500 empresas para el futuro (Peyber, etc...)

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MARKET500.euT h e m a g a z i N e f o r e U r o p e ’ s f a s T e s T g r o w i N g c o m p a N i e s

the 500 fastest growing companies

exclusive european ranking

award winner

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opinion | profiles | management | human resources | technology | investment | lifestyle

p. 18

The association’s

primary goal is to

develop a European

network of high-

growth companies

to provide a forum

for the exchange of

experience, the deve-

lopment of new busi-

ness possibilities, as

well as recommendations to the EU on

how to improve the framework for growth

and more employment. The association

aims to offer its experience and ideas to

European and national policy-makers in

order to improve the general business

conditions which should encourage more

growth and employment. In other words,

the group does not want to get tied

down in discussions about the employ-

ment situation, but rather to take concrete

measures for the creation of more jobs.

Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000, for

example, are both well established and

recognised measures of business perfor-

mance. Large companies in the US are

proud to have the accolade of being

among the 500 or 1000 top firms in the

country, not only to enhance their prestige

but also to attract investment. However,

size is only one, and a rather static, indi-

cator of success.

With Europe’s 500, the annual listing

of Europe’s top fast growing compa-

nies, we wanted to take a more dynamic

approach to measuring success by iden-

tifying companies that have shown growth

in employment as well as turnover as job

creation is a particularly critical issue in

Europe today.

We research small and mid-sized compa-

nies in 28 European countries (the 25 EU

member states, plus Switzerland, Iceland

and Norway) and invite them to submit

their turnover and employment data for

the three previous fiscal years. Once the

data are verified, these fast growing, job-

creating companies are ranked to find the

top 500 who form the annual listing. The

winners are honoured at an awards cere-

mony and gala dinner held in a different

European city each November (in Vienna

2006). Over the years a number of compa-

nies have qualified for more than one

listing by demonstrating sustained growth

over four or more years, but only two firms

– both Italian - have won each year since

the first listing in 1996, meaning they have

sustained continuous growth since 1992.

The 2006 Europe’s 500 listing reveals for

the first time an impressive number of

new winners from Eastern Europe and the

Baltic states.

Of course the Europe’s 500 Listing does

not exist merely to allow entrepreneurs to

pat each other on the back and congra-

tulate each other on winning the “Oscar”

of entrepreneurship. As a Europe-wide

network of the strongest growing compa-

nies, they aim to exchange experience as

well as seek new business opportunities

and pass on the benefit of their expe-

rience and best practice to European

and national policy-makers to help create

better conditions for more growth and

employment. These entrepreneurs do not

only want to discuss employment; they

also want to do something to create more

paid job opportunities in Europe.

This last aim coincides directly with the

EU’s Lisbon Agenda, which aims to make

Europe the most dynamic knowledge-

driven economy in the world and to create

more and better jobs by 2010. Of course

everyone wants this – politicians, organi-

sations and also clever unions. Europe’s

500 provides the evidence that it is these

fast growing companies which are at

the forefront of job creation in Europe

– witness the nearly 150,000 new jobs

created by the 2006 Europe’s 500 winners

over the past three years.

Also, as Chairman of Schoeller Industries,

which has more than 2,000 employees

(www.schoellergroup.com), I am convinced

EntrEprEnEurs on thE Growth track Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth was founded in 1996 and publishes the annual Europe’s 500 Listing, bringing together the strongest growth companies.

�

letter from the President e u r o p e ’ s � 0 0

Martin Schoeller,

President of Europe’s 500

continued on page 80

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�

e d i t o r ’ s n o t e

Where can you

find succes-

sful European

companies?

Who are they?

Why are some

compet i to rs

growing faster

in other coun-

tries than in

your own? Do you know any mid-sized

European companies? How many firms

do you know abroad? There are so many

questions we might ask ourselves about

this new market: Europe. Most entrepre-

neurs are experts in their local market

but it is more difficult to know about

the pan-European corporate world. Of

course, we can get information about the

most important corporations every day

in the leading media, but it remains hard

to find a real pan-European one which

is not American or related to a particular

European country.

A pan-European business approach

Market500.eu aims to help you, our

readers, better understand this complex

and multi-cultural market through in-depth

business stories and articles. In addition,

our columns aim to provide to strong

opinions and analysis in order to promote

European ideas for stronger entrepre-

neurship. While covering high-potential

emerging markets such as India, China

or Brazil, we clearly highlight the amazing

performance and potential of European

companies. We also focus the positive

effects EU enlargement is having on

European economic growth rates.

A Strategic Partnership

Our access to the most successful

European companies is our strength,

thanks to our exclusive partnership with

Europe’s 500, officially publishing their

ranking of fast growing European compa-

nies. We also participate in Europe’s 500

key events throughout Europe, captu-

ring the essence and outcomes as a

real pan-European media channel. In a

reflection of the needs of leading entre-

preneurs and companies across Europe,

market500.eu, the publication and the

website, aim to be interactive. Our online

portal provides information ranging from a

quarterly survey of leading entrepreneurs

to a company listing. In addition, a new

version of the European Business Portal

will be rolled-out this spring.

Let the entrepreneurial spirit spread

around Europe as fast as it can.

Raphael Dana

[email protected]

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76growth is east

68case study:Barceló

2�gameloftaward winner

90yachting

europe’s 500ranking 18

7 7

c o n t e n t s

no01 January / February / March 2007

Letter from the President 3

Editor’s note 4

Entrepreneur’s Survey 8

Defining the trends of 2007

Highlights 11

Press review

Top 10 predictions in 2007 16

EuroPE’S 500 rAnking

Introduction 19

Listing 22

Winners’ profiles

Award Winner No 1 - Gameloft 23

No 2 Avion Group 27

No 3 Assystem 30

No 4 CPL 33

No 5 Spreadshirt 37

No 8 Webhelp 39

No 13 Centric 40

No 14 Puma 43

No 17 ntercentros Ballesol 45

No 21 Ryanair 46

No 22 New Wave Group 48

No 26 DC Holding 51

No 30 EngroTUS 52

opinion Editor 54

MAnAgEMEnt

Focus

Managerial pitfalls to avoid 56

Learning

CEO-Collaborative Forum 61

HuMAn rESourCES

recruitment

Finding the right players 64

tECHnoLogY

ideas

Europe 2.0 66

CASE StuDY

Barceló group

Family succession 68

EuroPE’S 500

European growth Summit

2007 Growth is East 76

A short history of Europe’s 500 78

Policy framework for

growth and jobs 79

inVESting

the Mid-Cap way

Investing in a medium-sized

European company 82

A selection of European

small and mid-cap investment funds 84

LiFEStYLE

Yachting

16th Monaco Yacht Show 90

Hot products

A high-tech, stylish selection

for a winter full of colour 96

8

s u r v e y trends

How would you define your company’s

prospects for 2007?

o Bullish

o Confident

o Average

o Worried

o Pessimistic

Are you worried about the growing

strength of the Euro?

o Yes

o No

o It does not affect me

Are you worried about political risk in

2007?

o Yes

o A little bit

o No


Do you believe there will be a global

economic recession by the end of the

year?

o Yes

o Probably

o No


Do you expect the real estate market to

decline in 2007?

o Yes, for sure

o Probably

o 50% chance

o I do not think so

o No way


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CC_MB_213x280_NCTime_Market500 16.11.2006 14:32 Uhr Seite 1

Dear readers,

We invite you to interact with us in each

issue of market500.eu through the

“Entrepreneur Survey“. Your participation

will help us better understand you, your

views and the latest business trends

across Europe.

Dedicated to the most successful busi-

nessmen, the survey is fast and easy to

use directly through our website (www.

market500.eu, click on “Survey”). Our

survey has only 5 questions and takes

less than one minute to complete.

If one of the subjects captures your inte-

rest or if you have a trend you would like

us to investigate in a future survey, please

contact [email protected].

Our first survey aims to capture the

general trends for 2007 through the

following questions:

EntrEprEnEur’s survey

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11

h i g h l i g h t s

nutricosmetics trend

An increasing number of companies

worldwide are targeting the fast-growing

nutricosmetics industry products that aim

to provide beauty “from within” creating

their own product lines. A recent survey

by Klein & Company values the global

nutricosmetics market at $1 billion. The

company says this figure is set to double

over the next five years. Nutricosmetics

are taken orally to improve health and

beauty.

The market has already seen serious inno-

vation, such as the partnership between

L’Oreal and Nestlé and their Inneov line

of nutritional supplements for hair and

skin, and German cosmetics company

Christine Schrammek with its dermaneu-

trics range targeting skin ailments. The

survey pinpoints skin care as the main

market, but those for hair, nail and sun

care are growing.

However not all countries are picking

upon the trend. In the USA, according to

Carrie Mellage from Klein & Company,

potential customers are used to buying

their healthcare products from pharma-

ceutical companies and are sceptical of

beauty companies.

visa cards in bulGaria

Bulgaria was the fastest growing market

for Visa bank cards in Europe according

to data from July to September 2006. Visa

Bulgaria said that the number of cards

issued in the country increased by 74%,

reaching the amount of 890,000 at the

end of the period.

Bulgarians consumers are also using their

Visa cards more and more often for trade

transactions. Nearly one million payments

in trade centres were completed this

way by the end of September 2006, a

185% increase from September 2004

to September 2005. Bulgarians carried

out 5.2 million transactions through Visa

cards between September 2005 and

September 2006.

Romania, which entered the EU at the

same time as Bulgaria, also increased its

number of Visa cards by 38%.

mcae market europe 2006

Last September, 01consulting released a

report called MCAE Market Europe 2006.

According the report, the MCAE Market,

which grows at 15% annual rate, repre-

sents almost €1 billion. It is one of the most

attractive segments of the PLM market

with strong and solid future development

prospects and has been recording a

steady growth for the last 30 years.

This report ranks the top 11 software

vendors in Europe, through several

criteria and provides analysis per industry

and country, spotlighting current trends.

The report highlights the fact that a few

mergers and consolidations should be

expected in the near future as bigger

vendors lag in technology development,

preferring to acquire existing techno-

logy that has been validated by smaller

vendors.

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building an influential community around your company and your brand

through cross marketing and strategic association.

supporting your processes with expert meeting, conference, and

incentive travel management knowledge.

With 300 staff delivering projects for small to medium sized companies

and Fortune 500 clients, across 5 continents, MCI is a full-service agency

with a world of experience. We are convinced that our solutions are

powerful in retaining the attention of, and building strong relationships

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12

h i g h l i g h t s

audemars piGuet awards

Last November in Geneva, Swedish CEO

Mårten Mickos of MySQL AB, a software

enterprise, received the “Changing Times

Award” from famous Swiss watchmaker

Audemars Piguet. This prize was created

to recognize the European entrepreneur

whose private company has had the

biggest impact on the largest number of

people over the last three years.

MySQL develops and supports a family

of high-performance, affordable data-

base products. The “Next Gem Award”,

another prize from the watchmaker, was

awarded to Icera, a pioneer in wireless

soft modem platforms for next generation

mobile phones and wireless terminals.

This prize rewards the company that

shows the most promise for the future.

chip sales

As global sales of

s e m i c o n d u c t o r s

reached $225.1 billion

for the first 11 months

of 2006, 9.4% more

than for the same

period in 2005, sales in Europe were up

4% to $3.7 billion in November 2006,

according to the Semiconductor Industry

Association (SIA). Those in the Americas

declined by 0.5% to $4 billion, while Asia

Pacific grew by 4.4% between to reach

$10.8 billion, with Japan showing a 2.6%

rise to $4.25 billion. Despite its results,

Europe remains the poorest performer in

2006, with year to year sales to November

up only 4.3% to $3.7 billion. Asia Pacific

grew at the strongest pace, up 15% to

$10.8 billion, with chip sales up 6.6% in

the Americas to $4 billion.

biorefinery research

At the end of October, the European

Conference on Biorefinery Research,

which aims to present industrial perspec-

tives on current and potential opportuni-

ties for and synergies between European

stakeholders, took place in Helsinki,

Finland. This conference concluded that

the Finnish forest-based industry should

expect growing demand for biomass-

based, non-food products. Considering

the situation, the government has decided

to strengthen research into this area,

most specifically into the development

of second-generation biofuels. As a

first step, the Finnish Funding Agency

for Technology and Innovation (Tekes)

has started a Europe-wide ERA-Net

programme called Woodwisdom-Net,

together with seven other European coun-

tries. Furthermore, it is preparing a new

‘BioRefine’ technology program, to begin

in 2007.

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the aim market

Owned and operated by the London Stock

Exchange, AIM is the world’s leading

market for smaller growing companies.

These range from young venture capital

businesses to more established busi-

nesses searching for finance and liqui-

dity to expand their operations. Since

1995, more than 2,500 companies have

joined, raising more than $4.5 billion. AIM

companies come from 37 sectors and 26

countries. 25% of international companies

are in the mining sector, the next largest

being the oil and gas sector followed by

finance. As of early October 2006, some

350 new companies had been admitted

and the junior market has seen a vast

increase in the number of US companies.

new investment for hymite a/s

With a total of €€9 million, the Danish-

German technology company Hymite

A/S has announced closure of its

Series Preferred B financing. Among

the new investors are TVM Capital,

InnovationsKapital, Dansk Kapitalanlaeg,

Vaekstfonden and IVS. These new invest-

ment are intended to strengthen the sales

organisation of the company and build

up its manufacturing infrastructure with

the use of external foundries. Hymite A/S

supplies advanced wafer level packaging

products for electronics, micromecha-

nical and optoelectronics components.

Chief executive officer Claus Jorgen

says that the company will be able to

consolidate its position in the flourishing

LED (Light Emitting Diodes) and MEMS

(Microelectromechanical Systems)

markets: “With key customers in both

high-brightness LED and MEMS, our wafer

level packaging solutions have proven

their potential in high volume, high growth

[…]. New requirements from the markets

such as a smaller footprint and higher

performance are bringing business in our

direction. Wafer level packaging is a clear

industry trend and we are supporting this

with a low-cost, reliable solution that adds

value for customers.”

h i g h l i g h t s

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Market-07:Mise en page 1 19.1.2007 11:17 Page 1

16

p r e s s r e v i e w red herring

To continue with their

tradition of annual

predictions started

three years ago,

journalists of the Red

Herring, an American

magazine speciali-

sing in technology

industry and innova-

tion, have put forth

their forecasts for 2007 (vol. 4, No 1).

In this special issue, journalists came

with 10 specific events or developments,

whether good or bad, that they feel will

likely happen in 2007. Next year, a score

box will be run on how well they did!

Brain gets Wired

2007 will see advances in cures for

depression or blindness thanks to elec-

trical devices implanted in their head

or eye. The first company to watch is

Medtronic, which has built a “brain pace-

maker” delivering electrical pulses to treat

depression and obsessive-compulsive

disorder. On blindness, Europe-based

Intelligent Medical Implants has been

working on an electrode implanted in the

retina to help blind people see light and

simple patterns.

Attack of the Mobile Virus!

In 2007, people will fall victim of a global

cell phone virus attack. With the increasing

use of VoIP programmes, among other

things, mobile phones will be affected

by computer viruses. Nevertheless, the

multitude of current operating systems

could reduce their impact, but only in the

beginning.

Mega Buyouts

In 2007, private equity will enter the tech

sector. 2006 already saw mega-buyouts

between firms, the next year could be

the one where everything is possible.

Among other possibilities, keep an eye on

EMC, leader of hardware storage, Dell,

the computer maker, or Internet giant

Yahoo!.

tV grab

In 2007, look for Google to invade the

world of TV advertising. The on-line

ad king used to boast of wanting to

be everywhere advertising is and has

already jumped from the on-line world

and established itself in newspapers

and radio. “Google becoming a TV ad

broker isn’t a predication; it is a foregone

conclusion.”

nanotech Will Heat up

2007 will be the year of nano deve-

lopments -- a revolution in the scien-

tific world. Indeed nanotechnology, will

be present in medicine under nanotech

cancer drugs, but we might also use it in

water filtration. Nevertheless, this techno-

logy will be certainly submitted to more

regulation, a fact companies have to know

to succeed in this field.

SoX gets a Makeover

In 2007, SOX will be less burdensome,

at least for micro and small companies.

In fact, to keep US stock exchanges

attractive the Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) will have to reduce

IPOs if it does not want to see companies

going public abroad.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray: DoA

In 2007, the war between HD-DVD and

Blu-Ray will almost lose its senses. As

consumers will not be able to choose

between two incompatible formats, the

trend towards Internet downloading

(without any physical support) will be

confirmed. Hewlett-Packard and Apple

have already launched a device for this

purpose.

rollins Booted out at Dell

2007 will not be kind to Kevin Rollins. In

fact, Dell’s chief executive officer is at the

head of a firm that has been accumulating

bad results for a few years and which

has been recently dethroned by its main

competitor, Hewlett-Packard. His next

mistake may well cost him his job.

Solar gets Simpler

2007 will be the year of “solar”. The solar

industry is coming to maturity thanks to

the impending end of a worldwide shor-

tage of solar-grade silicon. Lower prices

and easier access will enable more and

more people to be equipped with solar

technology. Mergers and consolidations

within the solar industry will also boost

the market.

new Year, new Jobs

In 2007, new needs will create new types

of activities. First, there will be a need for

people to bring online social networking

to those over 50. Secondly, after the

boom of YouTube, the next user-gene-

rated content website might be about

games, revealing the talents of new

games makers. Thirdly, the expansion

of solar technology will put solar finance

specialists on top.

“10 prEdiCtions for 2007”

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To participate in

the ranking, these

companies must be

based in Europe,

that is to say in the

European Union and/

or European Free

Trade Area (EFTA).

Public and private

companies can

compete, but must have been created

before 2003 and meet various criteria.

They must not have had more than

5,000 employees in 2002, and not less

than 50 in 2005. Growth is measured by

turnover progression and the equivalent

number of full time employees.

The ranking uses the Birch Index, by David

Birch, Director of Neighbourhood and

Regional Change at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT), to measure

employment growth. This index weighs

absolute and relative job growth by

industry and company size in order to

determine the real employment genera-

tion of each company.

