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) 6,090 John G Russell (Transport) Geodis UK Reed Boardall Group Hargreaves Services - Transport Pentalver Transport Sutton and Son (St Helens) RT Keedwell (Holdings) Goldstar Transport Lloyd Fraser Holdings Gregory Distribution 1,949 -111 5,393 2,621 1,526 1,098 840 1,609 662 1,052

Associated Cold Stores and Transport -1,077 Richard Preston & Son Circle Express R Swain & Sons Kammac Pollock (Scotrans) John Raymond Transport -167 -300 -144 -99 -103 -315

Associated Cold Stores and Transport 16,390

6 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

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MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 7

In association with
who knew the operator and who were, in turn, understood by the operator. From the customer perspective, it was a win-win situation, with immediate benefits in terms of lower stock level requirements, faster and more reliable tracked deliveries and improved availability. Part of our commercial rationale is to help customers innovate in their sectors and achieve competitive advantage, reflects Hay. And when we do that, we encourage the organic growth we prize so highly.

Open approach

Low profitability of the UK transport sector remains a major concern, but Fowler Welch MD Nick Hay says making a respectable profit is essential to delivering customer service

Profit is not a dirty word W

e asked Nick Hay, MD of one of the brightest companies in the FMCG logistics firmament, if he would like to be number one in the Motor Transport Top 100. The answer was as quick as it was simple: Only if we keep our customers happy and make an appropriate profit. The answer sums up the Fowler Welch approach perfectly; continually striving to satisfy customers and stakeholders. How he and his team go about achieving these ideals is refreshingly simple, although it masks a mountain of careful thought and subtle strategy.

27 last year. He uses the word culture repeatedly and it is clearly something in which he sees the very essence of Fowler Welchs success. I know it can sound trite, but we have a deeply ingrained cultural approach that delivers a constant focus on customers and what they want. And key to that is the commercial flexibility we have carefully built into the business. Our people live by our creed of listening, responding, delivering.

Local knowledge

Size isnt everything

If you look back at the past few years Top 100s, says Hay, you soon realise the bigger companies often achieve a lower return on sales: of the 28 that reported a turnover in excess of 100m last year, about a third lost money doing it. Yet in the next band down, the 50m-100m group, only one company

registered a loss. Those statistics are interesting, but it is what is behind them that we want to understand. To us it says there is, if not necessarily an ideal size of operation, then certainly a need to ensure we retain the things that made us successful over the past 10 years as we move forward. Its all about how we hold on to those things and use them as a platform for growth. As you would expect, Hay has a clear vision of what these are and how they have helped put his business at 23 in the Top 100, up from
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For Hay, the secret to commercial sanity lies in understanding that one size most certainly does not fit all. He talks of different routes to delivering customers needs, and highlights Fowler Welchs ability to split between direct loads and consolidation the latter made possible because of the national network of local Fowler Welch DCs. Local knowledge is vital, he explains, referring to knowledge about customers, geography, markets and the differing nuances of sectors and sub-sectors. Become too big without safeguarding that knowledge, or become too centralised, and you lose it. More importantly, your customers lose it and, when that happens, you lose customers.
9.7.12

So growth for Fowler Welch is what Hay describes as organic, growing from a blend of customer satisfaction and performance that deliver additional business and added services to meet customer needs. The companys rapidly-emerging profile as an ambient products logistics force has surprised everyone except Hay and his team. If you are going to expand, you can only really do it the organic way. I would never say never to acquisition, but when acquisition is your growth route, you can endanger everything that has made your business successful, and for us that is our culture. This business shouldnt be about headline targets for growth, its too important: what drove our ambient business was the realisation that, in our chilled operations, we had levels of flexibility and expertise that appeared to be missing from the ambient sector. We had customers who were unhappy with this in their own operations, so we introduced our service. From the start, we offered the type of day one for day two service they expected and relied on from us in chill. The result for Fowler Welch was growth, but growth in a controlled manner, with customers

Asked what else he felt had contributed to the steady growth of the business, Hay smiles and responds: Communication and profit. The communication element spreads over three important aspects of the business customers, his teams and suppliers. For customers, he sees the need for communication to be constant and at all levels. Its another aspect of our flexibility in so far as each customer has their own views on who they want to communicate with in our business. Whatever they want, we have an open approach and are happy to accommodate them. With his team, Hay needs each site to be a local flagship, but says its the constant selfgenerated, inter-depot communication that ensures the national results. As to suppliers, Fowler Welch looks for a mirror image of how it treats its customers. A recent track day with tyre supplier Bandvulc is typical: five of its team and five from Fowler Welch experimented with tyre combinations and pressures. It was a great day, recalls Hay. Both sides learned a lot about each other and what the best approaches were. The company is also close to trailer manufacturers and was the first haulier to operate the new longer semitrailer from SDC. With trucks, says Hay, its about total operating cost, including support packages. We need our drivers to be happy, but we also need good fuel and AdBlue economy and, just as important, consistent quality service back-up. Today, if you are not using telematics packages such as MANs EcoStyle fleet performance reporting system, you are not really in the game theyre an increasingly vital, real-time communication tool between vehicle, driver and our operational teams.

