John D Blackburn
This study looks at all companies registered in South West England and where their total assets are more than £3,500,000.South West England is the largest region by area (9,000 square miles) with a population of 5 million in 2016.The region comprises the counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall; The largest city is Bristol; other cities are Salisbury, Bath, Wells, Gloucester, Exeter, Plymouth and Truro.The most economically productive areas within the region are Bristol, the M4 corridor and south east Dorset, which are the areas with the best links to London. Bristol alone accounts for a quarter of the region’s economy, with the surrounding areas of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire accounting for a further quarter.The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the key movers and shakers in South West England’s corporate sector.Only key data has been isolated, particularly the company’s net worth and total assets, but also its full name, date incorporated, registered office, activities, shareholders, directors (with date of birth, occupation and nationality) and number of employees.Two indicators of size are used: net worth and total assets. These are preferable to turnover which is influenced by profit margins and whether the companies are capital or labour intensive.A short summary of the corporate sector in South West England:Total output (GVA), in 2016, was £127 billion (UK being £1,748 billion). Total output (GVA) per head, in 2016, was £23,091 (UK being £26,621). Economic Growth (GVA), 2010-2016, was 1.8% (UK being 1.9%).Employment, January-March 2018, in manufacturing as percentage of total jobs was 8.4% (UK 7.7%) and in the public sector as percentage of total employment was 15.5% (UK 16.6%).For the labour market, May-July 2018, the employment level was 2,789,000 (UK 32,397,0000) and the employment rate was 79.2% (UK 75.5%). The unemployment level was 74,000 (UK 1,361,000) with an unemployment rate of 2.6% (UK 4%).In 2018, there were 546,000 businesses (up 3%), (5,668,000 total businesses in the UK); and there were 126,000 employers (1,360,000 total employers in the UK).In 2017, there were 25,235 new businesses established (up 11%) and 30,040 businesses ceased trading (up 13%).In 2017, there wre 253,000 manufacturing jobs (9% of all jobs) and there were 12,180 manufacturing businesses.The region’s largest manufacturing sectors are transport, food and drink and metals.The number of VAT and/or PAYE based businesses in the region were in 2016: 227,000 (8.9% of UK); 2017: 234,000 (8.8%) and 2018: 232,000 (8.7%).In 2017, the South West accounted for 7.2% of the UK’s manufactured exports.
