There's so much to say about the brilliant businesses in the Cotswolds and especially the wide variety of sectors they span.
From hospitality to retail to IT experts and through to breweries along with flour producers and power suppliers, there's almost nothing the Cotswolds doesn't do.
In partnership with growth business PoloWorks, SoGlos rounds up some of the most impressive and interesting talking points in the district, revealing the Cotswolds as a true powerhouse of business growth.
The Cotswold Brewing Company
More commonly known as Hawkstone Brewery, in beautiful Bourton-on-the-Water, this brewery has risen in popularity thanks to its celebrity owner Jeremy Clarkson and now includes a pub in the portfolio too.
While accounting figures are modest, they do show impressive growth. As of 31 March 2023, company assets stood at £1.867 million up from £738,760 in 2022. Staff numbers have risen from 14 to 24 too.
Daylesford Organic
The stable of Daylesford Organic pubs expanded with the opening of The Bell at Charlbury and refurbishment of The Maytime Inn in Burford in 2023. Over the last year Daylesford has invested in more self-catering accommodation than ever and its new health and fitness club is flourishing.
This Cotswolds-based attraction and upmarket organic shopping destination saw its turnover for the year ending 1 April 2023 grow to £50.232 million up from £49.153 million (it had grown by 15 per cent the year before that). Staff numbers at the Moreton-in-Marsh business reached 499, up from 454 too.
BULL
Less a growth business and more a walloping 'let's make a splash' arrival in the Cotswolds, BULL at Burford has taken the hospitality world by storm. The hotel brainchild of Matthew Freud is filled with intriguing art and has been a much talked about addition to Cotswolds staycations since opening at the end of 2023.
Now fully in its stride, the hotel has assets worth £5.842 million as of 31 December 2022, up from £1.09 million in 2021. And it's just about to reveal its summer 2024 expansion — a renovation of a historic pub, just a few doors down on Burford High Street.
St James's Place Wealth Management
For some years now the acclaimed wealth management firm, founded in the Cotswolds town of Cirencester, has been the biggest firm in Gloucestershire by turnover. Its profits for the year ending 31 December 2023 stood at £792.3 million up from £331.3 million the year before.
And its last set of accounts show revenues of more than £1 billion. Its St James's Place Foundation also gives to thousands of charities across the UK annually.
Masstock Arable (UK)
For a county with so much history built on agriculture, it's inevitable that a firm embedded in the sector would make the list.
This Andoversford-headquartered business provides agronomy services and technologies to support farming systems under the trading name Agrii. Turnover at Masstock Arable was £436.96 million for the year ending 31 July 2023, up from £392.876 million in 2022.
Nuvias Global Services
Cirencester-headquartered Nuvias Global Services provides IT distribution, specialising in advanced networking, unified communication, systems infrastructure, cyber security and other related services.
Trading as Infinigate it has customers worldwide; 4,880 staff across its business; and in the year ending Thursday 31 March 2023, reported a turnover of £200.084 million up from £190.06 million the year before.
Sodra Wood
A Cirencester firm, Sodra Wood, which employs 33 people, saw a healthy turnover of £112.288 million in its year to 31 December 2023.
While that impressive figure represented a 31 per cent reduction from 2022, attributed to falling timber prices, the sustainable wood solutions company's pre-tax profit increased to £2.9 million from £2.5 million in 2022.
Procurri Europe
This Cirencester-headquartered firm is a specialist in the refurbishment, trading and remarketing of IBM, Sun, Fujitsu, HP and Cisco computers.
Procurri operates on an international basis and for the year ending Friday 31 December 2022 it achieved a turnover of £50.654 million, up from £50.20 million. Staff numbers reached 183 for the same year.
Pegasus Planning Group
According to this Cirencester-headquartered planning consultancy, it 'saw a healthy supply of work from a range of development sectors' in the 2023 financial year.
Turnover at Pegasus for the year ending Friday 30 June 2023 was £42.451 million, up from £37.393 million while staff numbers sat at 409.
Shipton Mill
Tetbury-based Shipton Mill is famous for producing quality flour.
Founded in 1979 to mill flours from 'the most fantastic grains' and support farmers who promote biodiversity, it achieved a turnover of £35.491 million for the year ending Friday 31 March 2023, up from £31.25 million for the year ending Friday 1 April 2022. Staff numbers grew to 71.
Kubus Group
IT solutions firm Kubus Group, based in Kemble near Cirencester, saw its turnover leap 36 per cent from £29.033 million to £39.527 million for the year ending Thursday 31 March 2023, with staff numbers reaching 64 up from 57.
Its HQ at Cotswold Business Park serves a global community — with a distribution network that spans the planet and it has big goals of achieving a carbon neutral footprint by 2025.
Lodge Service International
This Cirencester-headquartered security firm specialises in ‘loss prevention and profit protection through services and solutions delivered using its specialist people, hardware and software’.
Turnover for Lodge Service increased by 28 per cent to £36.318 million in the year ending Monday 31 July 2023, 'largely due to some significant new contracts within Europe'. Staff numbers were at 967 up from 933 the year before.
Socomec UK
This Cotswold firm has headquarters in South Cerney near Cirencester, from where it has established itself as a market leader in uninterrupted power supply to businesses.
Socomec UK's turnover for the year ending 31 December 2023 reached £39.406 million, up from £26.572 million.
Barnbury
Interiors specialist Barnbury, which opened in Winchcombe nine years ago, has proved such a success, its owners have invested in a second showroom in London.
Its new Chelsea base opened in November 2023, with a coffee shop included in the home, lifestyle and art interiors showroom concept. The Winchcombe store is having a new champagne garden installed in 2024 and staff numbers have increased by five.