The key findings of this 2006 edition are

the following:

geographically, the five largest European

countries represent 59% of the 500 fastest

growing companies. But Central and

Eastern Europe surprisingly rank before

the Nordic countries, showing the poten-

tial of this region. The Baltic countries

together are 10% of the overall sample.

Germany ranks first in number of compa-

nies in the top 500, despite its sluggish

GDP over the last three years. Its ranking

proves that its Mittelstand is still doing

well. The UK, which has strived economi-

cally over the course of the same period,

is ranked a distant second, just before

France.

Despite their nationality, companies with

fast growth rates are finding their greatest

growth opportunties beyond their home

market, exporting and thus capturing

market shares abroad.

Sector-wise, IT services have the lion’s

share (23%) of the sectors, showing

the maturity of information technologies

and their “rippling effect” throughout the

economy. Once infrastructures are set up

and running, companies willing to leve-

rage them are blossoming and gaining

ground fast.

Remarkably, the other sectors are rela-

tively equal, holding between 5 and

7% of the total. This shows that fashio-

nable sectors such as biotechnology

Europe’s 500 “european Growth” is not an oxymoron“Entrepreneurs for Growth”, a Belgian not-for-profit organization which represents 2,000 entrepreneurs, has published its Europe’s 500 ranking of fast growing companies. This ranking, supported by Microsoft and KPMG, is built from data provided mainly by companies, which declare their turnover and number of employees for 2002 and 2005. Their performance is analysed over a three-year period.

19

ranking e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

Breakdown by stock exchange and average 2005 turn-over

Number of companies Percentage

Average turn-over (EUR m.)

EURONEXT (Paris, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Brussels) 38 31% 174.5

British Stock Exchange 23 19% 382.2German Stock Exchange 14 12% 694.0Italian Stock Exchange 7 6% 1143.7Austrian Stock Exchange 5 4% 878.9Swedish Stock Exchange 5 4% 145.1Other 5 4% 469.0Swiss Stock Exchange 4 3% 820.1Norwegian Stock Exchange 4 3% 160.6Greek Stock Exchange 4 3% 225.0NASDAQ 3 2% 572.7Spanish Stock Exchange 3 2% 925.0

Irish Stock Exchange 3 2% 1649.9Icelandic Stock Exchange 3 2% 636.6

Total 121MA

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20

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 ranking

and healthcare are not producing more

fast-growing companies than traditional

sectors such as automotive, for example.

It is thus possible to succeed in almost

any economic sector, although textiles

and chemicals are below 2%.

Services represent nearly 46% of the

overall sample, thus confirming the

positioning of Europe in the worldwide

economy.

As for financing, 4 of the top 5 companies

are currently listed, but most of them (73%)

are not. Growth financing is thus mainly a

matter of private equity (3i Group being

cited as an active investor in the sample,

with CVO and Intercentros Ballesol) and

other private means of funding.

Euronext is the stock exchange which is

the most represented in the sample, with

38 companies. The impact of the launch

of Alternext, created to offer a relay of

financing to mid-sized and high-growth

companies, will probably increasingly

be seen in the future editions of the

challenge.

The average turnover of Europe’s 500

companies per stock exchange varies

significantly. Nordic stock exchanges

and Euronext have the lowest average,

whereas small (Ireland, Switzerland) and

Southern markets (Italy, Spain) seem to

have a higher threshold. In a context of

stock exchange convergence, it is inte-

resting to see that further consolidation

could have an impact by easing the finan-

cing on companies situated in markets

with higher admittance criteria.

The only Eastern and Central Europe

stock exchange represented is Budapest

(one company), which proves that local

financing mechanisms still need to be

found. The fact that venture capital

firms are massively investing in this area

should boost exits and thus may promote

local stock exchanges. The NYSE and

NASDAQ welcome only four compa-

nies from Europe, which shows that the

attraction of the American markets tends

to be limited.

Overall, this 2006 edition of Europe’s

500 shows that not only can European

companies achieve high growth, just like

their American and Asian counterparts,

but also that they offer successful alterna-

tives to dominant models. DoubleCoffee

(DC Holding) offers high-quality coffee,

as opposed to the Starbucks model

of multiple flavours added to American

coffee. Puma proposes fashionable and

trendy footwear where Nike and Reebok

compete to offer only sports shoes.

Webhelp successfully provides call

centre services when the trend towards

contracting with low-cost outsourced call

centres in India seems irreversible.

Gameloft comes back to the roots of

video games, where the pleasure of the

customer is key, whereas Eletronic Arts

and other American and Asian video

game makers offer merely technical

prowess and visually impressive scenes.

EngroTUS reverses the trend of low-cost

and cut-throat retailing by putting forward

its values and the quality of its products,

challenging the Wal-Mart assumption that

customers always want lower prices and

nothing else.

Europe can thus be a source of valuable

examples for those who think outside the

box.

Cyril Demaria

[email protected]

Sector breakdown of the Europe 500’s companies

23%

7%

7%

6%

6%6%6%

6%

6%

5%

4%

4%

4%

3%3% 4%

IT Services

Biotech/Health

Consulting

Transport/Logistics

Steel/Metals

Automotive

Support Services

Consumer Goods

IT Manufacturing

Construction/Real Estate

Food/Beverages

Retail

Energy/Mining Utilities

Financial/Legal Services

Tourism

Other

Geographical breakdown of the Europe 500’s companies

21%

13%

11%9%

6%

8%

6%

5%

5%

4%

3%2%2%2%3%

Germany

UK

France

Italy

Spain

CEE

Nordic

Belgium

Austria

Greece

Netherlands

Ireland

Switzerland

Baltic

Other

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e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 listing

1 Gameloft SA France IT - Manufacturing www.gameloft.com 44994 2 Avion Group Iceland Transport, Logistics www.aviongroup.com 25634 3 Assystem France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.assystem.com 22872 4 Cpl Resources Plc Ireland Consulting, Management S www.cpl.ie 20622 5 Spreadshirt AG Germany Retail www.spreadshirt.net 19800 6 EVN AG Austria Energy, Mining, Utilities www.evn.at 13480 7 Kögun HF Iceland IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.kogun.is 11453 8 Webhelp France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.webhelp.fr 9860 9 Groupe Open SA France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.groupe-open.com 9101 10 pharmexx GmbH Germany Consulting, Management Services www.pharmexx.de 8436 11 Integrated Cleaning Management Ltd United Kingdom Support Services www.icmltd.uk.com 7417 12 Q-Cells AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.q-cells.com 6407 13 Centric Netherlands IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.centric.nl 6015 14 Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport Germany Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.puma.com 5770 15 Intec Telecom Systems Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.intecbilling.com 5137 16 Marquard & Bahls AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.mbholding.de 5108 17 Intercentros Ballesol SA Spain Support Services www.ballesol.es 4680 18 Mears Group Plc United Kingdom Support Services www.mearsgroup.co.uk 4460 19 I. K. Hofmann GmbH Germany Consulting, Management Services www.hofmann.info 4102 20 United Internet AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.united-internet.de 4066

Rank Company Company Business Sector Website Birch Index Headquarters

2�

winner’s profile e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

Transform your mobile

phone into a video

game station; that is

the target of Gameloft.

With Qualcomm intro-

ducing its BREW

technology in Europe,

even 3D games will

soon be accessible on

compatible phones.

The winner of the Europe’s 500 challenge

develops, markets and sells video games

for mobile phones, using Java and BREW

technologies. At its creation in 1999,

Gameloft – then a subsidiary of Ubisoft

Entertainment – focused on the develo-

pment of games for mobile phones, the

Internet and digital television.

Gameloft was a bit too early for the market.

Following its merger with Ludigames in

February 2002, Gameloft took the oppor-

tunity to focus exclusively on the mobile

gaming market. “One of our main strengths

was that we had a very strong shareholder

basis, willing to invest on the long term.

This has allowed us to be able to wait for

the market to switch to Java/BREW compa-

tible mobile phones,” says Alexandre de

Rochefort, CFO of Gameloft.

This move proved to be successful and

has allowed it to expand dramatically

since then. Gameloft is now developing

40 new video games through 6 studios in

the US, Canada, Romania, France, Japan

and China. “Our key differentiator was the

choice of doing everything by ourselves.

gameloft sakey facts & figuresranking: 1st | industry: Software | turnover growth (2002-2005): 1,460% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 2,307% | Listed (Paris), with a market capitalisa-tion of EUR 0.29 billion

MEzzaninE ViEw on successGameloft is proof that until the game is over, there is hope for success. Weathering the storm of mobile gaming, it emerges as number 1 in Europe – on top of both the ranking and its sector.

AWARD

1Methodology

The Europe’s 500 search process combines a unique mix of proactive

targeting and searching for the best companies.

The methodology used comprises four key phases:

• Compilation of the universe

• Selection of initial list

• Independent review

• Selection of the final Europe’s 500

Compilation of the universe

Europe’s 500 researches, targets and pre-selects high-growth companies

from across the 28 countries covered.

These companies are invited to confirm their nomination and agree to all data..

In addition, spontaneous nominations are sought through media announce-

ments and third party organisations.

Selection of initial list

Upon closure of the nomination process (15 July 2006), all data is analysed

and a first list of companies that meet all seven criteria established.

independent review

Company data as submitted by the Nomination Form may be verified with

the legal auditor, on an as needed basis. Checks are also carried out with

national experts who visit selected nominated companies to independently

review their application. At this stage a company may be rejected from the

initial list, if a review raises doubts about the company’s eligibility.

Selection of the Final Europe’s 500

Companies which qualified for the initial list and passed the verification

process are ranked according to their Birch Index. The top 500 Birch scores

define the final Europe’s 500.

ranking

The Europe’s 500 focuses on employment creation. Companies which have

successfully met the criteria and verification process are ranked according

to their growth performance via the David Birch Employee Growth Index.

This index focuses on employment creation combining both relative and

absolute growth and is used to rank and quantify the companies’ perfor-

mance.

The Europe’s 500 growth performance Birch Index represents:

the absolute difference in employment between the upper (End 2005)

and

the lower (End 2002) reference year

multiplied by

Employment in the upper reference year

divided by

employment in the lower reference year.

Example: if a company grew its employment from 200 employees in 2002 to

800 employees in 2005, the Birch index would be:

= (800-200) x (800/200) = 600 x 4 = 2400

EuropE’s 500 listinGEurope’s only independent, pan-European Listing of high growth, job-creating companies.

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This was the only way to deliver and

guarantee the quality of our products,”

says Alexandre de Rochefort.

The force of the company lies in the

agreements it has signed with more than

130 mobile operators throughout the

world, covering 65 countries. This means

that Gameloft has to adapt each title it

produces to the specifications of the hand-

sets and the mobile operators. Thanks

to these partnerships, subscribers can

download games on their mobile phone.

90% of mobile games are purchased

through mobile phone operators. “Our

past growth was fuelled by the signature of

new partnerships every week and growing

market share. Going forward, it should be

based only on market share growth, which

will normalise our growth rate, but never-

theless stay in the high double digits,” says

Alexandre de Rochefort.

With a turnover of EUR 47 million in

2005, some 70 million for 2006 and

110 million in 2007, Gameloft is number

2 worldwide for mobile gaming, and

number 1 in Europe. It remains a small

player in the video game market,

which has seen a wave of consoli-

dation recently with editors acquiring

studios. To face this movement and

finance its high fixed costs and invest-

ments in human capital the company

25


has disposed of jeuxvideo.com, to only

focus on mobile gaming. This extra

cash will allow Gameloft to compete

with Jamdat Mobile, which was recently

acquired by the American leader of the

video game sector Electronic Arts (EA)

for USD 100 million.

The company so far offers 80 titles,

costing EUR 3 to 5, over 600 hand-

sets and is capitalising on branding

(notably with Ubisoft Entertainment) and

franchise agreements to develop games

which could attract a target wider than

its traditional teenager customer base. Its

next titles draw directly from successful

TV sitcoms, reality shows and movies

such as “Lost”, “Desperate Housewives”,

“Mission Impossible”, “Open season” and

“Newport Beach”. Users download some

100,000 games per day from Gameloft

and 25 of the company’s titles have gone

over the 1 million downloads mark.

Through mobile phones, Gameloft can target

the dream audience of Sony, Nintendo and

Microsoft: the general public, which so far

has mainly remained out of reach. By 2008,

it is expected that 2.5 billion customers will

own a mobile phone supporting the down-

load of video games.

Will Gameloft be able to defy the highly

cyclical video game sector by further

growing? The fact that its customer base

is free to use any mobile phone, unlike

Sony Playstation or Microsoft X-Box

customers who are stuck to their hard-

ware, should soften the cycles. However,

its successes are still conditioned by the

franchising and branding agreements it

can sign, thus competing head to head

with EA which has locked in key sports

franchises.

Michel Guillemot has learned from his 20

years at UbiSoft Entertainment, a leading

French game developer and editor that

he created with his four brothers. He

knows how to manage the ups and downs

of a challenging but rewarding market.

Back in 1986, the personal computer

was hardly a gaming platform and non-

compatible machines were king.

These platforms required the adaptation

of each title and the ability to provide

“game play” to players, as graphical

and sound features were basic. Fast

forward 20 years, same questions and

same answers, but Guillemot has desi-

gned his company to face such chal-

lenges, recruiting talent worldwide, even

at the expenses of his gross margins.

Developers accounted for 2,100 of the

2,400 total staff in 2006.

Gameloft perceives its staff as its main

asset. After a massive recruitment effort

(+200% in 2004, +160% in 2005), it is

willing to capitalise on its production base

to develop its products. The expected

rhythm of recruitment is thus a maximum

25% in 2006 and 5 to 10% in 2007.

C.D.

Hofburg, Vienna, 24 November 2006,

Michel Guillemot, President and CEO of Gameloft

(France) receives the Europe’s 500 Champion of Growth

award bestowed on the No. 1 company for 2006.

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7EUR Millions Source: Datastream

Gameloft PAR (11/28/2003 - 11/27/2006) Datastream

Volume

004 05 06

0.50

1.00

GFT-FR

SBF 120

220.0%

200.0%

180.0%

160.0%

140.0%

120.0%

100.0%

90.0%

60.0%

Gameloft’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005)

EUR (millions) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006Sales 3 3 10 23 47EBIT (67) (16) 6 6 2Net Income (67) (17) 2 2 1

Source: Thomson One Banker

Logi(sti)CaLLy secondAvion has transformed a national symbol of insular independence into a global logistics services force, taking over competitors and streamlining entire industries.

27


Avion Group

was formed in

January 2005

to invest in the

transportation

industry. The

C o m p a n y

controls an

international

network of air

and sea transportation companies provi-

ding transportation solutions.

The mother company is dedicated to

investments, aircraft trading and asset

management. Its three divisions are:

Eimskip (shipping and logistics), Air Atlanta

(aviation services) and Excelairways &

Star (charter and leisure).

Avion is focusing on aviation services,

and has been striving to be a premier

aVion group (hf. Eimskipafélag Íslands)key facts & figuresranking: 2nd | industry: Business Logistics | turnover growth (2002-2005): 627% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 570% | Listed (Reykjavik), with a market capi-talisation of EUR 0.6 billion

AWARD

2

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Evaluated by a team of analysts whose independence and expertise isrenowned throughout the global investment industry, the achievementof a Standard & Poor’s Fund Management Rating is the culmination ofa rigorous and demanding process involving in-depth research, face-to-faceinterviews and careful deliberation.

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Copyright© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Limited trading as Standard & Poor’s. All rights reserved. The analytic services and products provided by Standard & Poor’s are the result of separate activities in order to preserve the independenceand objectivity of each analytic process. Each analytic product or service is based on information received by the analytic group responsible for such product or service. Standard & Poor’s has established policies and procedures to maintain theconfidentiality of non-public information received during each analytic process. S&P and Standard & Poor’s are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. which are registered in the United States of America and other countries and inwhich all rights are reserved. Analytic services and products provided by Standard & Poor’s are the result of separate activities designed to preserve the independence and objectivity of each analytic process. Standard & Poor’s has establishedpolicies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of non-public information received during each analytic process.

To learn more, visit www.sandpfundservices.com or access fundratings and analysis free of charge at www.funds-sp.com

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28

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 winner’s profile

outsourcer for cargo

and passenger

customers, covering

key components of

the value chain such

as aircrafts, crew,

maintenance and

insurance services. It is also focusing on

engineering and airport handling services.

Its charter and leisure businesses are

divided between airline and aviation

(providing chartered airline services) and

tour operating (booking and charter seat

broker services). Shipping, logistics and

supply chain management services for

domestic and international customers

complete the offering.

Avion owns Eimskip, which is the oldest

Icelandic shipping company. This

company is a national symbol, as it was

widely associated with Iceland’s fight

for independence. There were 14,000

company, or 15% of the population. The

date of its creation is a national holiday

in Reykjavik.

Even though the company was created in

Iceland, Avion has a global reach through

its 174 locations worldwide. It opened its

first Chinese operations in 2004. It has

9,500 employees and operates 30 aircraft

and 30 vessels.

To further expand, the company went

public on 20 January 2006 as the largest

initial public offering on the Iceland Stock

Exchange. It is the fourth largest company

listed on the ICEX. Its progression has

been based on acquisitions of profitable

companies which could prove to be

complementary in the strategy of Avion,

the latest being Star Airlines (France) and

Kosmar Holidays (Greece).

The approximate organic growth for 2006

was 36%, from USD 1,400 million (EUR

1,069 million) to USD 1,900 million (EUR

1,451 million). The EBIT increased by

67% from USD 61 million (EUR 46 million)

to USD 102 million (EUR 78 million). This

proves that the industrial logic of this

investment group is working well, leve-

raging synergies between its portfolio

companies. Avion believes it will be able

to sustain a high level of growth going

forward, capitalising on the trend it has

identified and targeting mid-sized assets.

C.D.

Avion believes it will be

able to sustain a high

level of growth going

forward, capitalising on

the trend it has identified

and targeting mid-sized

assets.

