top100

These interactive tables enable you to explore Motor Transport's Top 100 2012.

Click on the tabs at the top of the table to view the different data sets. You can also click on the column headers to sort the table data from highest to lowest (or click again to sort from lowest to highest). If you are viewing on a mobile device some of the columns will be hidden, in order to present the most important information - just click on the + icon against each row to expand the view to show all the data for that row. You can use the search box to quickly find a particular company.

Please refer to the notes to explain the methodology behind each entry.

Largest 100 companiesGrowth in turnoverProfit per employeeReturn on salesGrowth in profitSales per employeeNotes

The rankings were finalised on Wednesday 27 June 2012. The data is compiled from audited financial accounts filed at Companies House during the 12 months since the last Top 100 was compiled (July 2011), unless otherwise stated below. Tables list the company as the official registered company name at Companies House, which is not always the same as the company’'s trading name. We have compiled the tables using the turnover and pre-tax profit figures generated solely or primarily from the UK road transport activities of the business concerned, unless otherwise stated below. Where possible, we have tried to avoid including turnover from non-road and non-transport related business. Figures shown for employees are predominantly for those employed solely or principally in the UK. The following companies have provided MT with their figures due to their audited accounts not being available at Companies House until after the Top 100 deadline: Acumen Logistics, AM Widdowson, Bibby Distribution, Circle Express, Elddis Transport, Roadways Container Logistics and RT Keedwell.

Abbey Logistics Group was previously listed as Abbey Road Tanks; it rebranded on 20 April 2011. Since filing accounts, Abbey acquired bulk powder transport company RH Stevens Tankers on 1 August 2011.

Advanced Processing trades as Advanced Supply Chain.

Arcese UK has published two sets of accounts since last year’s Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011.

Aspray Transport trades as Aspray24.

Autologic Holdings has published two sets of accounts since last year’s Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011. The results are for Autologic’s UK operations and do not include its mainland Europe results. The pre-tax profit listed is its operating profit for the UK as it does not provide a pre-tax profit figure for the UK. The staff numbers are for the UK and have been provided by the company. Last month Stobart Group made an offer for Autologic (see note for Eddie Stobart).

AM Widdowson is included in the main Top 100 rankings but not in the accompanying tables due to its late inclusion.

Bartrums results have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit of Bartrums Haulage & Storage and Bartrums Road Services, as the Bartrum Group’s results include revenue derived from its CV maintenance business, Trumbar Truck Care.

Bedfords’ huge spike in turnover and entry into the Top 100 for the first time is largely due to a contract expansion with Associated Newspapers in October 2008 for distribution of its colour supplements.

Bibby Distribution’s results are the first set of fully consolidated accounts since its three acquisitions in 2010: Taygroup (April 2010); some assets of MRS Distribution (August 2010); and TM Logistics (October 2010).

Canute Haulage Group’s results include the accounts from its vehicle repair and recovery businesses –Albert Road Recovery and Repair and Truck Crane Services (UK) – as there is no way of separating these accurately.

C Butt made a pre-tax profit of £173 for the year ending April 2010. The tables round up to the nearest thousand, hence it appears as ‘0’.

Cert Octavian (ranked 52nd in the Top 100 last year) sold its supply chain arm to Culina in April. It therefore no longer runs any form of distribution operation and has been removed from the Top 100 this year.

Circle Express continues to trade through a company voluntary arrangement. Chairman and chief executive Chris

Coffey has provided MT with the expected turnover and pre-tax loss for the year ending 31 October 2011. Actual accounts are due to be filed at Companies House by 31 July.

CM Downton’s results include revenue derived from shares in the following joint ventures: Avon Distribution and D&T Logistics.

Culina Logistics’ results represent the first full-year’s trade of its combined activities of the following: on 28 March 2009 Culina acquired Wincanton’s chilled business, renamed Culina Chilled. In return, Wincanton Holdings received a 20% share in Culina Logistics. On 1 January 2010, the trade, assets and liabilities of Culina Chilled were rolled up into Culina Logistics Limited.

DHL does not publish results for its UK operation as a whole, so the DHL figures have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit from the following DHL companies registered in the UK: DHL Express (UK); DHL Global Mail (UK); Exel Europe; and Tradeteam. The staff figure for DHL was provided by the company.

DX Group acquired Nightfreight in March. It tells MT that both companies are “maintaining unique identities and will be filing separate accounts this year” so Nightfreight has retained a place in the rankings this year.