Investment from profit

And profit? It was another reassuringly straightforward answer. Hay is upfront that the only way to provide ever-improving services for customers is investment, and the only sustainable way to do that is through profit. Profits not a dirty word, he tells us. Youre going nowhere if you cant invest, so our customers should be worried if we arent making an appropriate profit. They want us around for the future and for services to develop, so they want us to be profitable. So we make profit and invest in our people, site and IT infrastructure. Summing up, Hay is happy to return to his earlier themes. We live or die by flexibility and attention to customer needs and our local focus ensures a cohesive national service. It means our people are all over every detail; listening to customer requests, responding in practical and flexible ways and delivering great service. Well keep doing that and well stay in the Top 100, slowly pushing our way closer to the top.
MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 9

8 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

In association with

Return on sales
Latest rank Company or trading name Latest year turnover (000s)
282,203 225,646 190,209 211,496 109,329 379,317 519,479 185,443 154,441 157,336 389,793 429,000 114,500 947,906 133,007 152,400 669,631 3,590,495 121,975 637,100 247,646 213,513 758,436 140,899 108,029 117,817 114,508 1,202,800 164,000 725,064 307,257

Sales per employee

Latest year pre-tax profit (000s)
35,040 21,600 16,067 17,512 8,703 24,494 27,442 9,702 7,508 7,226 13,258 12,900 3,300 26,644 3,585 3,900 14,966 67,542 2,256 11,180 3,888 2,355 8,075 1,421 1,062 -2,157 -2,666 -47,400 -16,600 -131,836 -78,349

Return on sales (%)

12.42 9.57 8.45 8.28 7.96 6.46 5.28 5.23 4.86 4.59 3.4 3.01 2.88 2.81 2.7 2.56 2.23 1.88 1.85 1.75 1.57 1.1 1.06 1.01 0.98 -1.83 -2.33 -3.94 -10.12 -18.18 -25.5

Latest rank

Company or trading name

100m-plus turnover
13 15 18 17 30 11 8 19 22 21 10 9 29 3 25 23 6 1 26 7 14 16 4 24 31 27 28 2 20 5 12 GeoPost UK Turners (Soham) FedEx UK Hermes Parcelnet Tuffnells Parcels Express Gist Eddie Stobart DSV Road WH Malcolm Culina Logistics Ceva Logistics UK Mail Group Autologic Holdings Kuehne + Nagel Hoyer Petrolog UK Fowler Welch UPS DHL Harry Yearsley Norbert Dentressangle Group Bibby Distribution Services Yusen Logistics (UK) TNT UK NFT Distribution Operations Maritime Transport Nightfreight (GB) Gefco UK Wincanton DX Group Home Delivery Network City Link

30m-50m turnover
61 53 56 55 54 62 60 50 52 58 57 51 59 Knowles (Transport) Maxi Haulage ARR Craib Transport Rhys Davies & Sons Woodside Haulage (Holdings) Deben Transport London City Bond Boughey Distribution Roadways Container Logistics Elite Transport Services Currie European Transport C Butt Owens (Road Services)

Latest year turnover (000s)

30,573 40,391 35,746 35,805 38,810 30,193 30,663 44,732 43,031 33,857 35,315 44,077 32,800

Latest year pre-tax profit (000s)

3,542 2,088 873 668 705 541 491 577 319 200 139 13 -13

Return on sales (%)

11.59 5.17 2.44 1.87 1.82 1.79 1.6 1.29 0.74 0.59 0.39 0.03 -0.04

Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year Latest year turnover employees (000s)

Latest year sales per employee ()

Change in sales per employee (%)

Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year Latest year turnover employees (000s)

Latest year sales per employee ()

Change in sales per employee (%)