Avion Group (HFEIM) stockprice evolution in 2006

S

45.0

42.5

40.0

37.5

35.0

32.5

30.0

01.04.06 01.07.06 01.10.06

ource: Iceland Stock Exchange

Avion Group’s summarised profitand loss statement (2001-2005)

Fiscal year ends on 31 Dec.for 2003 and 2004, and 31 Oct. for 2005


EUR (millions) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Sales N/A N/A 187 363 1,130EBIT N/A N/A (-12) 11 65Net Income N/A N/A (-12) 10 33

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Market 16/01/07 12:29 Page 1

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�0


As s y s t e m

(formerly known

as Assystem

Brime) provides

c o n s u l t i n g ,

advisory and

services in the

field of engi-

neering. It is

active in the

following sectors: aeronautical and spatial

(28%); automotive (13%); energy and

nuclear (10%); technologies and systems;

network and telecom; facilities; indus-

tries; and pharmacies. In 2005 Assystem

opened a new office in Shanghai and

acquired Inbis in the UK and Atena in

Germany. It created Assystem France.

Assystem (then Atem) was created in

1966 as an engineering and high-tech

consultancy company, mainly dedicated

to the French market and its nuclear

activities. In 1994, it absorbed its nuclear

subsidiary Alphatem, and the group listed

in 1995. When difficulties affected nuclear

markets in the 1990s, Assystem started to

develop itself along other vertical markets

and geographic regions. To do so, it

acquired companies and accelerated

its expansion in 2003 by merging with

Brime Technologies, a small consultancy

focused on ERP integration and high-tech

consulting.

Assystem decided to dispose of ERP

integration to focus its positioning on

technological expertise. The group has

managed a development program which

has transformed it into a strong compe-

titor for Altran and Alten in the low-

end R&D subcontracting market. To go

beyond its French reach (70% of sales),

the company addressed the German and

British markets in 2005. That year, the

Group booked EUR 568 million in sales

(up 10.3% organically), with a total of

8,290 staff members. It is now active in 16

countries worldwide. In 2005, international

sales reached 29% of total revenues, and

34% in 1H06.

Its expansion throughout Europe and

overseas should further fuel the growth

of the company, leveraging its client

portfolio and its solid expertise in multiple

areas. Thanks to its project orientation

and its R&D focus, Assystem has deve-

loped the capacity to impose itself as

aCing, BooMing, consultinGAssystem has been able to differentiate itself in a business that is fast commoditising: consulting. Technological expertise and opportunistic developments form the matrix of its development.

a specialist, and is thus able to add

process and products engineering to the

value chain.

The Group published its 3rd quarter 2006

figures, which were well above expecta-

tions with sales at EUR 159.3 million, up

18.4% organically, but partly conditioned

by a one-off effect (part of revenues

came from projects successfully closed

in advance). France grew by 17.3% orga-

nically and international operations by

20.5%. The group disposed of its Spanish

and Canadian operations. 2006 sales

approximately reached EUR 675 million

and are expected at EUR 736 million

in 2007, with an EBIT of EUR 41.1 and

EUR 48.5 million respectively. Net results

should reach EUR 24.3 and EUR 31

million respectively.

Assystem is still clearly positioned as a

recruiter in France (+11.7% for the first

9 months vs. organic growth of 10.9%),

which points to improved confidence in

the progression of its margins in that

region.

The company, as a high-growth busi-

ness, has room to improve (integration of

IT systems and cash management). Its

stock price has varied wildly on the pros-

pect of acquisitions, as well as on difficul-

ties with profit warnings. However, having

delivered stellar performance, could its

ability to reach new levels lead this chal-

lenger to the top spot next year?

C.D.

Source: Datastream

0.40

0.20

00.4 0.5 0.6

Assystem - PAR (11/28/2003 - 11/24/2006)

SBF 120SY.FR

170%

160%

150%

140%

130%

120%

110%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

Assystem’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005)

EUR (millions) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Sales 120 148 163 465 568EBIT 11 8 (42) 18 41Net Income 7 2 (47) 7 27


assystem sakey facts & figuresranking: 3rd | Industry: Consulting | turnover growth (2002-2005): 283% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 276% | Listed (Paris), with a market capitalisation of EUR 0.32 billion

AWARD

3Source: Datastream

0.40

0.20

00.4 0.5 0.6

Assystem - PAR (11/28/2003 - 11/24/2006)

SBF 120SY.FR

170%

160%

150%

140%

130%

120%

110%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

Assystem’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005)

EUR (millions) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Sales 120 148 163 465 568EBIT 11 8 (42) 18 41Net Income 7 2 (47) 7 27


�1


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21 Ryanair Holdings Plc Ireland Transport, Logistics www.ryanair.ie 3739 22 New Wave Group AB Sweden Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.nwg.se 3632 23 Caffè Nero Group Plc United Kingdom Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.caffenero.com 3545 24 Wincor Nixdorf AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.wincor-nixdorf.com 3484 25 SIA Elvi Latvia Retail www.elvi.lv 3233 26 DC Holding AS Latvia Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.doublecoffee.com 3192 27 BCW Group Plc United Kingdom Financial Services, Legal Services www.bcwgroup.com 3069 28 Ferretti Group Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.ferrettigroup.com 3046 29 Nuova Pansac SpA Italy Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.nuovapansac.com 3000 30 EngroTUS d.o.o. Slovenia Retail www.tus.si 2915 31 Bechtle AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.bechtle.com 2868 32 ILIOTEC Solar GmbH Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.iliotec.de 2663 33 International Power Plc United Kingdom Energy, Mining, Utilities www.ipplc.com 2492 34 Conergy AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.conergy.de 2415 35 Götz-Gebäudemanagement West GmbH & Co KG Germany Support Services www.goetz-dienste.com 2367 36 RPS Group Plc United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.rpsgroup.com 2288 37 Alumil Milonas - Aluminium Industry SA Greece Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.alumil.com 2286 38 Metrovacesa Spain Construction, Real Estate www.metrovacesa.es 2225 39 Inspecs Group Plc United Kingdom Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.inspecs.com 2178 40 Sécuritéfrance France Support Services www.securifrance.com 2154 41 Schoeller Industries GmbH Netherlands Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.schoellergroup.com 2129 42 Sophos United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.sophos.com 2113 43 DCC Plc Ireland Consulting, Management Services www.dcc.ie 1974 44 Sword Group France Consulting, Management Services www.sword-group.com 1973 45 Dynafix Group BV Netherlands IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.dynafix.com 1972 46 GN Store Nord A/S Denmark IT - Manufacturing www.gn.com 1881 47 Mariella Burani Fashion Group SA Italy Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.mariellaburani.com 1879 48 Ranger SpA Italy Automotive - Manufacturing www.ranger.it 1862 49 AT&S Austria Technologie und Systemtechnik AG Austria IT - Manufacturing www.ats.net 1828 50 IAWS Group Plc Ireland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.iaws.com 1770 51 Holroyd Howe Ltd United Kingdom Support Services www.holroydhowe.co.uk 1745 52 Andritz AG Austria Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.andritz.com 1733 53 Cisalfa Sport SpA Italy Retail www.cisalfasport.it 1713 54 Scanfil Oyj Finland IT - Manufacturing www.scanfil.com 1656 55 Coloplast A/S Denmark Biotechnology, Health www.coloplast.com 1648 56 Fonebak Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.fonebak.com 1633 57 April Group France Financial Services, Legal Services www.aprilgroup.com 1564 58 Photel Communications Inc (Teleperformance Hungary) Hungary IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.photel.hu 1512 59 Soitec France IT - Manufacturing www.soitec.com 1500 60 Phonak Holding AG Switzerland Biotechnology, Health www.phonak.com 1499 61 Naturex France Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.naturex.com 1487 62 Normaction SA France IT Services, Information and Communcation Technologies www.normaction.com 1480 63 Bennet SpA Italy Retail www.bennet.com 1462 64 C1 Group Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.c1-group.de 1446 65 Axon Group Plc United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.axonglobal.com 1396 66 Teltonika UAB Lithuania IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.teltonika.lt 1331 67 Össur Hf Iceland Biotechnology, Health www.ossur.com 1320 68 Umeco Plc United Kingdom Support Services www.umeco.com 1286 69 Dreams Plc United Kingdom Retail www.dreams.co.uk 1250 70 Fast Search & Transfer ASA Norway IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.fastsearch.com 1226 71 Esterbauer & Windisch Personalservice GmbH Germany Support Services www.esterbauer-windisch.de 1224 72 Joyéria Tous Spain Retail www.tous.es 1197 73 Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA Italy Consulting, Management Services www.eng.it 1179 74 Grupo ISN Spain Support Services www.grupoisn.com 1129 75 Ipte NV Belgium IT - Manufacturing www.ipte.com 1123 76 CompuGROUP Holding AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.compugroup.de 1120 77 Plantasjen ASA Norway Retail www.plantasjen.no 1118 78 Palfinger AG Austria Automotive - Manufacturing www.palfinger.com 1113 79 Creston Plc United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.creston.com 1073 80 Straumann Holding AG Switzerland Biotechnology, Health www.straumann.com 1059 81 Creditinfo Group Ltd Iceland Financial Services, Legal Services www.creditinfo.com 1050 82 Aliplast NV Belgium Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.aliplast.com 1047 83 S&B Industrial Minerals SA Greece Energy, Mining, Utilities www.sandb.com 1041 84 SII France Consulting, Management Services www.sii.fr 1041 85 Europastry Spain Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.fripan.com 1025 86 ITS SEEVIA Group France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.itsseeviagroup.fr 1022 87 Omega Pharma Belgium Biotechnology, Health www.omega-pharma.be 986 88 Cistoca d.o.o. Slovenia Support Services www.cistoca.si 939


Capitalising

on the

boom of the

“European

tiger”, CPL

Resources

has made

e m p l o y -

ment its

bread and

butter. The Group’s provides employment

services, specialising in the placement

of candidates in permanent, temporary

and contract positions. CPL also offers

human resources consultancy services.

The Group focuses on the areas of tech-

nology, accounting and finance, sales,

engineering, light industrial, healthcare/

pharmaceutical, and office administration.

Created in 1989, the company has fully

benefited from its home country boom,

but its success does not only lie on macro-

economic reasons. CPL went public in

1999 and benefited from the boom in tech

recruitment specialists. It then diversified

into finance, accounting and manufactu-

ring. After 2001, the recruitment services

slowed down, but CPL started to offer its

clients payroll administration, workforce

management and performance develop-

ment services.

CPL Resources was able to react fast and

refocus itself to face the market needs.

This was done without any slowdown in

growth and CPL has even been able to be

the best-in-class in profit generation. With

41% in fee growth converted to a profit

growth of 83% before tax, CPL has even

beaten the analysts’ predictions by 12%.

CPL’s force comes from its ability to

generate fees from permanent place-

ments (53%) and temporary placements

(47%) whether in IT, finance or telecoms.

The company generated 9% of its fees

from its outsourced services to large

fuLL throttleCapitalising on the advent of the “knowledge economy”, CPL Resources has become a role model for human resources management.

CpL resources pLCkey facts & figuresranking: 4th | industry: Business Training and Employment Agency | turnover growth (2002-2005): 279% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 687% | Listed (Dublin), with a market capitalisation of EUR 0.2 billion

��


�2


EUR Millions Source: Datastream

CPL Resources (Dublin)DUB (11/28/2003 - 11/24/2006Datastream

Volume

004 05 06

2.00

4.00

D Q5 DBIRELAND SE OVERALL

1000.0%900.0%800.0%700.0%600.0%500.0%400.0%300.0%200.0%100.0%

0

CPL Resource’s summarised profit and loss statement (2002-2006)

EUR (millions) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006Sales 27 52 74 105 148EBIT 1 2 3 5 11Net Income 1 1 2 5 9

Fiscal year ends on 30 June Source: Thomson One Banker

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accounts. The forecast for 2007 is an 18%

growth in fees at EUR 33.8 million and a

15% growth in profits at EUR 12.2 million.

The number of CPL Resources consul-

tants has increased by 18%, from 145

to 171, over 6 months. Its ability to leve-

rage its model also shows that the fees

generated per consultant have increased

from EUR 55,000 to EUR 77,000. In 2006

it approximately reached 180 and EUR

80,000 per consultant.

CPL has thus succeeded in imposing

itself in the recruitment landscape, taking

on Adecco, Hays or Michael Page. It is

now a dominant player in the IT, telecoms,

finance, engineering, pharmaceutical and

office support verticals. The company has

built its business on attention to customer

relationships, refunding clients who are

not satisfied within the first six months

of hire. It is now targeting

managed services and the

high-end executive search

and selection business.

The company is thus posi-

tioned to be a market leader,

holding a 10% share of a very

fragmented market, and has

the firepower to make acqui-

sitions to further strengthen

its position. Its cash reserves

are EUR 21.3 million, which

the company is increasing

regularly. In March 2006 CPL

acquired Nursefinders in the UK. Over

the next three years, its CEO Anne

Heraty aims to expand to Britain and

Eastern Europe, where GDP is growing

fast and recruitment is following. This

should pave the way for further impres-

sive growth for CPL.

C.D.

EUR Millions Source: Datastream

CPL Resources (Dublin)DUB (11/28/2003 - 11/24/2006Datastream

Volume

004 05 06

2.00

4.00

D Q5 DBIRELAND SE OVERALL

1000.0%900.0%800.0%700.0%600.0%500.0%400.0%300.0%200.0%100.0%

0

CPL Resource’s summarised profit and loss statement (2002-2006)


Fiscal year ends on 30 June Source: Thomson One Banker

��


CPL has thus succeeded in

imposing itself in the recruitment

landscape, taking on Adecco,

Hays or Michael Page.

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89 D. Masoutis SA Greece Retail www.masoutis.gr 921 90 Kago-Kamine-Kachelofen GmbH & Co Deutsche Wärmesysteme KG Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.kago.de 916 91 Avl List GmbH Austria Automotive - Manufacturing www.avl.com 895 92 Mellon Collection Services SA Greece IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.mellongroup.com 894 93 Banco Pastor SA Spain Financial Services, Legal Services www.bancopastor.es 888 94 Heisterkamp Transport Netherlands Transport, Logistics www.heisterkamp.nl 871 95 BI-LOG AG Germany Consulting, Management Services www.bi-log.de 852 96 Reiwag Facility Services GmbH Austria Support Services www.reiwag.at 830 97 Süd-Chemie AG Germany Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.sud-chemie.com 812 98 Novabase - S.G.P.S. SA Portugal IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.novabase.pt 812 99 Plaisio Computers SA Greece IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.plaisio.gr 809 100 ClinPhone Group Ltd United Kingdom Biotechnology, Health www.clinphone.com 796 101 Aircom International United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.aircominternational.com 763 102 paragon AG Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.paragon-online.de 759 103 msg systems AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.msg-systems.com 759 104 Zollner Elektronik AG Germany Transport, Logistics www.zollner.de 754 105 Inoplast France Automotive - Manufacturing www.inoplast.fr 747 106 Eurofins Scientific France Biotechnology, Health www.eurofins.com 747 107 IMO Momentenlager GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.imo.de 743 108 Peyber Hispania Empresa Constructora SL Spain Construction, Real Estate www.peyber.es 740 109 Ted Baker Plc United Kingdom Retail www.tedbaker.co.uk 721 110 Town & Country Haus Lizenzgeber GmbH Germany Construction, Real Estate www.franchisepartnerschaft.de 683 111 Parrot France IT - Manufacturing www.parrot.biz 673 112 Società Cattolica di Assicurazione - Società Cooperativa Italy Financial Services, Legal Services www.cattolicaassicurazioni.it 655 113 Interhyp AG Germany Financial Services, Legal Services www.interhyp.de 647 114 Redur SA (Group) Spain Transport, Logistics www.redur.es 626 115 SICK AG Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.sick.com 601 116 De Vizia Transfer SpA Italy Construction, Real Estate www.deviziatransfer.it 596 117 Panda Software Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.pandasoftware.com 596 118 Business & Decision France Consulting, Management Services www.businessdecision.com 594 119 Fontana Pietro Italy Automotive - Manufacturing www.fontana-group.com 591 120 Societa Servizi Socio Culturali Cooperativa Sociale Onlus Italy Support Services www.sssc.it 587 121 FOKAS AVE SA Greece Retail www.fokas.gr 583 122 TM Software Iceland IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.t.is 582 123 Zaklady Drobiarskie Kozieglowy Sp Z O O Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.zd-kozieglowy.pl 581 124 Beluga Shipping GmbH Germany Transport, Logistics www.beluga-group.com 578 125 Buongiorno SpA Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.buongiorno.com 573 126 TANDBERG Television ASA Norway IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.tandbergtv.com 552 127 PC-Ware Information Technologies AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.pc-ware.com 548 128 Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. Holding KG Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.bitzer.de 532 129 Central Trust Plc United Kingdom Financial Services, Legal Services www.centraltrust.co.uk 531 130 Esprinet SpA Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.esprinet.com 527 131 Wolfson Microelectronics Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.wolfsonmicro.com 516 132 Brain Force Holding AG Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.brainforce.com 513 133 North Midland Construction Plc United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.northmid.co.uk 513 134 Passage Fitness NV Belgium Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.passagefitness.com 500 135 Sinfonika Slovenia IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.sinfonika.eu 489 136 Kraft Malerwerkstätten GmbH Germany Construction, Real Estate www.arta.de 479 137 Grupo Pevafersa Instalaciones Spain Energy, Mining, Utilities www.pevafersa.com 462 138 buw Unternehmensgruppe Germany Consulting, Management Services www.buw.de 461 139 Direct Wines Ltd United Kingdom Retail www.laithwaites.co.uk 455 140 Poas Mantenimiento SI Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.poas.net 453 141 SDL Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.sdl.com 451 142 Vanco United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.vanco.com 449 143 BrainLAB AG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.brainlab.com 444 144 Poco Holding GmbH Germany Retail www.poco.de 443 145 Mürdter Dvorak lisovna, spol.s.r.o Czech Republic Automotive - Manufacturing www.muerdter.cz 432 146 The Listening Company Ltd United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.listening.co.uk 409 147 Forez s.r.o. Czech Republic Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.eurographics.de 404 148 EUROGRAPHICS AG Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.forez.cz 404 149 Precimed SA Switzerland Biotechnology, Health www.precimed.com 401 150 innocent Ltd United Kingdom Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.innocentdrinks.co.uk 400 151 Option Belgium IT - Manufacturing www.option.com 400 152 Huntleigh Technology Plc United Kingdom Biotechnology, Health www.huntleigh-technology.com 393 153 Tandberg ASA Norway IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.tandberg.net 392 154 FreeSoft Plc Hungary IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.freesoft.hu 389 155 Reichhart Logistik Gruppe Germany Transport, Logistics www.reichhart.net 388 156 Creganna Ltd Ireland Biotechnology, Health www.creganna.com 386 157 Typsa Spain Consulting, Management Services www.typsa.es 378


thE right motto(http://www.spreadshirt.com)Spreadshirt leverages a simple idea with modern tools – and it works. Far from the go-go days of business concepts, this shoebox start-up proves that execution is key to success.

