The best of UK business

The UK's top performing companies were honored at the "Best of European Business" (BEB) contest in London. This annual event, which was first launched by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 2005, acknowledges the outstanding performances of companies in 10 European countries. To determine the winners of each of the national competitions, experts evaluated over 8,000 companies from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and the UK. Companies were assessed according to defined criteria in several categories, and high-caliber juries selected the winners from each category. The BEB Awards will draw to a close at the European Business Summit in Brussels on March 15-16, 2007. The Summit will be attended by top politicians, EU parliamentarians and business leaders. Roland Berger partnered with The Times for the UK awards while international news broadcaster CNN is the competition's pan-European media partner.

In the UK, a total of 6 companies have been honored in the categories of Growth, Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions, and European Opportunities. In each category, a mid-sized and a large company have been selected as winners.
Serco won in the Growth category (large companies) for growing internationally despite continued political pressure and trades union opposition. The jury agreed that the task management contractor will continue to have a secure future, especially if Serco keeps on expanding into Continental Europe, the US, and Australia.

Enterprise Inns, a leading operator of tenanted pub companies, was recognized in the Growth category (mid-sized companies). Enterprise Inns managed to develop a clear business model and a consistent strategy with which to integrate acquisitions into the company's operating model and to continue its organic expansion. The company now operates more than 9,000 pubs across the UK.

Ineos won in the Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions category (large companies) for its strategic acquisition of US based petrochemical company Innovene, formerly owned by BP. Through this acquisition, Ineos has become the third largest chemical company in the world in terms of revenue.

Yell was awarded the first prize in the mid-sized cross-border M&A category. The classified advertising company which in the past had only operated in the UK and in the US, managed to move into the South American as well as the Spanish and Italian markets through the recent acquisition of its Spanish competitor Telefonica Publicidad e Informacion (TPI).

The jury awarded the prize in the European Opportunities category (large companies) to Aviva. The fifth largest insurance group in the world now operates in 16 countries across Western and Eastern Europe. Aviva proved to have the ability to introduce its concepts even into markets that do not have a long history of insurance products.

easyJet won the European Opportunities category (mid-sized companies) for growing rapidly and instigating its own market in multiple countries across Europe. easyJet now operates from 68 airports across Europe servicing 258 routes.

Winners of other national competitions this year
The awards ceremony in London marks the end of the eighth of the ten national competitions this year. Further national events are set to take place in Denmark and France.

For further information please refer to:
www.best-of-european-business.com  .