100m-plus turnover
28 19 17 9 16 3 6 31 23 26 25 8 Gefco UK DSV Road Hermes Parcelnet UK Mail Group Yusen Logistics (UK) Kuehne + Nagel UPS Maritime Transport Fowler Welch Harry Yearsley Hoyer Petrolog UK Eddie Stobart Autologic Holdings Turners (Soham) FedEx UK DX Group Gist Bibby Distribution Services NFT Distribution Operations WH Malcolm Ceva Logistics Wincanton TNT UK Culina Logistics Norbert Dentressangle Group GeoPost UK DHL Home Delivery Network City Link Nightfreight (GB) Tuffnells Parcels Express 114,508 185,443 211,496 429,000 213,513 947,906 669,631 108,029 152,400 121,975 133,007 519,479 114,500 225,646 190,209 164,000 379,317 247,646 140,899 154,441 389,793 1,202,800 758,436 157,336 637,100 282,203 3,590,495 725,064 307,257 117,817 109,329 416 873 1,245 2,587 1,469 6,823 5,046 905 1,350 1,083 1,186 4,862 1,094 2,168 1,889 1,641 3,938 2,597 1,685 1,931 5,082 16,000 10,114 2,161 9,184 4,197 54,000 10,907 4,893 1,996 1,880 275,260 212,420 169,876 165,829 145,346 138,928 132,705 119,369 112,889 112,627 112,148 106,845 104,662 104,080 100,693 99,939 96,322 95,358 83,620 79,980 76,701 75,175 74,989 72,807 69,371 67,239 66,491 66,477 62,795 59,027 58,154 19.58 11.03 11.35 10.32 14.66 17.24 8.89 5.45 1.62 6.08 4.58 22.68 18.86 -5 -2.41 4.79 5.08 -0.42 2.19 -3.96 13.31 13.19 6.38 2.95 8.65 10.62 17.64 42.08 -2.71 3.12 3.57

30m-50m turnover
61 53 57 58 62 56 54 60 52 51 55 50 59 Knowles (Transport) Maxi Haulage Currie European Transport Elite Transport Services Deben Transport ARR Craib Transport Woodside Haulage (Holdings) London City Bond Roadways Container Logistics C Butt Rhys Davies & Sons Boughey Distribution Owens (Road Services) 30,573 40,391 35,315 33,857 30,193 35,746 38,810 30,663 43,031 44,077 35,805 44,732 32,800 121 213 204 219 220 292 339 290 428 533 433 592 486 252,669 189,629 173,113 154,598 137,241 122,418 114,484 105,734 100,540 82,696 82,691 75,561 67,490 -1.75 4.83 -15.52 5.78 10.15 2.1 10.15 -0.79 -2.91 11.86 3.31 2.28 11.83

10m-30m turnover
71 70 67 83 66 84 77 64 91 86 81 99 72 85 94 97 90 82 73 79 65 78 88 80 96 63 76 69 95 74 92 87 68 89 93 100 98 Grocontinental Aspray Transport SJ Bargh Saints Transport Knights of Old Bedfords Bartrums Redhead Freight Stan Robinson Group Acumen Logistics Group Lomas Distribution JW Suckling STVA UK Abbey Logistics Group Laser Transport International Advanced Processing Meachers Global Logistics NR Evans & Son Jack Richards & Son Woodland Group Lenham Storage Elddis Transport (Consett) Fergusons Transport Arcese UK Wm Armstrong (Longtown) Seafield Logistics Kammac R Swain & Sons Pollock (Scotrans) Pass J Holdings Archbold Logistics Richard Preston & Son Circle Express John Raymond Transport White & Co 26,026 26,484 27,600 22,148 27,751 22,015 24,385 29,057 19,997 20,800 23,526 17,195 25,773 21,777 18,405 17,489 20,126 22,317 25,642 24,105 28,252 24,362 20,283 23,716 17,941 29,804 24,478 26,542 18,285 25,641 18,715 20,675 27,155 20,181 18,711 2,082 1,531 1,553 1,115 1,363 988 1,082 1,224 807 753 848 561 836 655 546 508 582 570 571 503 591 400 246 210 141 124 -99 -144 -103 -155 -120 -167 -300 -315 -344 -1,077 -1,207 8 5.78 5.63 5.03 4.91 4.49 4.44 4.21 4.04 3.62 3.6 3.26 3.24 3.01 2.97 2.9 2.89 2.55 2.23 2.09 2.09 1.64 1.21 0.89 0.79 0.42 -0.4 -0.54 -0.56 -0.6 -0.64 -0.81 -1.1 -1.56 -1.84 -6.57 -6.99