�7


Spreadshirt, a

German upstart,

has made it simple

for everyone to

design and market

their own t-shirts.

Capitalising on the

p e r s o n a l i s a t i o n

trend, Spreadshirt

offers its clients a

simple way to use the tools that it has set

up: through the Internet. The concept goes

beyond simple slogans to be printed on t-

shirt. Spreadshirt supports the marketing

and sales of the t-shirts designed by its

visitors. In that way, everyone can design

t-shirts and Spreadshirt takes care of the

sales and commissioning.

Spreadshirt was conceived as a low-cost

t-shirt retailer, enabling visitors to leverage

a simple retail law: get paid upfront, pay

the suppliers in 30

days. In that respect,

the two founders,

Lukasz Gadowki and

Matthias Spiess, laun-

ched the company

without capital. As a

typical Internet start-

up, they did it from

their university dorm room. Unlike typical

Internet start-ups, they did it from Leipzig

(Germany) and in 2002, after the Internet

bubble burst.

More than 200,000 visitors have desi-

gned t-shirts online and are marketing

them through Spreadshirt’s channels

(“shops”). Spreadshirt proposes an inte-

grated service to its visitors, from shirt

production management, to shipping and

even customer service. The company

has signed partnerships with small- and

medium-sized businesses to help them

offer this option on their website and

customise t-shirts for their customers.

The company has been profitable since its

inception and its turnover has progressed

from EUR 60,000 in 2002 to EUR 8.3

million in 2005. It has now subsidiaries

in the US, France and Canada, and is

progressively launching other customi-

sable products such as coffee mugs.

To support its growth, Spreadshirt has

knocked on the door of one of the most

famous venture capital firms in the US:

Accel Partners. The fund has invested a few

million to offer Spreadshirt the opportunity

to support its target: double its sales every

year, and thus compete with other persona-

lisation specialists such as CafePress.

C.D.

spreadshirtkey facts & figuresranking: 5th | Industry: retail | turnover growth (2002-2005): 13,733%Employment growth (2002-2005): 9,900% | Not listed, backed by private equity firms

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158 Elite Service Partner A/S Norway Support Services www.elite.as 377 159 First Call Global Solutions United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies n/a 375 160 Zucchetti Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.zucchetti.it 369 161 Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd (TEN Ltd) Greece Transport, Logistics www.tenn.gr 364 162 Melexis NV Belgium Automotive - Manufacturing www.melexis.com 355 163 BWT AG Austria Energy, Mining, Utilities www.bwt.at 354 164 ICOS Vision Systems Corporation NV Belgium IT - Manufacturing www.icos.be 350 165 Formel D GmbH Germany Support Services www.formeld.com 348 166 HiQ International Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.hiq.se 344 167 Altea SpA Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.alteanet.it 334 168 CVO Group Hungary Support Services www.cvogroup.com 333 169 Michielsens Kranen NV Belgium Transport, Logistics www.michielsens.be 331 170 Boss Media AB Sweden IT - Manufacturing www.bossmedia.se 324 171 Der Beck GmbH Germany Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.der-beck.de 318 172 GL Trade SA France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.gltrade.com 315 173 Advanced Digital Broadcast Holdings SA Switzerland IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.adbholdings.com 315 174 Environmental Waste Controls Plc United Kingdom Support Services www.ewc.eu.com 310 175 Waterman Group Plc United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.waterman-group.co.uk 310 176 Laboratoires Arkopharma SA France Biotechnology, Health www.arkopharma.com 305 177 Pankl Racing Systems AG Austria Automotive - Manufacturing www.pankl.com 305 178 Neurones France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.neurones.net 302 179 Faktab Finans AB Sweden Financial Services, Legal Services www.faktab.se 299 180 JSC Salinta Lithuania Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.salinta.lt 298 181 Eltete Ltd Finland Transport, Logistics www.eltete.com 294 182 Realtime Technology AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.rtt.ag 294 183 Raiffeisen Informatik GmbH Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.raiffeiseninformatik.at 291 184 Atlanta Capital Consulting GmbH Germany Financial Services, Legal Services www.atlanta-capital.de 289 185 Testo AG Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.testo.de 287 186 Capelle France Transport, Logistics www.transports-capelle.com 285 187 Serono SA Switzerland Biotechnology, Health www.serono.com 283 188 Cavotec Group Netherlands Energy, Mining, Utilities www.cavotec.com 281 189 Etnoteam Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.etnoteam.it 278 190 Grainger Trust Plc United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.graingertrust.co.uk 277 191 Systeam AB Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.systeam.se 277 192 South Lakeland Caravans Ltd United Kingdom Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.southlakeland-caravans.co.uk 274 193 Solucom France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.solucom.fr 268 194 Westcoast Ltd United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.westcoast.co.uk 264 195 Opera Software ASA Norway IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.opera.com 260 196 B.B.R. Service Srl Italy Support Services www.bbrservice.com 260 197 MCI Group Holding SA Switzerland Consulting, Management Services www.mci-group.com 253 198 Sipro Sicurezza Professionale Srl Italy Support Services www.grupposipro.it 249 199 Jahn GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.jahngmbh.de 244 200 Workcenter Servicios Globales De Documentacion SA Spain Retail www.workcenter.es 243 201 Wavelight AG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.wavelight.com 242 202 ACP Gruppe Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.acp.at 240 203 Cuddy Group United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.cuddy-group.com 238 204 Walkers Shortbread Ltd United Kingdom Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.walkersshortbread.com 237 205 Degetel Group France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.degetel.com 236 206 Sunways AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.sunways.de 232 207 Roularta Media Group NV/SA Belgium Media www.roularta.be 231 208 Komsa Kommunikation Sachsen AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.komsa.com 228 209 Muehlbauer Holding AG & Co KGaA Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.muehlbauer.de 226 210 TQ-Systems GmbH Germany IT - Manufacturing www.tq-group.com 224 211 ADVA AG Optical Networking Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.advaoptical.com 224 212 Optisport Exploitaties Netherlands Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.optisport.nl 220 213 Formula Servizi Società Cooperativa A Responsabilità Limitata Italy Support Services www.formulaservizi.it 219 214 Control Risks Group Holdings Ltd United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.control-risks.com 218 215 Grupo Tecnologico e Industrial GMV SA Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.grupogmv.com 218 216 Ferri Elettroforniture Srl Italy Energy, Mining, Utilities n/a 211 217 Ikm Gruppen AS (Incl. Ikm Laboratorium AS) Norway Energy, Mining, Utilities www.ikm.no 211 218 Proservia France Consulting, Management Services www.proservia.fr 209 219 Iris Cleaning Services SA Belgium Support Services www.iris.be 208 220 Isra Vision Systems AG Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.isravision.com 203 221 Cadtech Iberica S.A. - Grupo CT Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ctgrupo.com 203 222 Epsilon Net SA Greece IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.epsilonnet.gr 202 223 XAPT Hungary Kft Hungary IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.xapt.com 200 224 Medical and Health Science Centre UD Hungary Biotechnology, Health www.dote.hu 200 225 Devoteam France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.devoteam.com 199 226 Chiltern International Holdings Ltd United Kingdom Biotechnology, Health www.chiltern.com 198


Webhelp is

an offshore

call centre

p i o n e e r .

O l i v i e r

Duha and

F r é d é r i c

J o u s s e t

c r e a t e d

Webhelp in

2000, operating a French online portal that

provides a live, human-assisted Internet

search service. The market is a busi-

ness-to-business, web-based customer

support solution delivered in real time,

supported by human chat.

The two founders identified the potential

that outsourcing call centres in cheaper

areas was offering. The company employs

3,300 staff, 2,400 in Morocco, 250 in

Romania and 550 in France. Its target is to

deliver quality services to its customers,

large French and international compa-

nies. It is the only ISO 9001-2000 certified

call centre in France.

According to its President Frédéric

Jousset, Webhelp’s success is attribu-

table to its positioning in a high-growth

market that has benefited from new

technologies. “Historically, the 250,000

people who were working in customer

relationship were based in France. Today,

there are 20,000 in North Africa,” among

them Webhelp’s staff, says Jousset.

This has fuelled its growth, their revenues

having tripled over the course of the last

three years. The company aims to continue

this trend for the next three years. This

explains how the company raised a total

of EUR 15 million, through venture capital,

expansion and LBO rounds in 2000, 2001

and 2005. Alven Capital, Europatweb, Jet

Innovation, Avenir Finance and Barclays

Private Equity are the company’s financial

backers. The company plans to reach a

turnover of EUR 60 million this year and

continue this trend.

“This growth is sustainable, as the funda-

mentals (growing market, attractive posi-

tioning, increasing brand awareness,

quality of the team) are getting stronger,”

declares Jousset. On the French market,

which counts 200 companies, Webhelp

has progressed from 50th place in 2003

to 14th in 2005, and 4th in 2006. They

expect to be second in 2007, behind

French leader Teleperformance. “Beyond

this progression, a lot of sectors should

open to outsourcing of client relationship

management under deregulation and

competition in the public sector, health,

electricity, et cetera,” says Jousset.

Jousset mentions three main challenges to

managing growth: staff, processes and finan-

cial resources. As a high-growth business,

Webhelp has chosen to “over dimension

its management team since the beginning”

when planning its growth. Processes are

key at Webhelp, as they are outsourcing call

centres with an ISO level of quality.

Jousset’s advice to entrepreneurs is “think

big”, and make your company scalable in

order to be ready for growth. Then “involve

the staff in the growth challenge by giving

them a financial incentive. […] Details are

key and execution is critical. […] Luck is

also important, and we must admit that we

had some in our development.”

C.D.

offshorE buoySurfacing in the top ten of the ranking, Webhelp proves that outsourcing and offshoring can rhyme with quality. The stock exchange lighthouse is in sight.

webhelp sakey facts & figuresranking: 8th | industry: IT Services | turn-over growth (2002-2005): 973% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 580% | Not listed, backed by private equity companies

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Centric was

created in

1991 by

G e r a r d

Sander ink

a n d

weathered

the 2001-

2002 crisis

w i t h o u t

any losses. This simple fact shows how

stable and resilient the performance of

this company, dedicated to IT services,

is. Centric is debt free, and finances all

its developments with its own resources.

It has reinvested all profits in the busi-

ness, which has further generated growth.

According to Centric IT Director Karim

Henkens, “this has given Centric the

ability to make independently its own

choices.” Not only has the company

remained independent, but it has also

avoided fundraising from third parties.

Its strategy has been to spread its activi-

ties between the profit (financial services

and wholesale) and not-for-profit sectors

(local government, housing associations).

Its turnover is evenly generated by these

two markets. This gives real stability to the

company, and if the economy declines,

the resilience of the not-for-profit sector

will buoy the company.

Centric has also developed multiple lines

of business, from software development

(vertical markets or custom made) to

infrastructure, including consultancy, IT

Solutions, e-business, software enginee-

ring, systems integration, managed ICT

services and training. Centric is thus able

to design, develop, maintain, implement,

and, if necessary, run the software it

supplies.

To grow, the company has applied

the same stability focus and prudent

approach. It has taken over competitors

who went bankrupt and thus financed

its acquisitions only at the best price

possible. The company made acquisi-

tions amounting to EUR 350 million in

2005 and EUR 600 million in 2006. This

has been one of its largest moves and it

aims to grow at a rate of 10 to 15% per

year at least, mostly organically.

“We do not plan to go on the stock

exchange or change our strategy and

call banks to finance us. We want to

develop by ourselves and remain free to

make our own choices,” says Henkens.

This also saves a lot of time and allows

the management to focus on challenges,

such as integrating the acquisitions (inte-

grating small acquisitions can represent

a lot of work). Finding the right mana-

gement can also be difficult, as some

acquisitions come with an adequate

staff, and others not.

According to Henkens, the high growth

of Centric has been a “coincidence”.

“Our target is to build long-term, stable

and sustainable growth.” In that respect,

Centric has been very cautious in its inter-

national expansion. It took Centric three

years to go to Belgium; it is now using

that approach as a blueprint for its inter-

nationalisation. Norway, Germany and

Switzerland are now on the radar.

Henkens’s advice to entrepreneurs would

be to “take the steps that you think you

can handle. If it is not financially possible,

then do not do it.” Planning is also crucial,

especially before the acquisition, not afte-

rwards.

Centric now has 7,200 employees, but

40% of the time of the management

is spent with customers. According to

Henkens, this is what allowed Centric to

be so successful. The management is

able to listen to and understand custo-

mers. By meeting 10 customers per

month, the management has a deep

knowledge of the market.

C.D.

Centrickey facts & figuresranking: 13th | Industry: IT Services | turnover growth (2002-2005): 55% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 107% | Not listed

Centric’s profit and loss statement (2001-2005)

EUR (millions) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Sales 215 228 235 274 353Net profit 11 9 14 16 23

Source: Centric

Find out how you measure up against the bestin Europe by submitting your company

for the 2007 Europe’s 500 Listing – the only independent pan-European ranking of highgrowth, job-creating companies across all

business sectors.

Europe's 500 - Entrepreneurs for Growth is a pan-European associationof high growth entrepreneurs which advocates measures to improve

business conditions for growth and jobs at EU and national level

www.europes500.com

Any small and mid-sized company headquartered in one of the 25 EUmember states, plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, can apply to beconsidered. Nominations are free and without obligation.

Altogether, the high growth companies that qualified for the 2006Europe’s 500 Listing:

• created some 150,000 new jobs across Europe

• increased their turnover by €36.9 billion

• recorded an impressive average annual job growth rate of 16% overthree consecutive years.

Supported by

Europe’s 500 winning companies receive significant media exposure giving recognition to their achievements, helping to motivate and reward staff and attract investment. The winners arehonoured at an Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner held in a differentEuropean city each November.

2007 Europe’s 500 Listing

Gain visibility, recognitionand market share…

To register your interest and to be alerted when nominations for2007 open in April, please e-mail your contact details to [email protected]

Is your company one of Europe’s high growth,

job-creating champions?

Published by Entrepreneurs for Growth

1 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y 1 9 9 6 - 2 0 0 6

2455 E500 ad 1bis :2455 - AD 2007 LISTING 12/8/06 6:23 PM Page 1

a stELLar revolutionBuilt on prudence and independence, Centric has set itself up for

meteoric performance. It is a gravity centre for European IT Services, through consolidation.AWARD

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227 Flamel Technologies SA France Biotechnology, Health www.flamel.com 197 228 Local Contract Hire & Leasing Ltd United Kingdom Transport, Logistics www.1car1.com 194 229 Real SA Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.realsa.pl 189 230 Gestión Técnica de Montajes y Construcciones GTM SA Spain Construction, Real Estate www.gtmsa.es 189 231 Incanto Group Srl Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.incantodivani.com 186 232 Fortakas Lithuania IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.fortakas.lt 185 233 Etud Integral France Automotive - Manufacturing www.etud-integral.fr 184 234 Corporación Alimentaria Guissona Spain Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.cag.es 180 235 Chipidea-Microelectronica SA Portugal IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.chipidea.com 179 236 Putzteufel Reinigungsgesellschaft mbH Austria Support Services www.putzteufel.at 176 237 Forum Media Group GmbH Germany Media www.forum-media.com 173 238 Arthur McKay & Co Ltd United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.arthur-mckay.com 173 239 Radiall SA France Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.radiall.com 172 240 Delcam Plc United Kingdom IT - Manufacturing www.delcam.com 172 241 Group Rovi Spain Biotechnology, Health www.rovi.com 170 242 Econcern BV Netherlands Energy, Mining, Utilities www.econcern.com 169 243 HP Pelzer Group Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.pelzer.de 169 244 Avanquest Software France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.avanquest.com 168 245 SILIKO d.o.o. Slovenia Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.siliko.si 166 246 Sturm Holding GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.sturm-gmbh.de 165 247 Korres SA Greece Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.korres.com 164 248 Wenglor Sensoric GmbH Germany IT - Manufacturing www.wenglor.de 164 249 Lynn`s BEST GmbH Germany Biotechnology, Health www.Lynns-BEST.de 160 250 GTG Gummidichtungstechnik GmbH & Co KG Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.gtg-group.com 159

251 Ioniki Sfoliata SA Greece Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.ionikigr.com 159

252 Inter Contract Wbc s.r.o. Czech Republic Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.intercontract.cz 154 253 Micronic Laser Systems AB Sweden IT - Manufacturing www.micronic.se 152 254 Alternative Networks Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.alternativenetworks.com 152 255 Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc United Kingdom Biotechnology, Health www.sigpharm.co.uk 152 256 PAA Laboratories GmbH Austria Biotechnology, Health www.paa.com 151 257 Loacker Recycling GmbH Austria Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.loacker.at 149 258 MarketXS Netherlands IT Services, Information and Communication technologies www.marketxs.com/ 149 259 Cramer United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.cramer.com 148 260 M. J. Eriksson A/S Denmark Construction, Real Estate www.mjeriksson.dk 148 261 Jokey Plastik GmbH Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.jokey.com 148 262 Clarkson Evans Ltd United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.clarksonevans.co.uk 147 263 MetalCom-R Ltd Hungary IT Services, Information and Communications Technologies www.metalcom.hu 145 264 Ognibene SpA Italy Automotive - Manufacturing www.ognibene.com 144 265 Johann Dettendorfer Spedition Ferntrans GmbH & Co KG Germany Transport, Logistics www.dettendorfer.de 144 266 Athinaiki Bed Mattress Manufacturer SA (Media Strom) Greece Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.mediastrom.gr 143 267 Spoldzielnia Mleczarska Ostroleka Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.sml-ostroleka.pl 142 268 Simon, Kucher & Partners GmbH Germany Consulting, Management Services www.simon-kucher.com 142 269 Native Instruments Software Synthesis GmbH Germany IT - Manufacturing www.native-instruments.com 142 270 Thomann Germany Retail www.thomann.de 141 271 Mindjet GmbH Germany IT - Manufacturing www.mindjet.de 141 272 mG miniGears SpA Italy Automotive - Manufacturing www.minigears.com 140 273 ACTANO GmbH Switzerland Consulting, Management Services www.actano.com 139 274 Rödl & Partner Germany Financial Services, Legal Services www.roedl.de 137 275 IQ Intelligentes Ingenieur Management GmbH Germany Consulting, Management Services www.iq-nbg.de 136 276 Loyalty Partner GmbH Germany Consulting, Management Services www.loyaltypartner.com 132 277 Tubacex Spain Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.tubacex.com 131 278 Arkitema K/S Denmark Construction, Real Estate www.arkitema.dk 128 279 Mobile Ambulante Pflegepartner GmbH & Co KG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.mobile-ambulante-pflegepartner.de 126 280 GEALAN Formteile GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.gealan.com 123 281 Prodrive Holdings Ltd United Kingdom Automotive - Manufacturing www.prodrive.com 122 282 Schreiner Group GmbH & Co KG Germany IT - Manufacturing www.schreiner-group.com 122 283 Soflog-Sofembal France Transport, Logistics www.soflog.fr 122 284 I.R.I.S. Belgium IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.irislink.com 122 285 Callataÿ & Wouters Belgium IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.cw-thaler.com 120 286 Italtrans SpA Italy Transport, Logistics www.italtrans.com 119 287 Harlekin Spiel- u. Unterhaltungsautomaten Betriebs GmbH Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing n/a 118 288 Bruder Straubinger Gebäudereinigung GmbH Germany Support Services n/a 116 289 Hör Technologie GmbH Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.hoer-technologie.de 116 290 Allando Trailways A S Estonia Transport, Logistics www.allando.com 115 291 Comoli Ferrari & C. SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.comoliferrari.it 115 292 Euroskilt AS Norway Transport, Logistics www.euroskilt.no 114 293 Odyssey Asset Management Systems SA Luxembourg IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.odyssey-group.com 112 294 Freedom Finance Plc United Kingdom Financial Services, Legal Services www.freedomfinance.co.uk 112 295 PSW automotive engineering GmbH Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.psw-konstruktion.de 110 296 Thomas & Piron SA Belgium Construction, Real Estate www.thomas-piron.com 109


thE roaring 2000s

Sport and fashion are converging and redesigning an entire industry under new marketing rules. This cat, or Puma, is landing on its paws and racing to grab market share.

