British honors
In London,the "Best of European Business" awards ceremony in London sent out a clear signal: British companies are playing a very active role in building Europe.Note: This article was first published by The Times, media Partner of our Best of European Business initiative in Great Britain, on November 23, 2006. British companies that have taken the lead in an expanded Europe and capitalised on the opportunities presented by the European bloc were honoured last night at the Best of European Business Awards. The awards, presented by The Times and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, recognised a host of UK-based companies for their contribution to the creation of a cohesive Europe and praised virtues such as strong organic growth and an entrepreneurial spirit. David Stern, of Roland Berger and a member of the jury, emphasised that globalisation and competition meant that UK plc needed to measure itself on a broader scale. “Whether one is a strong believer in a free trade area, a European community or a single European state, there is no doubt that the development of Europe over the last 30 years has built a single market that has become increasingly accessible to companies,” Mr Stern said in his address last night. | ||||
He noted that the competition was designed to identify companies that were developing dynamically, taking risks and building strength from the new Europe. The awards seek to recognise publicly those companies that serve as corporate ambassadors of the UK and which display the potential to become leaders in their fields, in the UK and globally. The winners, which were selected by a panel of senior business leaders, academics and media personalities, included Enterprise Inns, the tenanted pub company, and Serco, the service group that operates in the defence, transport, government and science sectors. Both companies won awards in the Growth category, which examined whether and how companies had taken advantage of opportunities presented by the emergence of a European market to create a sustainable strategy of profitable growth. Each category is subdivided into two further groups based on company size, the first evaluating companies with a turnover of between £800 million and £2 billion and the second examining those with a turnover exceeding £2 billion. The second category gauges which companies have made the best use of the internal market and generated value through cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The winner in the mid-size group was Yell, which is the leading player in the classified advertising market. Ineos, a manufacturer of speciality chemicals, took the award in the large-cap group. In the final category, European Opportunities, which considers the extent to which a company’s strategy is orientated towards Europe, easyJet, the no-frills airline, and Aviva, the insurer, emerged victorious. In addition to Mr Stern, the panel included John Peace, the chief executive of GUS, the retailer, and chairman of Burberry, the luxury goods group, and Sir Nigel Rudd, the chairman of Alliance Boots and deputy chairman of Barclays. The other members of the jury were: Penny Hughes, the non-executive director of Reuters and a former director of Trinity Mirror and Vodafone; Donald Brydon, the chairman of Smiths Group and Taylor Nelson Sofres; Robert Cole, the deputy business editor of The Times; and Zeger Degraeve, the Deputy Dean of Programmes and Professor of Decision Sciences at London Business School. The ceremony was one of ten awards ceremonies taking place across Europe, which will culminate with a ceremony to honour the pan-European winners at a gala early next year. | ||||
And the winners are …
Growth Mid-sized Enterprise Inns, the leased and tenanted pubs operator, beat contenders including Brit Insurance, the insurer, easyJet, the no-frills airline, European Metal Recycling (EMR), which recycles metal-based products, and Sports World, the sports clothing and equipment maker. The jury was impressed by Enterprise Inn’s record of generating growth through the delivery of a clear business model while maintaining profitability. Honourable mentions went to EMR and easyJet. Large Serco won in this category for its consistent growth under political pressure, including opposition from trade unions. The task management contractor was praised for taking a UK model and expanding it into multiple markets. It has a presence on the Continent, in America and Australia and is looking towards the Middle East and China. Serco beat competition that included Scottish & Southern Energy. Carphone Warehouse, which has a broad reach across Europe, received an honourable mention. M&A Mid-sized The jury examined the success of cross-border acquisitions made by UK-based companies between mid-2004 and April this year. Yell, the classified advertising company, beat its fellow contenders Arriva, the transportation group, European Metal Recycling (EMR), the international IT services provider LogicaCMG, and Qinetiq, the defence and security company. The jury gave the award after Yell’s £2 billion acquisition of TPI of Spain, commending its use of IT to realise synergies. EMR received an honourable mention. Large Ineos, the privately held company that bought Innovene, the petrochemical company, for $9 billion, making it the world’s third- biggest chemicals company by revenue, prevailed. The company took the gong in the growth category last year. This time Inoes saw off Barclays, which acquired Absa, of South Africa, and National Express, which entered Spain last year by acquiring Alsa. Vodafone received an honourable mention for its execution of deals, including a public auction on TV for one asset. WPP’s acquisition of Grey Global was commended but the jury questioned the extent of synergy benefits. European opportunities Mid-sized This category honours those companies that have made the best use of opportunities created by the widening of Europe. EasyJet, which last year was a runner-up in the growth category and winner in the innovation category, prevailed. The jury was impressed by easyJet’s success in creating and meeting demand and in instigating its own market across Europe. Honourable mention went to Taylor Nelson Sofres, the market research company, and SIG, which supplies insulation. Large Aviva won for its success in moving into the whole of Europe. The jury picked the company for its ability to introduce concepts into markets that do not have a long history of using them — therefore, educating the market — and its ability to make and integrate effective acquisitions. Aviva fended off competition that included Carphone Warehouse and DSG International, which were singled out for honourable mentions. Also on the shortlist was Gallaher, the tobacco company, and Rexam, the packaging group. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us:  | ||||
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