29 15 18 20 11 14 24 22 10 2 4 21 7 13 1 5 12 27 30

10m-30m turnover
72 79 80 64 84 94 86 81 74 63 66 73 68 77 95 96 99 71 STVA UK Woodland Group Arcese UK Redhead Freight Bedfords Laser Transport International Acumen Logistics Group Lomas Distribution Pass J Holdings Seafield Logistics Knights of Old Jack Richards & Son Circle Express Bartrums Pollock (Scotrans) Wm Armstrong (Longtown) JW Suckling Grocontinental Archbold Logistics John Raymond Transport Birds Groupage SJ Bargh Abbey Logistics Group Elddis Transport (Consett) Associated Cold Stores R Swain & Sons Richard Preston & Son Fergusons Transport NR Evans & Son Stan Robinson Group Lenham Storage Saints Transport Kammac Aspray Transport White & Co Advanced Processing Meachers Global Logistics 25,773 24,105 23,716 29,057 22,015 18,405 20,800 23,526 25,641 29,804 27,751 25,642 27,155 24,385 18,285 17,941 17,195 26,026 18,715 20,181 17,272 27,600 21,777 24,362 16,390 26,542 20,675 20,283 22,317 19,997 28,252 22,148 24,478 26,484 18,711 17,489 20,126 56 131 140 186 148 131 160 185 205 258 277 261 280 252 190 189 191 291 211 231 203 335 266 304 210 341 268 263 290 272 396 317 455 527 412 444 4,398 460,232 184,008 169,400 156,220 148,750 140,496 130,000 127,168 125,078 115,519 100,184 98,245 96,982 96,766 96,237 94,926 90,026 89,436 88,697 87,364 85,084 82,388 81,868 80,138 78,048 77,836 77,146 77,122 76,955 73,518 71,343 69,868 53,798 50,254 45,415 39,390 4,576 37.12 9.31 -12.59 16.79 47.29 0.99 17.89 24.69 12.23 20.96 -2.4 1.35 2.1 1.62 10.94 -0.79 6.65 -1.4 7.84 3.89 16.28 4.4 1.31 3.83 -1.55 13.93 5.32 3 6.12 3.41 14.41 8.01 24.26 6.25 2.18 5.79 -0.53

50m-100m turnover
47 33 34 49 39 35 48 36 37 45 40 44 41 43 42 46 32 38 Reed Boardall Group Great Bear Distribution CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) Howard Tenens Langdon Industries Clipper Logistics Group John G Russell (Transport) Hargreaves Services - Transport Canute Haulage Pentalver Transport Goldstar Transport Sutton and Son (St Helens) Europa European Express RT Keedwell (Holdings) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Lloyd Fraser Holdings Gregory Distribution Geodis UK 53,094 87,140 85,386 51,217 67,555 82,817 53,035 78,690 76,670 55,083 65,449 55,400 62,757 57,300 61,654 53,609 88,211 69,473 5,393 8,525 6,090 2,408 2,736 3,096 1,949 2,621 2,521 1,526 1,609 1,098 1,161 840 867 662 1,052 -111 10.16 9.78 7.13 4.7 4.05 3.74 3.67 3.33 3.29 2.77 2.46 1.98 1.85 1.47 1.41 1.23 1.19 -0.16

50m-100m turnover
38 40 45 41 49 36 34 42 43 44 32 48 47 46 39 33 37 35 Geodis UK Goldstar Transport Pentalver Transport Europa European Express Howard Tenens 69,473 65,449 55,083 62,757 51,217 295 381 332 426 415 659 724 539 510 541 875 591 610 646 832 1,124 1,009 1,493 235,502 171,782 165,913 147,317 123,414 119,408 117,936 114,386 112,353 102,403 100,813 89,738 87,039 82,986 81,196 77,527 75,986 55,470 -1.08 -11.15 14.51 9.56 22.57 11.62 -1.47 -3.12 2.93 14.6 10.61 7.18 5.3 4.06 3.76 4.59 5.15 3.6

92 89 98 67 85 78 100 69 87 88 82 91 65 83 76 70 93 97 90

Hargreaves Services - Transport 78,690 CM Downton ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) RT Keedwell (Holdings) Sutton and Son (St Helens) Gregory Distribution John G Russell (Transport) Reed Boardall Group Lloyd Fraser Holdings Langdon Industries Great Bear Distribution Canute Haulage Clipper Logistics Group 85,386 61,654 57,300 55,400 88,211 53,035 53,094 53,609 67,555 87,140 76,670 82,817