��


Add fashion to

footwear and

you will get a

big cat in your

growth engine.

Puma has

r e d e s i g n e d

itself from a

typical sports

footwear manu-

facturer to a fashion and luxury footwear

brand with four collections per year.

Puma designs, manufactures and

markets sporting goods, mainly footwear.

Its activities are organised around three

divisions: footwear, apparels and acces-

sories. The footwear department designs,

manufactures and markets mainly sports

shoes. The apparel department is dedi-

cated to the production and marketing of

sportswear-related articles. The accesso-

ries department focuses on luggage and

other sports-related goods. The Group

operates and sells in Europe, North and

Latin America, Africa and Asia.

The company has shown 39% average

yearly growth since early 2001, with a

leading position in the upscale market. Its

brand is its main asset and the company

has shown an impressive capacity to build

upon it and be associated with cham-

pions and events. Even though highly

dependent on the European market for its

sales (62% in 2005), Puma has room to

expand in North America, where Nike and

Reebok are leading the pack, and Asia,

which is strong prospect.

Is the big cat able to hold its breathe and

continue to run as fast? Analysts appear

to doubt it: they lowered their forecasts

and do not count on double digit growth

rates for earnings going forward (as

gross margins are declining). However,

the company still has some assets and

expects double digit growth in sales in

2007, notably with an organic growth rate

above 15%.

Will Puma make it to the 2007 ranking

and improve its positioning? With Asia

growing above 100%, the US at almost

50% in Q3 2006, and Europe at 10%, the

prospects are good. But currency move-

ments and high marketing and distribu-

tion costs are putting some pressure on

the management. If customers are loyal

to the brand, Puma will be able to show

its claws and aggressively catch a greater

market share.

C.D.

puMa agkey facts & figuresranking: 14th | Industry: Footwear | turnover growth (2002-2005): 95% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 113% | Listed (Frankfurt), with a market capitali-sation of EUR 4.58 billion

Source: Datastream

Puma - FRA (11/21/2003 - 11/17/2006)Datastream

Volume04 05 06

PUM - FF

DAX 30 PERFORMANCE

270.0%

250.0%

230.0%

210.0%

190.0%

170.0%

150.0%

130.0%

110.0%

90%

Puma’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005)

In EUR (millions)2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Sales 598 910 1274 1530 1778EBIT 61 127 266 372 409Net Income 40 85 179 257 286

End of fiscal year: 31 MarchSource: Thomson One Banker

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Capital ising

on aging.

C r e a t e d

in 1980,

Intercentros

Ballesol is

dedicated

to providing

h o s t i n g

s e r v i c e s

to retirees, mainly through the building

and management of residences. Starting

in Madrid and Valencia, the company

soon expanded to Andalusia, Aragon,

Asturias, Catalonia, Castilla-Leon, Galucia

and Murcia. The company offered 5,000

places for retirees at the end of 2005 and

plans to grow it organically to 7,000 by the

end of 2007.

The positioning of the company is rather

upscale, with high-quality service (on

average 65 employees for 100 retirees),

guaranteed by solid training and a perma-

nent medical team based in each centre.

The cost of a retiree is roughly EUR

22,000 per year.

This success was partially funded by

the private equity firm 3i, which bought

20% of the company in 2001 for EUR 18

million, and Morgan Stanley (through its

subsidiary Lar). It also counts the foun-

ders (35%) and the Hermandad Nacional

de Arquitectos (18%). This has fuelled

the growth of the company, from a yearly

turnover of EUR 20 million in 2001 to EUR

50 million in 2005 and approximately EUR

70 million in 2006.

The Spanish Law on Dependency, in

which the Spanish Government will invest

EUR 26 million until 2015 to help depen-

dent elders, will probably be an active

supporter of Grupo Ballesol’s develop-

ment. To offer an attractive profile, the

company does not exclude some targeted

acquisitions, thus playing a consolidation

role in a very fragmented market (15

companies control less than 2% of the

market).

The company is now looking to offer an

exit path to its private equity backers and

gain new support, probably from Spanish

insurance groups (Santa Lucia is said to

be in advanced negotiations), to further

develop. The company is targeting a

listing on the Spanish Stock Exchange

within two to four years.

C.D.

aging and enjoyinG itRetiring can be a luxurious experience, even more so if the resi-dence is comparable to a four star hotel in the number two desti-nation in the world for tourism.

intercentros BaLLEsoLkey facts & figuresRanking: 17th | Industry: Services | Turnover growth (2002-2005): 138% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 260% | Not listed, backed by the private equity firm 3i

��


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297 Semcon AB Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.semcon.se 109 298 HPS Ltd Hungary Consulting, Management Services www.hps.hu 108 299 Vitronic Dr.-Ing. Stein Bildverarbeitungssysteme GmbH Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.vitronic.de 107 300 Ecm (Vehicle Delivery Service) Ltd United Kingdom Transport, Logistics n/a 105 301 Msource Medical Development Belgium Biotechnology, Health www.msource-cro.com 105 302 Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.ezag.de 105 303 Volz Luftfilter GmbH & Co KG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.volzfilters.com 102 304 Groupe Silicomp France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.silicomp.fr 102 305 Altia Consultores SL Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.altia.es 102 306 Coffee Connection SA Coffeeway Greece Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.coffeeway.com 100 307 Fokas Odysseus SA Greece Retail www.fokas.gr 100 308 Bogdol Verwaltungs- und Immobilien GmbH Germany Support Services www.bogdol-dienstleistungen.de 100 309 Michel Baule SA France Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.baule.com 100 310 NV Joris Ide Belgium Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.joriside.be 99 311 Defim SpA Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.defim.com 99 312 Geoffrey Robinson Ltd United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.geoffreyrobinson.ltd.uk 98 313 Bott Ltd Germany Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.bottltd.co.uk 98 314 Ridderikhoff Groep BV Netherlands Support Services www.ridderikhoff.com 97 315 SMI SpA Italy Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.smigroup.it 97 316 GENESIS Pharma SA Greece Biotechnology, Health www.genesispharma.com 97 317 MorphoSys AG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.morphosys.de 97 318 P to P IT Consulting Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ptop.se 96 319 Soft Computing France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.softcomputing.com 94 320 Qbranch AB Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.qbranch.se 94 321 Seissenschmidt AG Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.seissenschmidt.de 92 322 Protecta SA Greece Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.protecta.gr 91 323 Ajkai Elektronikai Gyarto Es Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag Hungary Automotive - Manufacturing www.ajkaelektron.hu 91 324 CASON Engineering Plc Hungary IT - Manufacturing www.cason.hu 90 325 Fussl Modestraße Mayr GmbH Austria Retail www.fussl.at 89 326 Parcours SA France Transport, Logistics www.parcours.fr 89 327 Ceuta Healthcare Group Of Companies United Kingdom Biotechnology, Health www.ceutahealthcare.com 89 328 Autonomy Corporation Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.autonomy.com 88 329 Samhammer AG Germany IT - Manufacturing www.samhammer.de 88 330 Schmack Biogas AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.schmack-biogas.com 87 331 QUMAS Ireland Financial Services, Legal Services www.qumas.com 87 332 Eiffel Netherlands Financial Services, Legal Services www.eiffel.nl 87 333 Econet Spain Consulting, Management Services www.econet.es 86 334 Futbol Club Barcelona Spain Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.fcbarcelona.com 86 335 Brack Electronics AG Switzerland IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.brack.ch 86 336 Expo Biro Slovenia Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.expobiro.si 82 337 LM IT Services AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.lm-ag.de 81 338 Artizian Catering Services Ltd United Kingdom Support Services www.artizian.co.uk 79 339 Doppstadt Calbe GmbH Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.doppstadt.com 79 340 Przedsiebiorstwo Produkcyjne Uslugowo-Handlowe Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.prosper.biz.pl 78 341 Beko Holding AG Austria IT - Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.beko.eu 78 342 Cobra Beer United Kingdom Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.cobrabeer.com 76 343 Przedsiebiorstwo Wielobranzowe Eltar Sp Z O O Poland Construction, Real Estate www.eltar.com.pl 76 344 Kloiber GmbH Germany Transport, Logistics www.kloiber.com 76 345 Artwork Systems NV Belgium IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.Artwork-Systems.com 75 346 JSC Dzintars Latvia Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.dzintars.lv 74 347 Prigo d.o.o. Brezovica Slovenia Transport, Logistics www.prigo.si 74 348 Soudal NV Belgium Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.soudal.com 73 349 Amlin Plc United Kingdom Financial Services, Legal Services www.amlin.com 73 350 Siac Butlers Steel Ltd Ireland Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.siacbutlers.ie 72 351 Reinsch Speditions- und Kontraklogistik Germany Transport, Logistics www.reinsch-spedition.de 71 352 Labor L+S AG Germany Biotechnology, Health www.Labor-LS.de 71 353 Grenkeleasing AG Germany Financial Services, Legal Services www.grenkeleasing.com 70 354 L A International Computer Consultant Ltd United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.lainternational.com 70 355 E.C.S. Electronics BV Netherlands Automotive - Manufacturing www.ecs-electronics.nl 70 356 Axesor, Grupo Infotel Spain Consulting, Management Services www.axesor.es 69 357 Empire Direct Plc United Kingdom Retail www.empiredirect.co.uk 68 358 Xsil Ltd Ireland IT - Manufacturing www.xsil.com 67 359 Drukkerij Verstraete NV/SA Belgium Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.verstraete.be 66 360 Plan-Net Services Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.plan-net.co.uk 65 361 Hirsch Servo AG Austria Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.hirsch-gruppe.com 65 362 Arginta Lithuania Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.arginta.lt 64 363 Prangl Gesellschaft mbH Austria Transport, Logistics www.prangl.at 63 364 BUG Computer Components AG Germany IT - Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.e-bug.de 63 365 Restaurants At Work United Kingdom Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.restaurantsatwork.co.uk 62 366 Cassis SA Belgium Retail www.cassis.be 61


�6


Ryanair is defying the law

of gravity through low

fares. The Irish cowboy

has successfully

imported low-cost air

travel, following in the

footsteps of Southwest

and Jetblue in the United

States: While most of

the American airlines

were under bankruptcy protection in the

United States, low-cost airlines defied

the sector, growing fast at the expense of

incumbent airline operators, and opening

new routes. Ryanair operates from 16

European bases (Ireland, UK, France,

Sweden and Italy), bringing together 123

airports and 366 routes.

The strength of the Group does not only

lie in its ability to make its bookings grow

in a very competitive market – even Air

France KLM is looking to open a low-cost

alternative -- but also to diversify its income

from other sales such as hotel bookings,

car rentals, etc. In Q2 2006, the company

even surprised analysts by reporting better

results than expected.

The company has shown a 34% average

yearly growth rate since early 2001

using aggressive marketing techniques.

Profitability is exceptional, ranging from

18% in 2005, despite high gas prices,

to 24% in 2001, when the cost of oil was

lower. The company is said to have the

lowest breakeven load point of the sector

and has the luxury of setting its own prices

in a context of growing traffic.

The Irish airline not only grows organically,

but also plans to expand aggressively. It

thus offered to buy its national competitor

Aer Lingus for EUR 1.48 billion a year ago,

in a move which shocked the sector. Aer

Lingus was only listed for a few days and

Ryanair bought 20% of it in a week to posi-

tion its hostile takeover bid. Even though

the offer is not expected to succeed, this

shows that Ryanair is willing to pursue not

only organic growth opportunities, but also

acquisitions going forward.

C.D.

Low Cost, flyinG hiGhRyanair has shown that low cost is more than just a fad, and that operating under budget constraints can make an entire industry move towards efficiency

ryanair pLCkey facts & figuresranking: 21st | industry: Airlines | turnover growth (2002-2005): 171% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 113% | Listed (NASDAQ), with a market capitali-sation of EUR 7.57 billion

Source: Datastream

Ryanair - DUB (11/21/2003 - 11/17/2006)Datastream

Volume

04 05 06

RYA DBIRELAND SE OVERALL

190.0%

170.0%

150.0%

130.0%

110.0%

90.0%

70.0%

50.0%

Ryanair’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005



0

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5.00

Source: Datastream

Ryanair - DUB (11/21/2003 - 11/17/2006)Datastream

Volume

04 05 06

RYA DBIRELAND SE OVERALL

190.0%

170.0%

150.0%

130.0%

110.0%

90.0%

70.0%

50.0%

Ryanair’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005



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Even the autumn heat

wave which has

affected Europe hardly

slowed down New

Wave’s growth rate.

Analysts have lowered

their projections, but it

seems that the warm

garments of the highly

successful brands of

the Group will still be in high demand at

the end of the year.

The Swedish group has an original distri-

bution model, combining a business-

to-business and retail approach. Its

business-to-business division is specia-

lised in the marketing of promotional

clothes, shoes, gifts and textiles. New

Wave designs, purchases, stores and

markets promotional wear and gifts.

The Group also sells products using

its brands and other licensed trade-

marks to retailers, notably sports and

footwear retailers. New Wave’s brands

are Clique, Harvest, Grizzly, Craft,

Seger, Mac One, DAD and Umbro. After

acquiring Joman Workwear in 2004, a

maker of high-quality work clothes, the

Group acquired Dahetra and Orrefors

Kostaboda in 2005.

The company has shown a 44% average

yearly growth rate since the early 1990s,

focusing on quality clothes and special

niches, rather than on fashion like H&M,

Zara or Mango. Its production is located

in Asia, and New Wave sells in 15

countries, mostly in Nordic countries,

Germany, Benelux and Italy. “The best

margins are achieved in Italy,” says

CEO Torsten Jansson. This proves that

New Wave’s business model is not only

adaptable but very successful outside

of Nordic countries.

Jansson attributes New Wave’s success

to its corporate culture, where people

“want to do their best”. These “soft

values” are key to achieving and maintai-

ning such a high level of growth. In that

respect, finding the right people is the

main challenge that Jansson has identi-

fied over the years and he has spent a lot

of time on it. “It’s a constantly changing

business, as it is a high growth environ-

ment. You have to like it to succeed in

this kind of company.” Client focus is

also key: it is important to take care of

existing clients and grow with them.

Its growth potential is well appreciated

by the market, as it is trading at a 20%

premium based on market capitalisa-

tion/EBITDA, but still at a 10% discount

based on its P/E multiple as its earnings

per share grow faster than for its peers.

“We still have a low market share, with

a lot of space to grow organically in the

North of Europe, but also in Asia and the

US,” says Jansson. “Selective acquisi-

tions may help as well.”

C.D.

surfin’ swedenNew Wave Group could have been a band of blond Swedish pop singers, but once again, the revolution comes from marketing, design and selling – this time in the clothing industry.

