Am
ix
of
engineering,
pub
and
softwar
e
groups
have
survived
the
credit
crunch
to
retain
their
positions
as
the
lar
gest
companies
in
the
We
st
Midla
nds.
GKN,w
hich
is
based
in
Redditch,
Wo
rcestershire,
overcame
the
downward
cost
pressures
from
its
customers
and
rising
raw
material
sp
rices
to
retain
its
position
as
the
biggest
company
by
turnover
in
the
region.
The
company
notched
up
sales
during
2007
of
1633.63
billion,
which
also
made
it
the
lar
gest
quoted
company
.
GKN
was
also
the
most
profitable
concern,
with
profits
of
163182
million
during
2007.
All
four
divisions
of
the
company
reported
growth,
with
driveline
sales
up
six
per
cent,
powder
metallur
gy
up
eight
per
cent,
of
fh
ighway
up
20
per
cent,
and
aerospace
up
24
per
cent.
It
met
some
of
the
challenges
by
restructur
ing
its
operations
and
growing
its
presence
in
India
and
China.
The
driveshaf
tb
usiness
secured
80
per
cent
of
all
available
business
while
the
company8217
sa
erospace
division
secured
$1
billion
of
new
orders
during
the
year
.
Sir
Kevin
Smith,
chief
executive
of
GKN,
summed
up
these
successes
,s
aying:
8220This
has
been
the
year
when
GKN
moved
decisively
into
higher
gear
.8221
Wo
lverhampton
constructio
nc
ompany
Carillion
was
boosted
by
as
tring
of
contract
wins
to
climb
one
place
to
second
spot.
It
could
also
be
in
an
ever
-strong
er
position
to
challenge
GKN
for
the
top
spot
after
it
completed
the
163572
million
purchase
of
fellow
infrastru
cture
services
company
Alfred
McAlpine.
The
deal
is
expected
to
create
one
of
the
UK8217
sl
ar
gest
support
services
and
construction
companies,
with
an
aggregate
revenue
of
around
1634.7
billion.
During
the
year
,C
arillion,
which
provides
expertise
in
commercial
and
industrial
building,
civil
engineering
and
rail
construction
and
maintenance,
achieved
sales
of
1633.06
billion
and
profits
of
16367.6
million.
Among
the
projects
secured
by
Carillion
was
a163
175
million
project
to
build
14
secondary
schools
in
the
North-east,
and
a
163300
million
deal
to
provide
pre-
construction
services
for
the
completion
of
the
second
satellite
at
Te
rminal
Five
of
Heathrow
Airport.
Meanwhile,
Carillion8217
sj
oint
venture
business
in
the
Middle
East
appointed
preferred
bidder
for
construction
projects
worth
163470
million,
with
framework
agreements
for
up
to
af
urther
1635.3
billion
of
construction
work.
Pub
and
restaurant
group
Mitchells
and
Butlers
was
the
third
lar
gest
listed
company
,d
espite
enduring
at
roubled
year
.
The
Harvester
and
To
by
Carvery
owner
sold
107
million
meals
during
2007,
and
increased
drinks
sales
by
2.2
per
cent.
But
it
was
hit
by
the
collapse
of
a
debt-financed
property
joint
venture
it
planned
with
entrepreneur
and
major
investor
Robert
Tc
henguiz.
The
deal
8211am
ove
to
return
cash
to
shareholders
8211i
nvolved
around
1,300
of
its
pubs.
But
banks
pulled
the
plug
on
the
scheme
following
the
credit
crunch
and
left
M&B
with
163274
million
in
losses
from
a
wrong-way
bet
on
interest
rates
as
borrowing
costs
began
to
come
down.
The
issues
hit
the
group8217
ss
hare
price
and
it
was
relegated
from
the
FTSE
100
Index
in
December
.
During
the
year
,M
&B
racked
up
sales
of
1631.89
billion,
but
the
company
reported
a
loss
of
16348
million
following
the
collapse
of
the
deal.
Fellow
pub
operator
Enterpris
eI
nns,
based
in
Solihul
l,
had
as
lightly
better
year
,
despite
the
wet
weather
and
the
start
of
the
smoking
ban
in
England.
It
came
sixth
overall
with
sales
of
163921
million,
and
profits
of
163337
million,
which
made
it
the
most
profitable
company
in
the
Midlands
.
This
put
it
behind
engineering
group
IMI,
which
rose
two
places
to
fourth
with
sales
of
1631.5
billion
and
Severn
Tr
ent,
which
dropped
one
place
to
fifth
with
sales
of
1631.48
billion.
Retailer
Halfords,
engineering
group
Wa
gon,p
ub
and
beer
group
Marston8217
s
and
software
developer
Misys
made
up
the
rest
of
the
top
ten.
There
was
an
ew
company
at
the
top
of
the
Aim-listed
firms,
with
Ti
tan
Eur
ope
climbing
one
spot
to
become
the
lar
gest
firm
by
sales
in
this
category
.
Kidderminster
-based
Ti
tan
supplies
steel
wheels
to
major
excavator
manufacturer
s
such
as
Caterpillar
,K
omatsu,
Vo
lvo
and
Liebherr
and
80
per
cent
of
its
sales
are
to
export,
mainly
to
the
Americas,
Asia
and
Europe.
Co
nt
inued
page
21Gi
ant
GKN
sh
ifting
int
o
hig
her
gear
GKN...
biggest
co
mpan
yb
yt
ur
no
ve
r
Ti
tan
Eu
ro
pe
chief
Mi
ke
Ak
ers
...
to
pA
im
co
mpan
y
Ca
ri
llion...
up
one
plac
et
os
ec
ond
in
the
tur
no
ve
rl
isting
To
pc
om
pa
ni
es
in
th
e
We
st
Mi
dl
an
ds
TO
P2
00
PRIV
AT
EC
OMP
ANIES
PA
GES
16-19
REGION8217
ST
OP
QUO
TED
CO
MP
ANIES
PA
GES
20-21
TO
PA
IM-LISTED
CO
MP
ANIES
PA
GES
23-25
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