Associated Cold Stores and Transport 16,390 Birds Groupage 17,272

10 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

9.7.12

9.7.12

MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 11

In association with

The 3Cs: cost, credit, compliance

D
If there are three bigger issues facing the operating industry in its quest for profit, nobody has told MAN Truck & Bus UK chief executive Des Evans about them
es Evans is concerned... the transport industry is facing some of the biggest challenges of its life. Having asked a cross-section of Motor Transport Top 100 operators what the three major issues facing the industry are, the answers he got were unequivocal. Cost, particularly fuel; credit, or rather the lack of it; and compliance, and the ever-rising burden of ensuring it. It prompted him to ask a blunt question: Can the operating industry survive in its current form? Glancing at last years Top 100 shows an average 3% to 4% return on sales (RoS): even in these straightened economic times, thats significantly lower than other core UK industries. Set against that RoS figure, Evans points to estimates from highly-regarded sources of a 5% rise this year in general operating costs such as tyres, insurance, R&M, utilities, plus a 13% fuel cost increase both perhaps a conservative estimate in these difficult times. Based on these figures, operators face having to increase turnover to achieve a 3% margin simply to stand still, or find more economical ways to operate. In such tough economic times, either represent significant challenges. However, Evans argues that some progress is possible. With fuel the major factor in any operating cost table at circa 40% (the truck itself is less than 10%), Evans says this is where to begin. He is dismissive of the chances of government assistance and argues that selecting fuel-efficient trucks to begin with is vital. He points to the MAN TGX achieving 9.27mpg in a recent twoday Commercial Motor road test as a prime example. However, he says: Drivers are the biggest influence on whether a truck, any truck, will achieve its operating potential. He continues: Training and performance monitoring are key. This belief has become his passion, with the UK arm of MAN pioneer12 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

ing MAN EcoStyle, the driver and vehicle performance monitoring system making its presence felt in increasing numbers of major fleets. Only recently, Maritime and Saints Transport have taken EcoStyle across their fleets, and both are looking at similar MAN systems for their trailers almost 2,000 assets in total for these two operators alone. Of course, you need to set standards before you begin to monitor performance, or you risk simply watching a poorly performing fleet continuing to cost you money. This is why Evans has made MAN ProfiDrive training part of every MAN truck deal that includes R&M. Drivers get a grounding in efficient driving and the day counts toward their Driver CPC. Before and after figures from ProfiDrive show fuel improvements per driver of 15% to 20%. And it isnt only fuel that improves: repair, maintenance and servicing bills also drop dramatically under the combined ProfiDrive/ EcoStyle influence.

Credit

Cost

Banks are everybodys whipping boy these days, a position well-earned by their often unhelpful approach to the problems they largely created in the first place. Evans wonders just how much they have changed, though, asking: What is the true state of bank lending? Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, accused banks of harsh treatment and failing to help British business with the funds needed to survive and expand. In February he noted bank lending fell in almost every quarter of the past three years, despite government instructions to the contrary. More recently, he said they need to face up to their failings. Accusing banks of hypocrisy, he claims they preach to others about the need to live with market disciplines without doing so themselves. He cites the financial crisis, which immediately prompted bank bosses to ask for bailouts. Market discipline cant apply to everyone except banks, he says, noting that given their behav9.7.12 9.7.12

iour in the run-up to recession, anger against banks is real and understandable. As an antidote to the traditional banks and their failures, Evans points to rising manufacturer funding across the market. MAN Financial Services backed approximately 60% of the companys new sales and 40% of used sales last year. We have rapidly become a bank that also makes trucks, he says and, while an amusing view of modern life, it is increasingly close to the truth. MAN offers highly competitive options across the acquisition spectrum, with 6x2 26.440 TGX tractors available for 236 a week on a typical five-year lease including three-year warranty and 24-hour-a-day back-up, seven days a week. It isnt just finance that Evans sees as a way of easing financial burdens on operators. MAN Rental has 1,000 trucks on 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month rental periods, for those not wanting to buy at the moment. Its an operation aimed at giving operators an option while also producing stocks of good-quality Euro-5 used trucks, rather than a competitive foray into the rental sector. As Evans points out: We are keeping away from short-term rentals. These are the traditional preserve of the mainstream rental companies, most of which are among our key customers anyway. Once those used trucks become available, they go to MAN TopUsed, yet another route Evans sees as easing the burdens of capital outlay. This part of the MAN operation enjoys increasing interest as it sets new standards in used truck quality, also adding MAN finance and R&M packages normally available only on new vehicles.

The simple truth, as he is quick to point out, is that operators cannot afford not to meet those costs. The alternative is unthinkable, involving not only massive fines but possible imprisonment of directors. MAN has invested millions of pounds in developing its MAN EcoStyle, which, alongside driver and vehicle monitoring, is part of a wider fleet management system that helps operators avoid accidental compliance infringements with a security-enabled, web-based facility that manages all vehicle paperwork and routine inspection timetabling. The Vosa-approved system cuts time and management activity in the operators office, improving accuracy and availability of all necessary paperwork. Alongside MANs UK network of e-workshops, it helps protect O-licences and deliver timely R&M. All of this is underpinned with MANs standard three-year UK warranty and a range of service contracts delivered through what is arguably one of the best service networks in the UK.

