With everything from billion-pound construction giants, to rising agri-tech and manufacturing firms, key partner of the SoGlos Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire, Cotswolds solicitors Sewell Mullings Logie shares its view of how this year's list demonstrates the strength of the local economy through the diversity of businesses included.
SoGlos hears from the firm's managing partner Rachel Wooddisse on the trends in this year's list, what the future may hold for the local economy and how businesses can give themselves the best chance of success in the coming years.
Rachel, tell us why Sewell Mullings Logie wanted to support the SoGlos Top 100 in 2025.
Throughout our 200-year history we have been providing legal
advice to the Gloucestershire business community. We are
proud to support the SoGlos Top 100 as it represents a fantastic opportunity to
showcase some of the top-performing businesses that make Gloucestershire such a
vibrant commercial hub.
Across our practice areas, we’ve established close
relationships with businesses ranging from startups to some of those included
in the Top 100 list. The list is a
testament to our county’s economic prowess and will give other business owners
the confidence to invest in Gloucestershire as a great place to do business.
What was your reaction to this year’s list – which sectors stood out to you the most?
It was good to see that many of Gloucestershire’s home-grown
businesses continue to demonstrate strong growth, despite substantial
commercial challenges. This year’s list reflects some of the landmark
infrastructure and development projects that have started in recent years. The arrival of Kier Group at the number one
position on the list shows the scale of investment into construction that is
currently taking place in our county.
The number of engineering and advanced manufacturing businesses inside the list’s top ten demonstrate Gloucestershire’s innovative spirit; and many of these firms are crucial to providing employment and economic stability across the county.
Overall, it’s reassuring to see that Gloucestershire’s economy continues to be led by a diverse pool of businesses providing stability, resilience and opportunity for the challenges ahead.
Plenty of businesses have jumped to higher positions this year. From your perspective, what advice would you give to those that have experienced growth?
Those that have seen growth and have jumped to higher positions on this year’s list should be congratulated on their achievement. I think it’s important for businesses to reflect on the strategies that have enabled them to achieve these results and for them to look ahead towards emerging challenges and opportunities.
It is also important to balance growth with
long term employment sustainability. As
an employment lawyer specialising in settlement agreements, I have noticed a
sharp increase in reorganisation and restructuring strategies as a result of
growth which have resulted in redundancies.
For those that have fallen down the list – along with those that didn’t quite make it this year – what can they do to give themselves the best chance of growing their turnover in the years to come?
I think it’s important to recognise the achievement of all
businesses, regardless of their inclusion or relative position on the
Top 100 list. The position changes of
some very successful businesses demonstrates the competitiveness of positioning
in 2025.
For those that have fallen down the list – or didn’t quite
make it – it’s important to reflect on their individual performance and look
ahead to the potential growth opportunities for next year. Many sectors such as
agri-tech and advanced manufacturing are likely to see continued investment and
commercial opportunities across the rest of 2025 and into 2026.
In terms of your clients, what are some of the biggest challenges faced by local businesses in the past year?
The past year has been very tough for a lot of businesses,
not just across Gloucestershire, but the country as a whole. We’ve seen a
continuation of high inflation and high interest rates creating a really
challenging economic environment for businesses to operate in. Employer costs and business rates have
continued to grow with increases to employer National Insurance contributions
and the minimum wage.
Unfortunately, this is squeezing businesses and leading to
some redundancies. Under these conditions, businesses are having to make a lot
of difficult decisions relating to expenditure and need to make sure that they
mitigate as much risk as possible from their operations and activities.
And what about the year ahead? What kind of trends are you expecting to see?
The next 12 months are likely to be underscored by continued economic uncertainty. While the specifics of the government’s Autumn Budget are unknown, it’s expected that the new budget will include inevitable tax rises to address the fiscal gap.
There’s
a lot of speculation that this may include changes to Capital Gains and
Inheritance Tax, which will have a direct impact on Gloucestershire’s
businesses and many of our clients. Changes to Inheritance Tax, made in the
2024 budget, are also due to take effect, impacting our county’s farming
communities.
Despite these issues, there are also many reasons for cautious optimism. The UK’s economic growth forecasts have improved since the beginning of 2025. We’re hoping that recent changes to interest rates signal the start of a trend towards more favourable economic conditions, that will ease some of the pressures on Gloucestershire’s businesses.
At Sewell Mullings Logie, we look forward to continuing to offer our expert legal advice and services to both current and future clients as they seek to navigate challenges and make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead.