Eddie Stobart is the transport and distribution arm of Stobart Group. Last month, Stobart Group made an offer of £12.4m, or 20p per share, for Autologic. The board of Autologic has recommended that shareholders accept the cash offer. The staff figure for Eddie Stobart was provided by the company.

Fergusons Transport has published two sets of accounts since last year’s Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 30 September 2011.

Fowler Welch’s figures are the preliminary results included in its parent DART Group’s prelims.

Hargreaves Services results are for its transport division and do not include results from its production, energy and commodities, and industrial services business arms. The staff figure was provided by the company.

Harry Yearsley is the registered name for the Yearsley Group. Its results include its wholesale frozen foods business, which accounts for £56.1m of its 2011 turnover. The cold storage and distribution business reported turnover of £65.8m for the period (2010: £73.9m). It does not provide a comparative pre-tax profit figure for its cold storage and distribution business, hence we have included the full group results.

Home Delivery Network (HDN), which trades as Yodel, changed its reporting period from April to June, so this set of accounts is for a 61-week period. It is the first full-year’s results to include the consolidation of the former domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express, which HDN acquired on 1 March 2010 via its subsidiary firm Parcelpoint.

Hoyer Petrolog UK (formerly Hoyer UK) has published two sets of accounts since last year’s Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011.

John G Russell’s results include its chest freezer manufacturing business, which accounts for £11.6m of its 2011 turnover. The transport and warehousing business reported turnover of £41.3m for the period (2010: £39.7m). It does not provide a comparative pre-tax profit figure for its transport business so we have had to include the full group results.

Kammac’s results are for its packaging, warehousing and distribution division. It does not include turnover from its property management, keg manufacturing, or environmental ventures businesses.

Knights of Old acquired Mainland Group in December 2011 and said it would spend 2012 integrating the firm into its operations. For the year to 31 January 2011, Mainland Group reported turnover of £6.6m and pre-tax profit of £667,959. Sister firm Mainland Express was included in the deal and reported turnover of £7.6m and pre-tax profit of £717,356. The merger will be reflected in Knights’ next set of results.

Langdon Group’s results are the accounts registered at Companies House under Langdon Industries. The firm prefers not to use its registered name as it can cause confusion as to the nature of the business.

Lenham Storage results have been calculated by adding the turnover and pre-tax profit figures from Lenham Storage (Southern) and Lenham Storage Company as there are no group results for the two limited companies. It does not include figures from its vehicle maintenance business, Lenham Garages.

Maritime Transport’s results are the first to include the combined turnover since its acquisition of DHL Container Logistics (UK) at the end of 2009.

Nightfreight: see DX Group.

Norbert Dentressangle does not publish results for its UK operation as a whole, so the figures have been calculated by combining the turnover and pre-tax profit from the following Nobert companies registered in the UK: Norbert Dentressangle Logistics; Norbert Dentressangle Tankers; Norbert Dentressangle Transport Services; and Norbert Dentressangle UK.

Pass J Holdings is the registered company name for the Online Group, which includes Online Roadways and Mike Beer Transport.

R Swain & Sons’ results include non-road transport operations such as stevedoring and forwarding and shipping. It does not separate any of these activities.

Reed Boardall Group’s results includes turnover derived from Boroughbridge Motors, its motor vehicle servicing business, as there is no way of separating this.

Richard Preston & Son trades as Prestons of Potto.

TNT: see UPS.

UPS announced in March its intention to buy TNT Express. It has now made public its formal offer of €5.2bn for the Dutch rival, with the offer period due to end on 31 August. According to our calculations, the combined business will generate a UK turnover of approximately £1.3bn – placing it above Wincanton to become the second largest logistics operator by turnover in the UK. UPS has published two sets of accounts since last year’s Top 100, so we have used the most recent: for the year ending 31 December 2011.

Wincanton has stripped out the results from its discontinued mainland Europe operations in its preliminary accounts to March 2012 and restated the previous year’s figures to make them comparative. In 2011 it disposed of all its operations on the Continent. Its results included in the Top 100 are therefore just for its UK operations.

Wincanton provided MT with its UK staff numbers.

Wm Armstrong (Longtown’s) results include turnover from its garage and maintenance businesses Armstrong Trucks and Cumbria Truck Centre, as there is no way of separating these.

Woodland Group’s results have been compiled by combining the results of Woodland Logistics with the road element from Woodland Global’s results, at the company'’s suggestion.

Yusen (UK’)'s results include air and sea operations as it bought Yusen Air and Sea Services (UK) on 17 April 2011.