Conclusion

Compliance

With legislation bearing down on the industry ever more heavily, managing compliance costs operators increasing amounts of time and money, prompting Evans to ask another of his big questions: Can the operating industry afford the costs of compliance?

So, as to whether the UK transport industry can survive its three big challenges of cost, credit and compliance, Evans is hopeful it can. I dont want to appear to trivialise the problems by singling out just these three issues, he says, but, in truth, the industry has singled them out for itself. Costs, especially fuel, are unlikely to get any better, so we need the right trucks on the road, driven well and carefully monitored and the industry can do that. As for credit, I dont know what the banks will do, but I know our operators have attractive alternatives for acquiring and running trucks. And, in the face of increasing legislation, MAN is cutting the costs of compliance thats a fact. These are the major issues facing the operating industry, and it is only right that manufacturers such as MAN and others, do everything they can to help operators rise to the challenges.
MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 13

In association with

Profit per employee

Latest rank Company or trading name Latest year Latest year pre-tax profit employees (000s) Latest year profit per employee ()
14,066 11,113 9,963 8,506 8,349 6,220 5,644 4,986 4,629 3,905 3,888 3,344 3,023 3,016 2,966 2,889 2,609 2,083 1,497 1,173 798

NOTES TO TAbLES
Change in profit per employee (%)
57.71 38.65 -20.16 57.01 1.88 -3.16 -10.03 -18.46 -1.63 83.30 44.54 333.99 0.90 8.23 160.30 33.93 423.75 -52.72 -48.92 43.00 -97.28

Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year Latest year pre-tax profit employees (000s)

Latest year profit per employee ()

4,596 4,223 3,977 3,298 3,288 2,725 2,499 2,074 2,030 1,647 1,609 1,202 1,025

Change in profit per employee (%)

-9.76 -58.08 -12.71 1.83 16.78 48.91 16.08 57.57 -19.88 -39.50 97.47 -42.09 -40.88

100m-plus turnover
17 19 15 18 13 11 8 9 30 3 22 21 25 29 6 23 10 26 14 31 4 Hermes Parcelnet DSV Road Turners (Soham) FedEx UK GeoPost UK Gist Eddie Stobart UK Mail Group Tuffnells Parcels Express Kuehne + Nagel WH Malcolm Culina Logistics Hoyer Petrolog UK Autologic Holdings UPS Fowler Welch Ceva Logistics Harry Yearsley Bibby Distribution Services Maritime Transport TNT UK 17,512 9,702 21,600 16,067 35,040 24,494 27,442 12,900 8,703 26,644 7,508 7,226 3,585 3,300 14,966 3,900 13,258 2,256 3,888 1,062 8,075 1,245 873 2,168 1,889 4,197 3,938 4,862 2,587 1,880 6,823 1,931 2,161 1,186 1,094 5,046 1,350 5,082 1,083 2,597 905 10,114 45 40 36 48 39 41 37 35 44 43 42 32 46 Pentalver Transport Goldstar Transport Hargreaves Services - Transport John G Russell (Transport) Langdon Industries Europa European Express Canute Haulage Clipper Logistics Group Sutton and Son (St Helens) RT Keedwell (Holdings) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Gregory Distribution Lloyd Fraser Holdings 1,526 1,609 2,621 1,949 2,736 1,161 2,521 3,096 1,098 840 867 1,052 662 332 381 659 591 832 426 1,009 1,493 541 510 539 875 646