�9

new wave group aBkey facts & figuresranking: 22nd (59th in 2004) | industry: Clothing and Accessories | turnover growth (2002-2005): 77% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 179% | (Stockholm), with a market capitalisation of EUR 2.94 billion

Source: Datastream

New Wave Group ‘B’ STO (11/21/2003 - 11/17/2006)Datastream

Volume

004 05 06

0.50

NEW AB - SK

AFFARSVARLDEN GENERA

270.0%

250.0%

230.0%

210.0%

190.0%

170.0%

150.0%

130.0%

110.0%

90%

New Wave’s summarised profit and loss statement (2001-2005)



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367 Interware Plc Hungary IT - Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.interware.hu 60 368 Gold Club Slovenia Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.gold-club.si 60 369 Valor Consultants France Consulting, Management Services www.valor.fr 59 370 Opacmare SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.opacmare.com 58 371 Llentab AB Sweden Construction, Real Estate www.llentab.se 58 372 MR Datentechnik Vertriebs - u Service GmbH Germany IT - Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.mr-daten.de 57

373 Errecinque Srl Italy Automotive - Manufacturing www.errecinque.it 56 374 Sadiel SA Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.sadiel.es 55 375 Luoman Oy Finland Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.luoman.fi 55 376 Independent Specialist Technology Ltd United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.1stsoftware.com 55 377 Breyer Gebäudereinigung GmbH Germany Support Services www.k-breyer.de 55 378 Antica Ditta Marchisio SpA Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.mattioligioielli.it 54 379 Koopman Holding BV Netherlands Transport, Logistics www.koopman.nl 54 380 Loch Fyne Restaurants Ltd United Kingdom Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.lochfyne.com 54 381 denkwerk GmbH Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.denkwerk.com 53 382 G2 C Environnement France Consulting, Management Services www.g2c.fr 53 383 Maschinenbau Silberhorn GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.maschinenbau-silberhorn.de 52 384 In Tech Medical France Biotechnology, Health www.intech-medical.com 52 385 ILOG SA France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ilog.fr 52 386 Prolainat France Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.prolainat.com 51 387 Mürdter Dvorak nastrojarna, spol.s.r.o. Czech Republic Automotive - Manufacturing www.muerdter.cz 51 388 Technosert Electronic GmbH Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.technosert.com 51 389 B.V. Gerritse Groep Netherlands Construction, Real Estate www.gerritse.nl 50 390 Stichting Sint Maartenskliniek Netherlands Biotechnology, Health www.maartenskliniek.nl 50 391 Hickman Industries Ltd United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.national-hickman.com 50 392 Central Telecom Uk Ltd United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.central-telecom.co.uk 49 393 Dino Lift Oy Finland Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.dinolift.com 49 394 Creuzot Michel SA France Financial Services, Legal Services www.mcreuzot.com 49 395 Dibaq-Diproteg SA Spain Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.dibaq.com 49 396 CS Trans s.r.o. Czech Republic Transport, Logistics www.cstrans.cz 47 397 Hiolle Industries France Support Services www.hiolle-industries.com 47 398 Scaltel AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.scaltel.de 47 399 Kistenpfennig AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.kuki.de 46 400 3 Step It Oy Finland IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.3stepit.com 45 401 Strama-MPS Maschinenbau GmbH & Co KG Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.strama-mps.de 44 402 TTTech Computertechnik AG Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.tttech.com 42 403 SCP Holding BV Netherlands IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.scpartners.com 41 404 Soc De Transports Routiere International France Transport, Logistics www.prevoststri.com 41 405 Eustema SpA Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.eustema.it 41 406 Sabaf SpA Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.sabaf.it 41 407 S & L Mediengruppe Germany Consulting, Management Services www.slmedien.de 41 408 Doll Fahrzeugbau GmbH Germany Automotive - Manufacturing www.doll-oppenau.com 41 409 Endress + Hauser Wetzer GmbH & Co KG Germany IT - Manufacturing www.wetzer.endress.com 40 410 Primavera Business Software Solutions SA Portugal IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.primaverabss.com 40 411 Targetti Sankey SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.targetti.com 39 412 Autointermediates Ltd t/a UKIP Media & Events United Kingdom Media www.ukintpress.com 38 413 nicko tours GmbH Germany Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.nicko-tours.de 38 414 Adu Oktatási Központ Hungary Education, Training - Services www.adu-csepel.hu 38 415 Version One Ltd United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.versionone.co.uk 37 416 Tilman Belgium Biotechnology, Health www.tilman.be 37 417 M and M Direct Ltd United Kingdom Retail www.mandmdirect.com 37 418 Contec Steuerungstechnik u. Automation GmbH Austria IT - Manufacturing www.contec.at 36 419 i-level Ltd United Kingdom Consulting, Management Services www.i-level.com 35 420 NexTReT Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.nextret.net 35 421 Newsphone Hellas SA Greece IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.newsphone.gr 35 422 StatPro Group Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.statpro.com 35 423 S2M Société De Mécanique Magnétique France Automotive - Manufacturing www.s2m.fr 34 424 Compin France Transport, Logistics www.compin.com 34 425 Sum France Automotive - Manufacturing www.sum76.fr 34 426 Syncera BV Netherlands Consulting, Management Services www.syncera.nl 34 427 Gebr. van ´t Hek BV Netherlands Construction, Real Estate www.vanthek.nl 33 428 KDL Trans NV Belgium Transport, Logistics www.kdltrans.be 32 429 Automobiles Dangel France Automotive - Manufacturing www.dangel.com 32 430 Trepesch GmbH Germany Support Services www.trepesch.de 32 431 Optima Srl Italy Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.mec3.it 32 432 ARCONT IP Slovenia Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.arcont-ip.si 31 433 Emailvision France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.emailvision.com 31 434 BSC Praha, spol. s.r.o. Czech Republic IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.bsc.cz 31


Latvia, with a population of 2.2

million and situated between

Russia, Estonia and Lithuania,

is a challenger to the United

States, at least in the coffee

chain market. Double Coffee is

the largest chain in the Baltic

area and is the local answer

to Starbucks. However, Nick

Ustinov, the CEO of Double

Coffee, remains modest with what

appears already as a success. “Success

is something we will be referring to after

four or five more years of operations. Do

not forget we are only four years old, so

it’s a little bit too early to speak about

‘success’.”

Nick Ustinov and Sergei Pushnoy founded

Double Coffee in September 2002 in

Riga, and rapidly extended their reach to

Lithuania and Estonia. “The factors which

have helped us to achieve that, besides

the hard work we have invested, could be

being in the right place at the right time.

The market was ready for a chain of high-

level service coffee shops,” says Ustinov.

This explains the rapid development of

Double Coffee, with now 45 shops cove-

ring the Baltic region.

The company grew to 457 employees in

2005, with a turnover of EUR 4.6 million

in Latvia. The potential for further growth

is high. “The only way to ensure proper

expansion from our point of view is to

look at new European markets. The Baltic

region is too small and we don’t see much

expansion possibilities here,” explains

Ustinov.

The competition is rising. Italian Illy has

also identified the need for a high-quality

coffee chain and is rolling out its 120

Espressamente Bars in Western coun-

tries. However, Double Coffee is targe-

ting a different region. “Our geographical

location allows us to easily manage the

Ukrainian market. We see a lot of potential

there. At the beginning of 2007 we will

open our first outlet in Belarus as well.

The plan is to open over 80 coffee shops

in Ukraine and Belarus in next the next 4

to 5 years,” declares Ustinov.

Double Coffee offers 50 different types of

coffee, as well as cakes, cocktails, break-

fast and snacks. The company is willing

to deliver quality and an atmosphere to its

customers. “There are many challenges

of course, and they differ from country to

country,” says Ustinov. The main preoccu-

pation of the management is thus to ensure

this quality by always bringing on board

good employees and excellent locations.

Double Coffee is first and foremost proof

that when there is a challenge and the will

to rise to it, then there is room for success.

Ustinov’s advice to would-be entrepreneurs

is “...never give up, of course, the main

asset in any business is the will to achieve

something and to do something. If you

do not have a ‘battery’ powerful enough

to finish the job, you will never achieve

anything - neither in growth or your life.”

C.D.

thE LatVian alternativeCoffee? Yes, a Latvian one. Synonymous with quality, in a world where Nespresso has imposed this beverage as a luxury, Double Coffee is master of the Baltic region. Europe next?

dC hoLding a/s (“double Coffee”):key facts & figuresranking: 26th | industry: Retail | turnover growth (2002-2005): 2,500% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 700% | Not listed

51


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Slovenia, population

2 million, has a fast

growing retailer

ranked in the top

30 of Europe’s 500

fastest growing

companies. The

company opened its

first store in 1989,

the year the Berlin

Wall fell. Since then, EngroTUS has

grown with a unique motto: customer

satisfaction. In a country still belonging

to former Yugoslavia, where customers

had to line up to buy meagre supplies of

goods and food, this has been a revol-

utionary policy.

The mission statement of the company is

as simple as the execution can be compli-

cated: “to offer customers a wide range

of products at the best possible value,

high-quality goods and kind service.” The

group started as a retailer, but soon also

became the owner of its shops and deve-

loped shopping malls to offer an all-in-one

location for shopping. Planet Tuš, in Celje,

offers 3,500 m² of shopping space, 45

shops and 8 cinema halls.

To achieve these targets, the company

puts the quality of its relations with its

employees and customers first. The social

aims of the company are even mentioned

explicitly on its website to show that

EngroTUS is committed to its stakehol-

ders, as a non-listed company: “We would

like to create a flexible system for indivi-

duals as well as our business.”

Learning from Western retail marketing

techniques, EngroTUS has developed its

own private label for goods: Aneta and

Tus. This allows EngroTUS to capture

further value from the sale of products by

colonising the value chain.

EngroTUS believes its path to success is

made of:

1. an ambitious investment strategy

2. a reasonable level of debt

3. the import of best practices from

abroad and adapting them to the local

environment

4. the recognition and adaptation to

regional distinctiveness by caring for the

local needs of customers

5. an openness to ideas which are emer-

ging from within the company.

These principles have helped this retailer,

addressing a market the size of a city in

other countries, to achieve a turnover of

EUR 453 million in 2005.

C.D.

sustainable rEtaiLMaking retailing synonymous with best in class stakeholder manage-ment seems to have been the aim of EngroTUS. The pay out? Triple digit growth and a ranking at 30th.

Engrotus d.o.o.key facts & figuresranking: 30th | industry: Retail | turnover growth (2002-2005): 105% | Employment growth (2002-2005): 109% | Not listed

5�

listing e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

435 Gruppo Manni HP Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.gruppomanni.it 30 436 HMS Networks AB Sweden IT Services, Information and Communcation Technologies www.hms.se 30 437 Transports Logistique Services SA Belgium Transport, Logistics www.tls-be.com 30 438 Barkawi & Partner GmbH & Co KG Germany Consulting, Management Services www.barkawi.com 28 439 Phönix SonnenStrom AG Germany Energy, Mining, Utilities www.SonnenStromAG.de 27 440 Vetreria Etrusca Srl Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.vetreriaetrusca.it 27 441 Occasio d.o.o. Slovenia Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.sonchek.com 27 442 Scilm SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.scilm.it 27 443 Ind.I.A. SpA Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.arteferro.com 26 444 Omr SpA Italy Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.omrspa.com 25 445 Agricultural Poultry Cooperative Of Arta Llc Greece Agriculture, Fisheries n/a 25 446 Haas & Czjzek - Prvni Porcelanova Manufaktura v Cechach, spol. s r.o. Czech Republic Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.haasczjzek.cz 25 447 Comptoir Vendeen De L´Artisan Plombier France Construction, Real Estate www.covap.fr 25 448 Keros Ceramica SA Spain Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.keros.com 25 449 Kürt Hungary IT Services, Information and Communcation Technologies www.kurt.hu 25 450 UC4 Software GmbH Austria IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.uc4.com 25 451 SBB Accountants & Adviseurs Belgium Financial Services, Legal Services www.sbb.be 24 452 Modus Group Ltd United Kingdom Construction, Real Estate www.modusgroup.com 24 453 G.S.E. Ground Support Equipment Srl Italy Transport, Logistics n/a 23 454 Janavalo Oy Finland Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.janavalo.fi 23 455 Mediteam/Visit Ambulante Pflege GmbH & Co KG/FPB Aktiengesellschaft Germany Biotechnology, Health www.mediteam.de 23 456 NICOMATIC France IT - Manufacturing www.nicomatic.com 22 457 William Cox Ireland Ltd Ireland Construction, Real Estate www.williaamcox.ie 21 458 Logos Group Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.logos.net 21 459 Stagecoach Theatre Arts Plc United Kingdom Education, Training - Services www.stagecoach.co.uk 21 460 ATEME France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ateme.com 21 461 Era A.S. Czech Republic IT - Manufacturer www.era.cz 20 462 ConSol Software GmbH Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.consol.de 20 463 SIV.AG Germany IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.siv.de 20 464 Unicer - Distribuição De Bebidas SA Portugal Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.unicer.pt 19 465 Roxtec AB Sweden Chemical, Plastics - Manufacturing www.roxtec.com 19 466 B&T SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.dorelan.com 19 467 Karl Krestel Gastronomische Betriebe eK Germany Tourism, Leisure, Gastronomy - Services www.sudhausnuernberg.de 18 468 Autostop SA Greece Automotive - Manufacturing www.autostop.gr 18 469 Okregowa Spoldzielnia Mleczarska W Sokolowie Podlaskim Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.osmsokolow.pl 17 470 AUBEMA Crushing Technology GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.aubema.com 16 471 B + S Ingenieur AG Switzerland Construction, Real Estate www.bs-ing.ch 16 472 Technocover Ltd United Kingdom Support Services www.technocover.co.uk 16 473 IBITEC AB Sweden IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ibitec.se 15 474 Izoterm - Plama D.D. Slovenia Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.izoterm-plama.si 15 475 Bruyerre SA Belgium Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.bruyerre.be 14 476 Nabaltec GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.nabaltec.de 14 477 Pieron GmbH Germany Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.pieron.de 13 478 Zech Gruppe Austria Construction, Real Estate www.zechfenster.com 13 479 Alacer Mas SA Spain Retail www.alacermas.com 12 480 ANAGNOSTARAS Bros SA Greece Construction, Real Estate www.anagnostaras.gr 11 481 Sinfo Pragma Spa Italy IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.sinfopragma.it 10 482 Ifr France France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.ifr.aero 9 483 Cybit Holdings Plc United Kingdom IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.cybit.co.uk 9 484 Tibard Ltd United Kingdom Textiles, Clothing, Footwear - Manufacturing www.tibard.co.uk 9 485 Dragenopharm Apotheker Püschl GmbH Germany Biotechnology, Health www.dragenopharm.de 8 486 Agrico SA Poland Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.agrico.com.pl 8 487 Alessanderx SpA Italy Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.magniflex.com 7 488 Riviere Transports France Transport, Logistics www.riviere-transports.fr 7 489 United Labels AG Germany Retail www.unitedlabels.com 6 490 Sulpasteis - Comércio e Industria Produtos Alimentares Congelados, Lda Portugal Food, Beverages - Manufacturing www.harrowhouse.com 5 491 Harrow House International College (Swanage) Ltd United Kingdom Education, Training - Services www.sulpasteis.com 5 492 Videor Technical E. Hartig GmbH Germany IT Services, Information and communication services www.videortechnical.com 5 493 Bertin Technologies France Biotechnology, Health www.bertin.fr 5 494 UNIMERCO GROUP A/S Denmark Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.unimerco.com 5 495 SAS De Buyer Industries France Steel, Metals - Manufacturing www.debuyer.com 3 496 Itesoft France IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.itesoft.com 3 497 Coremain SL Spain IT Services, Information and Communication Technologies www.coremain.com 3 498 Akaba SA Spain Consumer Goods - Manufacturing www.akaba.net 2 499 Housing Cooperative Nasz Dom Poland Construction, Real Estate www.naszdom.radom.pl 2 500 Hologram Industries France IT - Manufacturing www.hologram-industries.com 1


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e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

In this year’s Europe’s 500, we see

the resurgence of the IT sector in

Europe. Web 2.0 is here to stay. It

shows us that while IT and consul-

ting are considered a sector apart,

they have become an integral part

of every organization, from “old

economy” sectors such as trans-

portation and agriculture, to new

economy stalwarts such as biotech.

IT and consulting companies make up

the lion’s share of the companies on the

list. European companies, however, are

active across a wide spectrum of sectors,

most notably, biotech, engineering and

the automotive sectors.

The geographical diversity of the compa-

nies that make up this year’s list is a clear

representation of Europe as a whole, with

the five largest economies making up

more than 60% of the list and bringing in

65% of 2005 turnover. The new members

of the community to the East and others

are a varied lot, although many demons-

trate some strong characteristics in terms

of productivity per employee and job

growth.

Germany remains the heavyweight with

109 companies and EUR 25 billion (26.8%

of the total) in sales in 2005. The UK

with its 72 companies comes second,

although its sales at EUR 12.5 billion

come in just below Italy whose 44 compa-

nies turned over EUR 13 billion. French

companies number 55, more than Italy’s,

yet their sales lagged behind the UK’s at

just under EUR 5 billion. Ireland, although

only having 9 (1.8%) companies in the

list, came in punching above its weight

with EUR 6.7 billion, representing 7% of

total sales.

The Europe’s 500 growth companies seem

to be debunking much of the conven-

tional wisdom about the malaise of many

of its members, most notably Germany,

France and Italy. It seems entrepreneurs

in biotech, IT, and service businesses of

all kinds have picked up the slack left by

many of the family-owned manufacturers

facing the fiercely competitive pressure of

the emerging economies of Asia.

Entrepreneurs from these countries have

decided that their comparative advan-

forGinG ahEadAnalysing the trends in Europe’s fast growth

tage lies in their expertise in sectors such as

biotech, electrical engineering or specialty

machinery. Other areas in which we see high

growth rates is in the design and production

of automotive and alternative energy tech-

nologies, as well as in consumer and luxury

goods. Alongside these companies have

appeared growing numbers of consulting and

IT firms catering specifically to these sectors

and drawing on the same human capital to

develop and expand.

The key ingredient to the success of these

companies, whether in life sciences, enginee-

ring, IT or consulting, seems to be the rich

human and intellectual capital available to

them. Although much has been said about the

ailments of the educational establishment in

Europe and more definitely needs to be done

to improve the risk taking nature of today’s

European university students, we continue

to see cutting edge European firms. It is by

harnessing these strengths that Europe’s 500

growth companies will be able to profit in

today’s global economy and become tomor-

row’s leaders.

Daniel J. Macias

[email protected]

5�

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 Opinion editor

The geographical diver-

sity of the companies that

make up this year’s list is

a clear representation of

Europe as a whole.

ENTREPRENEURS:

STARTYOURENGINES

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) – for entrepreneurs only – is a global community that enriches members’ lives through direct peer-to-peer learning, connections to experts and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.

We are the catalyst that enables Europe’s top entrepreneurs to learn and grow.

A global networkEO has chapters in eight European countries and 6,400 members in 41 countries worldwide.

