The Watches of Switzerland Group has announced that it has topped The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table.
The group, which owns Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb, Watches of Switzerland and Watch Shop in the UK, was the only jewellery and watch retailer listed within the annual list of 250 private mid-market growth companies in the UK.
The company’s impressive expansion across America with the backing of private equity firm Apollo is believed to have been a driving force behind the top spot.
Chief executive, Brian Duffy, led the acquisition of US chain Mayors Jewellers last year for around £80.5m, which helped boost sales by 21% to £685.2m in the year to April 2018, seeing profits rise 36% to £37.1m.
On topping the list, Duffy said: “It is great that we are at the top of this prestigious list. Our business is growing well both organically and through acquisitions in the US. Our teams have done a fantastic job of delivering in the busiest period in our history.”
For the past 21 years, The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table has ranked Britain’s companies by the sales in their latest available accounts.
This year’s league table shows that Britain’s private mid-market growth companies have prospered despite economic and political uncertainty, and have positioned themselves for further expansion.
The 250 companies achieved combined sales of £66.7bn, an 18% increase year-on-year, with record profits of £6.4bn, up 27%, employing a total of 435,000 people, up 10%.