The rankings were finalised on Wednesday 27 June 2012. The data is compiled from audited financial accounts filed at Companies House during the 12 months since the last Top 100 was compiled (July 2011), unless otherwise stated below. Tables list the company as the official registered company name at Companies House, which is not always the same as the companys trading name. We have compiled the tables using the turnover and pre-tax profit figures generated solely or primarily from the UK road transport activities of the business concerned, unless otherwise stated below. Where possible, we have tried to avoid including turnover from non-road and non-transport related business. Figures shown for employees are predominantly for those employed solely or principally in the UK. The following companies have provided MT with their figures due to their audited accounts not being available at Companies House until after the Top 100 deadline: Acumen Logistics, AM Widdowson, Bibby Distribution, Circle Express, Elddis Transport, Roadways Container Logistics and RT Keedwell.
Abbey Logistics Group was previously listed as Abbey Road Tanks; it rebranded on 20 April 2011. Since filing accounts, Abbey acquired bulk powder transport company RH Stevens Tankers on 1 August 2011. Advanced Processing trades as Advanced Supply Chain. Arcese UK has published two sets of accounts since last years Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011. Aspray Transport trades as Aspray24. Autologic Holdings has published two sets of accounts since last years Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011. The results are for Autologics UK operations and do not include its mainland Europe results. The pre-tax profit listed is its operating profit for the UK as it does not provide a pre-tax profit figure for the UK. The staff numbers are for the UK and have been provided by the company. Last month Stobart Group made an offer for Autologic (see note for Eddie Stobart). AM Widdowson is included in the main Top 100 rankings but not in the accompanying tables due to its late inclusion. Bartrums results have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit of Bartrums Haulage & Storage and Bartrums Road Services, as the Bartrum Groups results include revenue derived from its CV maintenance business, Trumbar Truck Care. Bedfords huge spike in turnover and entry into the Top 100 for the first time is largely due to a contract expansion with Associated Newspapers in October 2008 for distribution of its colour supplements. Bibby Distributions results are the first set of fully consolidated accounts since its three acquisitions in 2010: Taygroup (April 2010); some assets of MRS Distribution (August 2010); and TM Logistics (October 2010). Canute Haulage Groups results include the accounts from its vehicle repair and recovery businesses Albert Road Recovery and Repair and Truck Crane Services (UK) as there is no way of separating these accurately. C Butt made a pre-tax profit of 173 for the year ending April 2010. The tables round up to the nearest thousand, hence it appears as 0. Cert Octavian (ranked 52nd in the Top 100 last year) sold its supply chain arm to Culina in April. It therefore no longer runs any form of distribution operation and has been removed from the Top 100 this year. Circle Express continues to trade through a company voluntary arrangement. Chairman and chief executive Chris Coffey has provided MT with the expected turnover and pre-tax loss for the year ending 31 October 2011. Actual accounts are due to be filed at Companies House by 31 July. CM Downtons results include revenue derived from shares in the following joint ventures: Avon Distribution and D&T Logistics. Culina Logistics results represent the first full-years trade of its combined activities of the following: on 28 March 2009 Culina acquired Wincantons chilled business, renamed Culina Chilled. In return, Wincanton Holdings received a 20% share in Culina Logistics. On 1 January 2010, the trade, assets and liabilities of Culina 9.7.12 Chilled were rolled up into Culina Logistics Limited. DHL does not publish results for its UK operation as a whole, so the DHL figures have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit from the following DHL companies registered in the UK: DHL Express (UK); DHL Global Mail (UK); Exel Europe; and Tradeteam. The staff figure for DHL was provided by the company. DX Group acquired Nightfreight in March. It tells MT that both companies are maintaining unique identities and will be filing separate accounts this year so Nightfreight has retained a place in the rankings this year. Eddie Stobart is the transport and distribution arm of Stobart Group. Last month, Stobart Group made an offer of 12.4m, or 20p per share, for Autologic. The board of Autologic has recommended that shareholders accept the cash offer. The staff figure for Eddie Stobart was provided by the company. Fergusons Transport has published two sets of accounts since last years Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 30 September 2011. Fowler Welchs figures are the preliminary results included in its parent DART Groups prelims. Hargreaves Services results are for its transport division and do not include results from its production, energy and commodities, and industrial services business arms. The staff figure was provided by the company. Harry Yearsley is the registered name for the Yearsley Group. Its results include its wholesale frozen foods business, which accounts for 56.1m of its 2011 turnover. The cold storage and distribution business reported turnover of 65.8m for the period (2010: 73.9m). It does not provide a comparative pre-tax profit figure for its cold storage and distribution business, hence we have included the full group results. Home Delivery Network (HDN), which trades as Yodel, changed its reporting period from April to June, so this set of accounts is for a 61-week period. It is the first full-years results to include the consolidation of the former domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express, which HDN acquired on 1 March 2010 via its subsidiary firm Parcelpoint. Hoyer Petrolog UK (formerly Hoyer UK) has published two sets of accounts since last years Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011. John G Russells results include its chest freezer manufacturing business, which accounts for 11.6m of its 2011 turnover. The transport and warehousing business reported turnover of 41.3m for the period (2010: 39.7m). It does not provide a comparative pre-tax profit figure for its transport business so we have had to include the full group results. Kammacs results are for its packaging, warehousing and distribution division. It does not include turnover from its property management, keg manufacturing, or environmental ventures businesses. Knights of Old acquired Mainland Group in December 2011 and said it would spend 2012 integrating the firm into its operations. For the year to 31 January 2011, Mainland Group reported turnover of 6.6m and pre-tax profit of 667,959. Sister firm Mainland Express was included in the deal and reported turnover of 7.6m and pre-tax profit of 717,356. The merger will be reflected in Knights next set of results. Langdon Groups results are the accounts registered at Companies House under Langdon Industries. The firm prefers not to use its registered name as it can cause confusion as to the nature of the business. Lenham Storage results have been calculated by adding the turnover and pre-tax profit figures from Lenham Storage (Southern) and Lenham Storage Company as there are no group results for the two limited companies. It does not include figures from its vehicle maintenance business, Lenham Garages. Maritime Transports results are the first to include the combined turnover since its acquisition of DHL Container Logistics (UK) at the end of 2009. Nightfreight: see DX Group. Norbert Dentressangle does not publish results for its UK operation as a whole, so the figures have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit from the following Nobert companies registered in the UK: Norbert Dentressangle Logistics; Norbert Dentressangle Tankers; Norbert Dentressangle Transport Services; and Norbert Dentressangle UK. Pass J Holdings is the registered company name for the Online Group, which includes Online Roadways and Mike Beer Transport. R Swain & Sons results include non-road transport operations such as stevedoring and forwarding and shipping. It does not separate any of these activities. Reed Boardall Groups results includes turnover derived from Boroughbridge Motors, its motor vehicle servicing business, as there is no way of separating this. Richard Preston & Son trades as Prestons of Potto. TNT: see UPS. UPS announced in March its intention to buy TNT Express. It has now made public its formal offer of 5.2bn for the Dutch rival, with the offer period due to end on 31 August. According to our calculations, the combined business will generate a UK turnover of approximately 1.3bn placing it above Wincanton to become the second largest logistics operator by turnover in the UK. UPS has published two sets of accounts since last years Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011. Wincanton has stripped out the results from its discontinued mainland Europe operations in its preliminary accounts to March 2012 and restated the previous years figures to make them comparative. In 2011 it disposed of all its operations on the Continent. Its results included in the Top 100 are therefore just for its UK operations. Wincanton provided MT with its UK staff numbers. Wm Armstrong (Longtowns) results include turnover from its garage and maintenance businesses Armstrong Trucks and Cumbria Truck Centre, as there is no way of seperating these. Woodland Groups results have been compiled by combining the results of Woodland Logistics with the road element from Woodland Globals results, at the companys suggestion. Yusen (UKs) results include air and sea operations as it bought Yusen Air and Sea Services (UK) on 17 April 2011. MotorTransport TOP 100 2012 15

