How big is a big company? What do we mean by top 100 companies?
We can use the number of employees a company has to determine its size. This statistic is helpfully available on the annual accounts at Companies House submitted by all UK companies. Or we can use a company's annual turnover or yearly sales figures.
You can see a list of the Electric Marketing Top 100 UK Companies defined by annual sales and also by employee numbers.
Other organisations rank companies using different methods. Here’s a quick guide to the well known top companies rankings.
FTSE 100
The largest 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This is calculated by market capitalisation ie the number of shares in existence multiplied by the current price of those shares.
FTSE 250
The next 250 biggest companies on the LSE.
FTSE 350
The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 combined.
FTSE SmallCap
Medium-sized companies on the LSE - those not big enough for the FTSE 350.
FTSE Fledging
Small companies on the LSE - those too small to be included on the SmallCap.
FTSE All-Share
This comprises the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE SmallCap.
FTSE All-Small
FTSE SmallCap plus FTSE Fledgling.
FTSE 500
This does not exist, although people often mention it.
AIM
AIM is the Alternative Investment Market. This is not connected to the FTSE but is a separate trading market for shares in small companies.
Sunday Times Top Track 250 companies
The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table ranks Britain's mid-market growth private companies with the biggest sales.
Fortune 500 companies
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies incur.
The London Stock Exchange divides companies by market capitalisation which is the number of shares multiplied by the share price. The PLC companies with the largest market cap are known as the top 350. Companies outside this are known as smallcaps but although not the largest, they are equally good targets for your b2b marketing campaign.
The London Stock Exchange attracts listings from companies based outside the UK, particularly companies from Russia and Australia. These companies may be vast but their operations, often in mining and oil, are outside the UK along with their staff and decision-makers.
Crucially the plc companies on these mailing lists have successfully raised investment and passed rigorous checks for compliance and risk, making them excellent targets for your next b2b marketing campaign