For more information on EO or to apply for membership, visit www.eonetwork.org or call +1.703.519.6700. +49 30 280 998 31

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56

m a n a g e m e n t focus

In all likelihood a majority of small-

and medium-sized enterprise

owners and decision-makers have

asked themselves at least once “do

we really need to grow?” Asking

“what if we do not?” is not so

frequent. Neither all businesses nor

all entrepreneurs want to grow or

are capable of doing so. However,

in today’s flat and “small” world,

in a progressively more extensive global

community where the central differential

factor in comparison with other precedent

times of profound paradigmatic change

are the challenges that arise from the

speed of change and the level of inter-

connectivity, two main issues come into

view as possible consequences. One is

the most likely increase of the relative

vulnerability of the business vis-à-vis its

current and potential competitors as well

as in the eyes of its customers. The other

is the higher probability of a progressive

decline of the firm’s ability to respond

to market signals and innovate, thus es-

tablishing a negative dynamic that may

well lead to its exit from the market.

There are no identical companies.

Nevertheless, all businesses face the

same type of problems which go beyond

their size or their stage of growth, and

all are subject to big transformations as

they evolve. Companies may grow or

not, get into a high-growth period, expe-

rience transitory crises and stop growing,

and then grow again and experience

decline, more than once during their life

cycle. Also many companies spend long

periods in a stagnant or static situation.

A stagnant situation does not generate

any value, employment or wealth whatso-

ever. But it might well be an opportunity

for many companies to seek and find a

possible path to future growth. The fact

that a company shows low growth or no

growth during a long period of time does

not necessarily mean that it is not capable

of growing again in the future.

Whatever happens the reasons for not

growing may be multiple, ranging from

the lack of ambition of their owners or

decision-makers, to unfavourable condi-

tions in the market or segment where the

firm operates, or a limited management

team or the pressure of competition, etc.

Stagnancy cycles can be present in any of

the stages of development of a company.

But “not moving” during a lengthy period

of time may ultimately mean putting the

whole project on the edge of collapse (as

may be the case for a young company),

or to enter a stage of progressive decline

while others take advantage of the oppor-

tunities in the market (as may be the case

for more established companies).

The real problem with no growth or low

growth is that it is not a good strategy

in the long run. For most companies the

growth challenge is there to stay. There

is no a “supernatural” force that allows

a firm to grow and survive over time. In

practice firms have to be able to make

progress and grow if they intend to stay

in the market. Frequently this challenge

may develop into a reality check between

“grow or exit”, or even “grow for not

exiting”, depending on the firm’s context

and peculiarities.

Still for many young and established firms,

the “grow-or-go” trade-off, far from being

a di-lemma, can be —under determined

circumstances— an opportunity to study

an exit option through a sale process well

before being forced to “go” with low or no

sustaining GrowthSome managerial pitfalls to avoid *

57

focus m a n a g e m e n t

value at all. While there are many unambi-

guous reasons to grow, there may also be

many reasons to sell (often not sufficiently

distinguished or explicitly assumed by

the decision-makers involved). In the end

there is no such trade-off as grow or go

(or sell): if firms mean to grow, they should

be able to grow well, and if they mean to

sell, they should be able to sell well, but

what they should never do is both not

grow and not sell.

If we turn our attention to the manage-

rial challenges specifically connected to

high growth, we see that it is not only

tough to achieve but extremely difficult

to maintain. Leaving aside environmental

conditions, growth success is greatly

influenced by internal factors such as

strategy, access to resources, leadership

style and management approaches and

performance. While there is no unique

managerial approach to address this type

of problem, it is clear that high growth

calls for the need to accomplish substan-

tial transformations in structures, systems

and competences to deal with the high

complexity that is triggered in the organi-

zation as a result of this.

The literature on high growth firms’ attri-

butes and performance, particularly

focussing on the internal factors directly

affecting their capability to generate and

sustain fast growth, reveals that these

companies are especially effective in

addressing many of these difficulties. This

ca-pability is generally linked to factors

primarily associated with the profile of

their founders or management teams,

with particular business practices, with

specific organizational and culture attri-

butes of the firm, and with people mana-

gement. A first insight is that leading

a firm to rapid growth can be seen as

a management challenge equivalent to

other managerial challenges that deci-

sion-makers may face along a specific

development path.

In the end, sustainable and profitable

growth has little to do with management

fads and trends at certain points in time.

The observation of the experience of

many entrepreneurial firms in light of

high-growth forums and networks all over

Europe and much of the existing research

in the field point out the importance of

keeping focus on the creation of value

for shareholders, employees and clients

if companies want to meet their growth

dreams and sustain it over long periods

of time.

High-growth entrepreneurs know well how

to decipher the signals they receive from

their employees and their customers and

respond to their needs and wants. This

in turn leads to the creation of higher

value in the long run. They are masters in

combining a focused strategic business

approach with the ability to move fast

enough to take advantage of business

growth opportunities and address those

problems that may be a threat to the

firm’s sustainability in the long run. To

achieve it they pragmatically assess what

the existing businesses can deliver and

what level of management attention they

need, and they are simultaneously able

to perform a clear-headed assessment

High-growth entrepre-

neurs know well how

to decipher the signals

they receive from their

employees and their

customers and respond

to their needs and wants.

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* A full version of this article, “The ‘growth dream’: Challenges and managerial pitfalls to avoid” by Juan Roure and Luis Segurado, is to be published in Entrepreneurship in the Netherlands: Ninth Edition, EIM Business & Policy Research, 2006 (currently in press).

58

m a n a g e m e n t focus

of the opportunities that exist to enter

new businesses and to evaluate whether

these opportunities fit the firm’s existing

resources and capabilities.

However, while there are many good

examples of highly dynamic entrepreneu-

rial companies that have been able to

generate and sustain rapid growth, and

even to do so in a profitable manner, the

real story is they are the exception, not the

rule. The growth challenge takes place on

a continuum and companies move along it

at different speeds as a result of their stra-

tegic choices, the impact of the industry

structure or a combination of both. But in

any case, from an entrepreneurial mana-

gement perspective, it is as important to

recognize where the company actually is

along this development continuum as to

identify the kind of transformations that are

required at the personal and the organiza-

tional level to deal with the stage of growth

in question.

While it can be said that many exis-

ting businesses can not grow forever,

the perception is that a great number

of companies (often more than would

be desirable) are not able to achieve

their full growth potential. The observa-

tion, knowledge and information exchange

between high-growth firms in different

programs, forums and networks of entre-

preneurial dynamic en-terprises such as

the European Growth Plus Association or

the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, as

well as the contributions of some specific

research work and surveys based on diffe-

rent entrepreneurial firms, reveal that there

seem to be some managerial pitfalls that

may have an impact on the ability of firms

to follow the path to growth generation and

sustainability. Some of the observed highly

interconnected managerial deficits mostly

have to do with the lack of entrepreneu-

rial ambition, the lack of focus, the lack

of an internalized opportunity screening

process, the lack of a proactive growth-

driven approach to funding, the lack of a

superior management team, the lack of an

active governance system, and the lack of

a flexible approach for implementing new

growth options and ownership structures.

The chances for success of new growth

initiatives in any company are very

complex even when they are based on

the best business ideas. To accomplish

this successfully, high potential compa-

nies should move on a more conscious

self-assessment of managerial growth-

related fronts. They should start by asking

themselves how powerful their ambition

is to make that dream real, how focused

their business is while selectively explo-

ring new growth options, how effective

the tool in place to systematically screen

these opportunities on a regular basis is;

how completed and balanced the current

management team for growth is, how

active the governance process that adds

value to the strategic choices is; and

how flexible they are to approaching new

growth options other than organic growth

as well as different ownership structures

to implement them.

The real challenge for every company to

sustain growth over time lies in the ability

of either would-be directors or existing

corporate directors of growth firms to

avoid these managerial pitfalls and to

disseminate knowledge and best prac-

tices. In this sense the next Europe’s 500

Growth Summit to be held in May 2007

at IESE Business School in Barcelona is

certainly a promising platform to exchange

and gain knowledge and information on

these as well as other related topics

from high growth “practitioners” in Europe

directly. It will be also a good opportunity

to debate once more the importance of

quality entrepreneurship at the public

and private levels. Examples include how

to increase the social recognition of high-

growth entrepreneurial role models and

their contributions, how to further increase

the current alignment of policy-makers

and key social agents to lead the cultural

change needed, and how to enhance the

direct public support of entrepreneurial

high-growth networks and associations

in order to increase both the value of

the networks themselves and the value

and advice their members receive at all

levels (for example training in high-growth

practices, formal and informal forums of

“high growers”, mentoring and funding

sources, business transition and trans-

fers, local support services, corporate

(and family) governance, corporate entre-

preneurship, etc.).

Because of their real contribution to

employment and wealth creation, dynamic

entrepreneurial firms have become them-

selves a target of public policy agenda

of many countries in Europe. Others are

increasingly the object of policy-makers’

intention to integrate them as a signifi-

cant component of their entrepreneurship

policy. But entrepreneurial companies

can also be a highly effective tool to

spread a more conducive culture toward

entrepreneurship in society. In this regard

there still seems to be a long way to

go for both private and public layers in

terms of the building of the necessary

“intangible” infrastructure to bring cultural

change to fruition along with the more

“tangible” infrastructure already in place

in the policy agenda of many countries.

Exchanging knowledge, experiences and

information between high growth peers

appears to be a highly valuable tool in

attaining this decisive goal of continuing

cultural change.

Juan Roure

[email protected]

Because of their real

contribution to employ-

ment and wealth creation,

dynamic entrepreneurial

firms have become

themselves a target of

public policy

JUIN

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61

Learning m a n a g e m e n t

V irtually every

profession has a

support network;

an opportunity

to exchange

i n f o r m a t i o n ,

contacts, and

ideas; a chance

to compare notes

and worry aloud.

But top CEOs need something more—a

multilateral, mutually duty-bound group of

peers with whom they can talk frankly and

express ideas they might not be ready

to share with their senior management

teams. And these peers must be trus-

tworthy and discreet, experienced and

committed. A tall order? Perhaps.

But CEO-Collaborative Forum (CEO-

CF) founder Dave Darsch has done it

anyway. And done it well. His CEO-CF

groups bring together the chief execu-

tives of high growth companies across

the European Union. Darsch and partner

Lisa Macdonald accept members based

on their company and career profiles and

on their potential to offer maximum value

to the other participants.

This pan-European CEO network—the first

of its kind—gives some of the world’s most

dynamic chief executives a forum away

from the office to focus on vital goals with

world-class peers who have experienced

many of the same challenges. Members

discuss critical business issues, present

specific challenges, and integrate the

feedback into their strategies.

The basic concept of a CEO forum is not

new. More than 10,000 CEOs represen-

ting more than one million employees

and more than $300 billion in assets

participate in forums worldwide. In fact,

forums have a formidable track record.

Research shows that companies headed

by CEOs who belong to forums grow

at five times the average of small- to

medium-sized businesses headed by

non-forum CEOs.

What distinguishes CEO-CF is its refined

model. Darsch and Macdonald take

extraordinary care in the composition

of each of the three distinct groups that

comprise CEO-CF, working closely with

every member to understand individual

goals and the company’s outlook for

growth. They also make sure that no two

members are marketplace competitors.

The intimacy of the CEO-CF experience

is unique among such forums. Because

the groups are small and tight-knit—12 to

14 members in each—the bond between

members is strong. The foundation of the

CEO-CF model is the Member Challenge,

a specific issue that each CEO brings

to every forum meeting that receives

CEo-CoLLaBoratiVE forumThe EU’s fast lane CEOs find a valuable pitstop.

Research shows that companies headed by CEOs

who belong to forums grow at five times the average

of small-to medium-sized businesses headed by

non-forum CEOs.

Banking Awards

- Forex Trading Award

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www.market500.eu

The MARKET500.EU

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April 2007 edition

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62

m a n a g e m e n t Learning

a dedicated hour of intense discussion

within the group. It’s co-processing to the

twelfth power with an elite peer group.

“The best part of being a member of the

CEO Collaborative Forum is that we know

each other,” notes Rui Paiva, CEO of

WeDo Consulting based in Lisbon. “We

have forged a connection and a network

to exchange ideas.”

The forums sustain their impact between

face-to-face meetings with the CEO-CF

E-Forum™ and Mid Forum Connect™,

a global telephone connection during

which members make commitments

and provide assistance to one another.

These complimentary tools give Darsch

and Macdonald the ability to monitor

the needs of members and bring in

appropriate specialists to address the

groups during their three-day forums,

which take place every few months

in European locales like Mallorca and

Budapest.

Darsch describes CEO forums as having

multiple levels of value. “CEO-CF is a

component of the worldwide CEO forum

community, which is enhancing both

the knowledge and the collaborative

spirit of the international community of

chief executives. And CEO-CF offers an

invaluable lifeline to high-growth CEOs

across the EU. On an up-close and

personal level, the forum helps individual

CEOs design and develop strategy and

deliver results in a hyper-competitive

marketplace.”

of the members themselves. A full 30% have

experienced IPO exits. More than 25% appear

on the Europe 500 list of fastest growing compa-

nies. Many have been recognized by Deloitte’s

Fast 500 and have appeared on the Inc. 500

list. Several have won or were finalists in the

E&Y “Entrepreneur of the Year” program.

Darsch and Macdonald are able to deliver

value to these talented CEOs because they

are immersed in their world. Headquartered

in Barcelona, Darsch is an internationally

respected CEO, board member, business

consultant, and advisor and sits on the boards

of directors of several companies. He founded

and managed a privately held software company

in the Washington, DC area from 1979 until its

acquisition by a systems integrator in 1996. The

firm made the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing

companies in America and was widely reco-

gnized as one of the few firms in the high-tech

market to experience both explosive growth

and longevity without external capital.

Macdonald, based in the Washington, DC

area, is a management consultant for execu-

tive level human resources and healthcare

administration. With two decades of expe-

rience in the healthcare field, including human

resources, finance and clinical care, she

assists organisations with change manage-

ment, accelerated growth, and acquisitions

and mergers from a human relations pers-

pective. Her healthcare finance background

has benefited many member CEOs who are

targeting the US market for medical devices

or pharmaceuticals. To learn more about CEO-

CF, visit www.ceo-cf.com.

Murielle Delucinge

[email protected]

“While being in this CEO forum may not

help me predict the future, it allows me

to be able to see it better and be more

prepared for it.”

Marien van Ouwerkerk, mBalance,

Netherlands

“I am very satisfied with the dynamics

of the group—the opportunity to get to

know each other and discuss deep and

significant issues in such an open way

without hidden agendas. A lot of personal

learning has occurred that will impact my

company greatly. This is much more

powerful than a three-week session at

INSEAD. It is real life.”

Jeremy Goulding, ARTiSAN, UK

On an up-close and

personal level, the forum

helps individual CEOs

design and develop stra-

tegy and deliver results

in a hyper-competitive

marketplace.

High-growth, venture-backed CEOs face

intense pressure to deliver success,

Darsch says. “Giving them a forum desi-

gned just for them allows them to talk over

solutions with peers who are facing the

same challenges. It’s a lifeline many of

them have come to rely on.”

Participants attribute much of the value

of CEO-CF to the care, skill and passion

that Darsch and Macdonald invest in the

forums. “CEO-CF has done an outstan-

ding job putting together the group,” says

Nicolas Hassbjer, CEO of HMS Industrial

Networks AB in Sweden. “I am really

impressed by the combined knowledge

and experience of our team of CEOs.”

In this, Hassbjer raises one of CEO-CF’s

pivotal benefits—the world-class quality

HRS is Europe’s leading hotel portal.

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6�

h u m a n r e s o u r c e s recruitment

Traditional human

resources strategies

do not work! We

need to be proactive

and not reactive if

we are going to hire

A Players who give

us high ROI.

Top talented people

are true assets for our business and not

simply transactions; forget about the cost-

per-hire and start thinking about the ROI

of human capital you will get if you hire the

A Player. A Players hire more A Players; C

Players hire more C Players – what type of

company do you want?

In 1999 I started my research to educate

and help managers and executives

become more human-capital focused.

That is when I started to put the pieces

together of the Human Capital Lifecycle

(HCL). I started assessing top companies

around the world like Siebel Systems

founded by Tom Siebel, which was

growing rapidly and is quoted as one

of the fastest growing companies in the

world. I tracked Google from 1999, when

I met Sergey Brin, one of the co-founders,

at a technology forum in the UK.

What did these companies have in common?

How did they manage their human capital

and seem to hire A Players consistently

when their competitors struggled?

Looking at these companies less than

10 years later Siebel Systems broke the

billion dollar sales mark and then sold

out to Oracle – their biggest competitor.

As for Google, at the time of writing this

article, their share price broke USD 500

per share. I had a chance to meet with

Sergey Brin again at a conference in the

USA in 2005. This time I was shaking

hands with a young man who was worth

over USD 7.5 billion dollars, an amount

which has nearly doubled since then.

The Human Capital Lifecycle has fifteen

key elements in which the CEO of today’s

landscape needs to be actively involved

and manage in order to build a lean,

fast growing and prosperous long-term

company.

The first area is about creating a strategic

workforce plan and clearly understanding

the type of top talented people we need

short-term and long-term to achieve our

objectives and vision. Only after this is

complete can we then focus on other

elements like finding & identifying top

talent, attracting top talent and inter-

viewing top talent.

We will explore these three areas in future

issues of Market500. But for now let’s

first understand the difference between

A Players, B Players and C Players and

who you really want to hire. It all starts by

understanding the magic hiring formula-

T x E2. The first part stands for “Talent”.

Would you agree everyone is born with

some degree of talent? Some people

discover it from a young age, some later

on in life between the age of 45 to 55,

and some unfortunately keep it hidden

and never explore it or use it and then die

feeling unfulfilled.

Now what about the second part - E2?

Think about the most successful people

you know at all levels of a company, from

achievinG hiGh roi By hiring ”a” pLayErsAre you hiring A Players, B Players or C Players? Are you getting a significant return-on-investment (ROI) from your human capital?

65

recruitment h u m a n r e s o u r c e s

the receptionist to a senior manager. What

do all these people have in common?

What traits? What patterns? What beha-

viours? Whenever I am speaking at major

conferences or in-house seminars for

organisations, I ask these questions and

always get back different words from the

audience.

