WALESTOP3002008 33
WALESTOP300
A
t a time of increased pressure
on capital and limited resources
even the largest firm will suffer.
The Top 300 businesses over
the last three years have seen
substantial changes and shifts between
those industries entering and leaving the
list. The economic performance of these
firms is worthwhile to look at, but more
interesting are the sectors that make up the
list.
Particular groups of sectors could be seen
as being central to the economic make-up
of a country, thus exploring the structure of
the top 300 this year may give a better
understanding of the Welsh economy.
At the start of 2007 the Welsh economy
had a workforce of 1,183, 468. Table 1
displays these figures with relation to the
rest of the UK; it also includes a breakdown
of employment by sector. If we take the
firms in this year's list they jointly employ
around 148,000 people, a substantial
component of the Welsh economy.
When examining this broad classification
of sectors it is hard to pinpoint the
contribution of specific firms from the Top
300. However, utilising more specific
definitions of sectors it is possible to
examine individual firm contributions.
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
system is used to group industries
according to the activities in which they are
involved. Looking at the make-up of this
year's Top 300 list there are clearly clusters
of industries stronger in Wales than in the
rest of the UK based upon the relative size
of the sector. Table 2 displays these.
More than a third of the firms in the Top
300 fit into these clusters of industries.
Employing just fewer than 30,000 people,
this shows the dependence of Welsh
economy on relatively few key sectors.
Equally this shows a strength and depth.
The dependence may be seen as a problem
only if these sectors experience volatility
The top sectors identified in this analysis
are clearly performing well in Wales today
but it may be questioned how important
these sectors are to the economy. Chart 3
and 4 displays the performance of these
sectors both in Wales and Scotland (as a UK
comparative) over the period 2003 and
2007.
The first thing to notice is the proportional
relationship between the two nations. With
a larger workforce it is likely that most
sectors will be bigger in Scotland than in
Wales; however, the underlying trend
between both nations is an increase in
employment within these sectors. Some
industries such as SIC 24: Manufacturing of
chemicals and SIC 50: Sale and Maintenance
of Motor Vehicles are employing almost the
same number of people both in Scotland
and Wales. This would indicate these
sectors are of national importance in Wales.
After looking at the Top 300 list it is clear
that this is a snap shot of the most
successful firms in the Welsh economy
today. But as this article started with a word
of caution it will finish that way too. With an
increasingly more volatile climate in which
business has to take place, it is important to
acknowledge the sectors of `best
performance' in a nation; after all, it is these
industries through which an economy
stands its best change of adapting to the
changes on the horizon. xz
THE TOP SECTORS IN WALES
Analysing the Top 300 figures reveals interesting patterns
of `best performance', according to Dr Andrew Crawley,
research fellow at the University of Glamorgan
INDUSTRIAL SECTORS 2007 WALES SCOTLAND UK
Agriculture and fishing 14,323 35,871 227,317
Energy and water 6,633 38,236 157,408
Manufacturing 158,318 223,961 2,863,418
Construction 62,458 138,421 1,257,235
Distribution, hotels and restaurants 276,836 530,135 6,192,360
Transport and communications 50,712 120,827 1,549,663
Banking, finance and insurance 167,709 433,753 5,590,858
Public administration, education & health 381,211 720,326 7,090,844
Other services 65,267 129,025 1,391,486
Total 1,183,468 2,370,554 26,320,590
Top 300 Employment 148,000 N/A N/A
WELSH SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIES NO. FIRMS EMPLOYMENT
SIC 15 : Manufacturing of food and beverages 16 8395
SIC 24 : Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 19 6412
SIC 45: Construction 20 5163
SIC 50: Sales and Repair Automotive Sector 21 3620
SIC 51 : Wholesale trade and commission trade 29 6129
Total 105 29719
Table 2. Significant industry clusters in the Top 300
Table 1. Employment by sector in the UK
THE SECTORS
OFFERING US
BEST CHANCE
OF SURVIVAL

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56 Produced by PageSuite