CBI member, Grant Thornton has launched an updated and sixth edition of its Tou Ying Tracker, which identifies the fastest-growing Chinese companies in the UK per annum. Grant Thornton analysed the 750 largest Chinese owned companies with published accounts filed at Companies House by 30 September 2018.
Grant Thornton’s findings show that in 2018 average revenue growth of the 750 largest Chinese owned companies increased by 11.6%. Businesses owned by Chinese companies employed close to 80,000 people, while the combined turnover of these companies was £68 billion. The largest growth in average turnover was achieved by companies within the financial services sector, with Chinese-owned businesses operating within the sector recording growth of 29.8%; followed by those in the manufacturing sector and industrial and business support services, which were 15.4% and 14.5% respectively.
While the majority of sectors saw growth in levels of Chinese investment, the UK real estate sector stood out as an anomaly. According to Grant Thornton, “the control of capital outflows from China and uncertainty over Brexit saw Chinese investment in commercial property in the UK fell significantly during 2018, with a 90% decline in deal volumes.” Grant Thornton adds a caveat however, that despite these two factors, the UK real-estate market still saw a significant number of Chinese buyers, sometimes using capital that is already outside China, from locations like Hong Kong or Singapore, and that despite a 90% decline in deal volumes, investors should remain buoyant as a result of the deal values.
Please find the full report attached here.
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