Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The annual report also reveals that transport and motor retail has become the second largest sector, with a 13.7 per cent share of total turnover.

But its rise comes at the expense of manufacturing, which drops down to third after generating just 13.4 per cent of Norfolk Ltd’s turnover, compared with 17 per cent the previous year.

The Norfolk Ltd report examines the results of the top 100 owner-managed businesses in the county, and compiles these figures into a composite business report to cover nine key industry sectors.

Total turnover for Norfolk Ltd’s membership rose for a fifth successive year, up by 1.3 per cent at £7,255 million.

Nigel Savory, office managing partner at Grant Thornton in Norwich, said: “This is very much in line with the national trend, but many of the manufacturing companies within Norfolk Ltd are facing a real challenge to turn around their fortunes.”

The number of people employed by Norfolk Ltd fell from 59,748 to 58,637 – representing 16 per cent of the county’s workforce. Average salaries increased by 2.7 per cent to £22,448.