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Jordans

PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL CLUBS DOMINATE NEW RANKING OF THE UK’S HIGHEST PAYING PRVATE COMPANIES

Wigan Athletic is top of the league – ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea - in Jordans‘ new “Britain‘s Top Privately Owned Companies” rankings

FA also makes the Top 20 pay league

Football clubs make up six of the UK‘s top ten highest paying private companies, according to new research.

And professional football‘s governing body, the Football Association, is also among the Top 20 private companies paying the highest wages, at number 16.

The findings are contained in the new edition of “Britain‘s Top Privately Owned Companies”, published by Jordans, the UK‘s biggest provider of professional business services and information to companies and their advisers.

The publication contains analysis of the 10,000 leading private companies, ranked not only in terms of turnover but also according to categories including pre-tax profits, profit margins, profitability, wage bill and net assets.

The rankings show that four of the top five paying companies are football clubs, with Premiership giants Liverpool at number 2 and Chelsea at number 4.

But while they continue to struggle on the pitch, it is Wigan Athletic which claims top spot in the wages league table, with the average annual salary at the JJB Stadium standing at over £348,500.

By comparison the figure at Liverpool is a mere £220,000, with Chelsea‘s average pay packet approaching £202,500, although the Stamford Bridge club‘s 563 employees is almost ten times the number of people who work at the JJB (59).

Meanwhile Premiership clubs Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, under its operating company Burnden Leisure plc, also appear in the list of the ten highest paying private companies, alongside Championship side Charlton Athletic.

Outside professional football, building company Cabretta Holdings Ltd., based in London, stands at number 3 in the rankings, with Hesco Bastion, based in Leeds, which manufactures defence wall systems, at number 6, national recruitment company Reed Employment plc, based in London, at 9 and housebuilder Walker Holdings (Scotland) Ltd., of Edinburgh, at 10.

Burnden Leisure, Charlton Athletic and Reed Employment, although plcs, are included in the study of private companies because they have no official listing on the Stock Exchange.

Geoff Wilcock, Director of Business Information Services at Jordans, said: “No-one will be surprised to see some of our leading football clubs dominating the upper reaches of the wage table for private companies.

“On the surface, what may be a surprise is to see Wigan Athletic recording the highest average figure, ahead of much bigger and wealthier clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea.

“However, it should be remembered that these are average figures, so they include all staff, from the very highly paid players and coaching staff, through to stewards and cleaners. Therefore while the average annual wage at Wigan is almost £150,000 higher than Chelsea‘s, the total wage bill at Stamford Bridge comes in at an astronomical £114 million – approaching five times the figure at Wigan.

“It is also interesting that not to be outdone, the game‘s administrators are also in the Top 20, with the FA‘s 391 staff taking home an average of more than £92,000.

“What is perhaps most surprising of all is that several of our major football clubs remain in private ownership at all.”   

Here are the UK‘s ten highest paying private companies, with average annual wages in brackets: 

1.                  Wigan Athletic AFC Ltd. (£348,508)

2.                  The Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Ltd. (£220,026)

3.                  Cabretta Holdings Ltd. (£203,257)

4.                  Chelsea Ltd. (£202,490)

5.                  Manchester City Ltd. (£164,311)

6.                  Hesco Bastion Ltd. (£151,186)

7.                  Burnden Leisure plc (£150,564)

8.                  Charlton Athletic plc (£149,441)

9.                  Reed Employment plc (£146,871)

10.             Walker Holdings (Scotland) Ltd., (£125,943)  

This is the 25th edition of Jordans‘ annual survey, charting the progress of the UK‘s private companies. The full survey comprises five volumes based on company size. For more information, including costs, contact Denise Sebastian on 0117 918 1283, or email denise_sebastian@jordans.co.uk

ENDS             28th February 2008

For further information please contact Neil Fraser, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk

 Notes to Editors

  • Jordans Limited has been providing professional business services for over 140 years. These services now include company formations and administration in the UK and internationally, business information and conveyancing support. 
  • Jordans‘ business information services include company searches, data sales (either large or small batches of data on companies and directors) and three branded products – JordanWatch, a database of information and reports on companies, NameGuard, a company name-watching service, and KYC (Know Your Client) Reports used for anti-money laundering information.
  • Jordans is committed to providing a first-class service and enjoys a reputation for quality, reliability and professionalism.