30-50m turnover
61 53 56 62 54 60 55 50 Knowles (Transport) Maxi Haulage ARR Craib Transport Deben Transport Woodside Haulage (Holdings) London City Bond Rhys Davies & Sons Boughey Distribution Elite Transport Services Currie European Transport 3,542 2,088 873 541 705 491 668 577 200 139 121 213 292 220 339 290 433 592 219 204 29,273 9,803 2,990 2,459 2,080 1,693 1,543 975 913 681 18.62 -4.91 28.73 47.99 7.53 1,126.28 -5.20 -56.92 -48.21 -83.78

50-100m turnover
47 34 33 49 Reed Boardall Group 5,393 610 724 1,124 415 8,841 8,412 7,585 5,802 -9.84 -13.85 15.01 49.92 CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) 6,090 Great Bear Distribution Howard Tenens 8,525 2,408

58 57

10-30m turnover
72 71 64 66 86 67 81 77 94 79 83 91 99 70 85 73 82 80 65 78 97 88 96 63 90 STVA UK Grocontinental Redhead Freight Knights of Old Acumen Logistics Group SJ Bargh Lomas Distribution Bartrums Laser Transport International Woodland Group Saints Transport Stan Robinson Group JW Suckling Aspray Transport Abbey Logistics Group Jack Richards & Son NR Evans & Son Arcese UK Lenham Storage Elddis Transport (Consett) Advanced Processing Fergusons Transport Wm Armstrong (Longtown) Seafield Logistics Meachers Global Logistics 836 2,082 1,224 1,363 753 1,553 848 1,082 546 503 1,115 807 561 1,531 655 571 570 210 591 400 508 246 141 124 582 56 291 186 277 160 335 185 252 131 131 317 272 191 527 266 261 290 140 396 304 444 263 189 258 4,398 14,929 7,155 6,581 4,921 4,706 4,636 4,584 4,294 4,168 3,840 3,517 2,967 2,937 2,905 2,462 2,188 1,966 1,500 1,492 1,316 1,144 935 746 481 132 88.15 -27.40 1.00 3.28 396.39 -28.21 79.73 -30.05 118.91 3.24 -0.61 -3.42 46.85 42.19 -14.38 10.32 104.73 -21.77 2.21 -26.75 42.66 445.78 -40.59 -50.10 -33.44

14 MotorTransport TOP 100 2012

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