After reaching some 100,000 people over

the past five years, I would say that

there are over 1,000 words out their

that describe “success“. Most of the

words used are really describing a form

of “energy”. Determination, ambition,

hardworking, commitment, enthusiasm,

passion and positive are all forms of

energy, so the second part of our formula

summarizes all these traits with Energy2

or E2 meaning Energy traits and more

than one. So we have a final formula – T x

E2. Let’s see how this works with the three

types of players in the world.

the C Player is someone who has some

(+) (-) Talent but zero (-) (-) Energy2,

meaning they lack the self-motivation to

ever be successful. But you can some-

times see some glimpses of genius and

their talent. These people are the ones

you have to keep motivating and the

ones that never give you true ROI. In fact,

they always cost you more money. the B

Player is someone who has some (+) (-)

Talent, just like the C player, but has (+)

(+) Energy2 in abundance; they have lots

and lots of self-motivation and energy,

and sometimes work harder than anyone

else in the team as they know they don’t

have any serious talent or uniqueness.

I remember interviewing former world rally

champion, and he said he always felt like

a B Player as he always worked harder

than everyone else but felt others had

more talent than him – but he became

world champion. B players are great to

have in the company and can give you a

healthy ROI.

So what about the A players? the A Player

is someone who has discovered what their

true strengths are inner talents – I call

it their DNA – they have unleashed it! It

unleashes when someone has tried lots of

different jobs, tasks, projects and careers

and suddenly wakes up one day and

confirms to themselves that this is what

they are excellent at and what they want to

do – this thing gives them complete fulfil-

ment and personal satisfaction.

The A players have lots of (+) (+) Talent

and they have a tremendous amount of

(+) (+) Energy2. That is why these people

become the very best at what they do and

are in the top 3% of their profession. The

best sales people in the world are in this

player category, the best nurses, the best

drivers, the best researchers and the best

educators.

If we were to apply the 80-20 principle

to our player categories, then 80% of

the world’s population would fall into the

C Player category and the remaining

20% in the A and B Player category.

This means we have nearly 1.4 billion

people to choose from to find and

attract into our business who would give

us a great ROI.

The best companies I have seen are

achieving a minimum of 10x the salary

they are paying their employees. Imagine

paying EUR 20,000 and receiving back

EUR 200,000. This is the norm with hiring

A Players, as they have the potential

and capacity to do this. Now obviously

it depends on your type of business and

market place, and the margins that are

possible; however, saying all that I have

still seen A Players achieve miracles in

a market place which is tight or over

crowded with competitors.

So, from now on, get clear on the type of

players you want to be bringing into the

business. In future editions of Market500,

we will explore the other areas of the

Human Capital Lifecycle and how you

can effectively find, attract and interview

top talent. In the interim, if you have any

further questions or would like to enquire

more about this subject matter, expert

speeches and seminars, contact our

human capital management specialist,

Mr. Reg Athwal.

Reg Athwal

[email protected]

– +– – + +

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66

t e c h n o l o g y Ideas

I have always been impressed by

how good the US society is at

making people from all corners of

the world feel at home and see the

US as their new home - the land

of opportunity. Regardless of their

ethnic origin, skin colour or religious

beliefs, you will often hear them

say (regularly in broken English),

“I am proud to be American”. Have

you ever heard anyone say the same

in Europe? I have not. On the contrary,

I have heard third generation Swedes

maintain that they are Turkish or from

other ancestral origins.

In business the Americans also have some

interesting traits. There are optimists and

they often have an ability to think big. This

is especially true in the Internet industry.

From the birth of the Internet the Americans

have been taking the lead and the height

of ambition for most European entrepre-

neurs is to be bought by an American

competitor. During the dotcom boom we

were seduced by the new models and

ideas. We started measuring our e-matu-

rity in how many American products and

services we consumed rather than in how

many European products and services

we invented and produced. Then came

the downturn. Fortunes were destroyed,

along with the dreams they were backing.

Silence reigned. The media and investors

lost interest in the bruised and battered

industry and the Americans pulled back

their troops from the strange continent

with so many languages and strange

tribes.

In the meantime something happened. It

happened in the digital mines of Silicon

Valhalla in Scandinavia, and in the shar-

pest minds in the gaming and gambling

hub of Gibraltar, and in the waking

German web 2.0 scene. It happened in

the Mecca of mobile phones – Finland,

and in France where the blog movement

grew stronger with every blog post, every

comment, every user-generated opinion.

A new breed of European companies and

entrepreneurs (even though many of the

heroes of the dotcom boom are back with

new, even bolder ideas) started to surface

and the companies they have built are no

longer built on dreams or US blueprints.

They have innovative, often disruptive,

ideas. These ideas do not focus on hype

and fast cash, like the worst examples of

the dotcom boom did, but on making the

user a little bit happier or on “delight[ing]

the user”, as Skype puts it. They are

European, often global.

While building their companies, a new

European “ecosystem” started to evolve.

An ecosystem I believe will be one of the

most important cornerstones of Europe’s

digital future. In a not too distant future

most of us will be knowledge workers,

many of us even digital workers doing

such alien tasks as producing digital furni-

ture to sell in online worlds or pursuing

athletic careers in the booming digital

sports arena.

Companies like Skype, Spain’s WiFi

company FON, Germany’s openBC,

mobile content company Jamba, Finland’s

Habbo Hotel or Sweden’s free mobile

calls service Rebtel have started to beat

the incumbents as well as the Americans

at their own game. When serial-entre-

preneurs like the Sahmwer brothers in

Germany, French blogger Loic Le Mure,

Skype founder Nicklas Zenström and

many other successful European digital

entrepreneurs exchange ideas with new

entrepreneurs and each other, something

happens. It is the same thing that made

Silicon Valley so vibrant: entrepreneurial

zeitgeist giving birth to companies like

EuropE 2.0

French Netvibes who in no time gather

millions of Europeans and succeed in

making even the largest portals tremble.

Something significant is happening. We

are seeing a new Europe evolving, a

Europe focusing on Europe, European

entrepreneurs easily manoeuvring through

the diverse cultural landscape of Europe

while striking alliances and flirting with the

growing Asian titans, India and China.

They are leveraging the fact that Europe

is ahead of the game in mobile techno-

logy and they are bringing their network

of European companies with them. For

them the question “how can we Europeans

compete with the US” is as strange as the

opposite is for an American. This new breed

of European entrepreneurs will create jobs

and wealth, inspire and make life easier,

more fun and a lot of other things with their

ideas. Maybe over time they will also make

us all say, “I am proud to be European”.

Ola Ahlvarsson

[email protected]

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68

c a s e s t u d y Barceló

Spain-based Barceló

Group is a leading

international hotel

chain. It grew from

37 establishments

in 1995 to 108 in

2005. The Barceló

Group is a singular

case showing how

an exemplary family

succession — from second generation

to third generation — can turn itself into

a true agent for the transformation of a

family business’ entrepreneurial capabili-

ties in the face of growth challenges.

the origins of the company

In the early 1930s, with his personal

savings and the help of his parents,

Simón Barceló bought his first bus for 54

euros and started a regular public shuttle

service between Felanitx and Palma de

Majorca in Spain. By 1936, he had a

fleet of four buses. His sons started to

work with him in 1940, while they were

still going to school. By the end of the

1940s, the first tourists started coming

to the island and Gabriel and Sebastián

helped their father, driving buses for day

trips from Palma de Majorca. At the end of

the 1950s, the family business started to

focus on the travel and hotel businesses.

The first step on its route to becoming an

international hotel chain years later was

the development of the first resort-type

hotel in Spain. Since then the Group has

experienced extraordinary growth while

keeping it all in the family. The third gene-

ration of Barcelós is currently leading the

business – cousins Simón Barceló Tous

and Simón Pedro Barceló Vadell are at

the head of the group.

growth opportunity: the role of the

second generation

When their grandfather passed

away in 1958, his sons, Gabriel and

Sebastián Barceló, the parents of the

current leaders, inherited the family’s

businesses. This consisted of the bus

company and the tourist agency. Their

two sisters received properties that were

part of the family estate. The family

business was split equally between the

two brothers. Gabriel took charge of

the travel agency and Sebastián ran the

transport company.

The business grew rapidly in the 1960s,

favoured by the high influx of British

and German tourists. The capacity to

absorb this flow of people was far below

demand. This led the brothers to enter the

field of hotel management, while keeping

the travel agency as their main busi-

ness. Early in the decade they started

to develop an innovative hotel concept

in terms of the architectural design and

the multiple service format that led to the

building of the 360-room Hotel Pueblo in

Palma de Majorca. The hotel was opened

in 1966. Its concept was to a large extent

69

Barceló c a s e s t u d y

the precursor of a type of hotel that

would be adopted extensively a few years

later and which led to today’s “resort”

concept.

At the same time, the brothers created

Construcciones Arte, a building company

with Sebastián Barceló at its head. The

building company’s goal was to develop

its own hotels as opportunities arose,

thus reducing costs, building time and

investment requirements. One of the

few tourism groups with its own building

company, Barceló was able to develop

products and services that helped diffe-

rentiate the brand from its competitors

and at a reasonable cost.

In the early 1970s, Barceló consisted of

various hotels with a capacity of well over

2,000 rooms. At that time they also started

to deploy an opportunistic hotel acquisi-

tion policy. Ten years later, they had built

five additional hotels and had started the

first phase of the business’ international

expansion. The expansion was completed

in 1997 with the integration into the chain

of forty additional hotels worldwide.

A key milestone of Barceló’s entire busi-

ness growth over the last twenty years

has certainly been the construction of

the 400-room Bávaro Beach Resort

(currently Barceló Bávaro Beach) in the

Dominican Republican (Punta Cana), the

first hotel complex built by the Group in

the Caribbean. Operational since 1985,

the success of the Bávaro model led

the Group to explore opportunities in

other areas of the Caribbean (Costa Rica,

Nicaragua and Mexico). The Barceló

brothers have always preferred to clearly

lead their growth projects, maintaining

full ownership control at all times. The

integration of hotel construction in the

process has enabled them to reduce risks

associated with both costs and the design

of the final product, preserving the natural

environment while incorporating native

cultural elements.

faMiLy suCCEssion whiLE kEEping thE EntrEprEnEuriaL spirit aLiVE

unattainable Goals ? A profile of a family-owned hotel & travel business: The Barceló Group*

A key milestone of Barceló’s entire business growth

over the last twenty years has certainly been the

construction of the 400-room Bávaro Beach Resort

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™ Source: “The Barceló Group - Family succession while keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive: Unattainable goals?” Case study prepared by Juan Roure and Luis Segurado, IESE Business School, University of Navarre, Spain, 2006.

70


Passing the baton

By the mid-1990s, thanks to its active

investment policy, the company was

a diversified tourism group with hotel

businesses, retail and wholesale travel

agencies, transport companies, commu-

nications media, electrical components

and building companies. Traditionally,

the Group had created a company for

each the businesses and assets in which

it invested. This led to the existence of a

large number of companies.

In 1995, the company started to plan the

transition process, from the second to

the third generation. The transition was

planned to last between three and five

years and posed a serious challenge for

the family and the company’s leadership.

A Transition Board of Directors was

formed since at that time there were no

suitable coordination mechanisms in the

management structure or between the

company’s management and the family.

The transition took place during a period

of high growth for the company, with a

healthy financial situation and the Bávaro

project moving full speed ahead and

providing high returns.

The transition process was articulated

around the following premises: continue

with the Group’s professionalisation;

establish ownership distribution while

maintaining control of the Group’s mana-

gement among the three sons; increase

the responsibility of the third generation

as owners, leaving management of the

company to those who work in it, with the

exception of the two co-chairmen; and

design the exit of the second generation

from management. The transition to the

third generation was complete by June

2000 and included, among other things,

the approval of the holding company’s by-

laws. Also, the present co-chairmanship

was created, shared by the cousins,

Simón, Sebastián’s son, and Simón Pedro,

Gabriel’s son.

During the five-year transition period, the

Group had turnover growth of more than

45% generated by the hotels in the port-

folio, with EUR 670 million in revenues

in 1999. It had gone from 37 hotels in

1995 to just under 90 hotels in 1999, with

approximately 6,000 people employed in

the hotels, and gross earnings (EBITDA)

had increased eleven-fold between

1996 and 1999. Furthermore, significant

progress had been made in the compa-

ny’s structuring and professionalisation,

in its governing bodies and also in the

company-family relationship.

new growth approaches from the

third generation: growing through

partnerships

In the mid-1990s, the company was in

the midst of its transition process, with

the third generation implementing and

consolidating the Group’s expansion.

The main challenges facing the company

were to continue opening hotels in Latin

America and the Caribbean without

neglecting its expansion in the urban

hotel segment in Spain and opening new

travel agencies.

One of the biggest changes that took

place in the company was that of the

business model, from a vertical integra-

tion strategy within the tourism business

to a horizontal specialization focus on

the hotel management business, through

partnerships, if necessary, to improve the

Group’s competitive advantage in other

business areas. Thus they started to look

for European partners to grow the travel

and vacation hotel businesses at the end

of the 1990s.

Over more than one year, the top mana-

gement team analysed the different

options available to them within Europe

and decided to partner with First Choice

Holidays. First Choice was a leading

European tourism group, with a strong

presence in Canada and England, and was

listed on the London Stock Exchange. This

important strategic initiative concluded in

June 2000 with the integration of the

Barceló Travel Division (Viajes Barceló) in

the British group First Choice. However,

at the end of 2003, Barceló announced

that it was buying back the retail busi-

ness (327 retail travel agencies in Spain,

Portugal, Argentina and Mexico) from

the British company in a move intended

to avoid losing a significant presence in

the Spanish tourist market through the

travel agency network. The buyback of

Barceló Travel Division only involved the

travel retail business, and did not include

the destination services business, which

remained in First Choice’s hands.

The second significant strategic initiative

was related to the Group’s core business:

hotels. In 1998, the Group signed an

important expansion agreement, called

Grubarges, with the Spanish banking

group Argentaria (currently BBVA) and

the Spanish building group FCC. The

three companies formed an invest-

ment and management firm, with each

company owning one-third, which was run

by the Barceló Group. The operation was

designed to create Spain’s largest hotel

group by leveraging the complementary

competences of its promoters. Between

1998 and 2000, Grubarges invested EUR

670 million in purchasing existing hotels,

developing new hotels and improving

facilities, mainly in the US and Mexico.

The purchases and holdings obtained

through Grubarges enabled 29 hotels to

be added to the Barceló Hotels & Resorts

portfolio. In October 2003, Grubarges’s

During the five-year transition period, the Group had

turnover growth of more than 45% generated by the

hotels in the portfolio, with EUR 670 million in revenues

The second significant

strategic initiative was

related to the Group’s

core business: hotels.

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three partners announced the cancella-

tion of this cooperation project and the

company’s assets were put up for sale.

After the dissolution of Grubarges as

a holding company, in 2004 Barceló

entered into another “strategic alliance”

with FADESA, one of Spain’s leading real

estate companies, with the goal of deve-

loping hotel investment projects together.

The objective of the project was to operate

hotels developed by the property firm,

with Barceló having the option of mana-

ging them. By leveraging the projects

generated by the new real estate partner,

the alliance sought to ensure continued

growth in vacation hotels, urban hotels

and complexes with golf courses in two

locations that the Group had chosen as

priority areas.

From 1998-2000, the Barceló Group

experienced significant growth in urban

hotels, which grew at a similar rate to

vacation hotels. In 1997, only 30% of the

total number of the Group’s hotels was

urban hotels. The development of the

urban hotel segment was a priority goal in

Spain, Central and Eastern Europe, and

the US. The proportion of urban hotels in

the Group’s total hotel portfolio increased

to 42% by the end of 2004, mainly through

lease and management agreements since

this required fewer resources and the

hotels could be developed in less time.

Simultaneously the proportion of hotels

under minority interest was reduced

considerably, from 28% to 4% in the

same period with the aim of keeping full

or nearly full ownership particularly when

dealing with strategic assets.

Another of the Group’s initiatives in recent

years has been the acquisition of Crestline

Hotels & Resorts, a United States-based

hotel manager listed on the New York

Stock Exchange. Crestline was bought by

means of a tender offer and the company

was subsequently withdrawn from the

market. After the transaction, the firm was

merged with one of the Group’s subsidia-

ries (which managed Barceló’s hotels in

the United States), giving birth to Barceló

Crestline Corporation (BCC). In the United

States, the value chain in the hotel busi-

ness is clearly segmented, with specialist

companies and groups in each link of the

chain: ownership, branding, franchises

and management. A year and a half after

the creation of Barceló Crestline Corp

(BCC) and as part of a decided move to

increase its presence in the US market,

the Group took part, through BCC, in the

design and management of Highland

Hospitality Corp., a real estate invest-

ment trust which was listed on the New

York Stock Exchange, and purchased

4.5% of its equity for a total of USD 13.5

million. Four months after going public,

Highland had already purchased seven

hotels across the US for a total of EUR 165

million. Six of these were subsequently

managed by Barceló. Highland owns the

assets and Barceló Crestline manages

the hotels. The real estate trust formula

is widely used in the United States by the

large chains operating in the industry.

After 2000, with the new strategy and

management focus, a number of major

internal changes had been made to the

company. The main goal was to continue

improving the level of professionalisation

of the management team, create a more

decentralized organisation in decision-

making and optimise customers’ interac-

tions with the chain. The improvements

were focused particularly on key internal

processes, for example, certain aspects

of the company’s governance, human

resources, information systems, the

marketing function, brand development

and budgeting processes.

Brand development is an initiative that is

worth noting since the Group created a

new corporate image after spending more

than four years on its development. Thus,

three brands have been created: Barceló

Premium, bringing together the upmarket

hotels and resorts; Barceló, grouping

the urban hotels located in downtown

areas; and Barceló Comfort, bringing

together cheaper hotels which still offer

good quality for the price.

the results

With a turnover of more than EUR 1 billion,

and an EBITDA of more than EUR 80

million, the Group has become the third

largest Spanish international hotel chain

in hotel capability, and it holds 32nd

place in the world ranking of hotel chains

according to Hotels Magazine. The Group

operates in 15 countries on four continents,

with a total capacity of 30,000 rooms:

37% in Europe, 32% in Latin America and

the Caribbean; 25% in the United States,

2% in Asia and 4% in Africa. In Spain,

according to Hostelmarket, it holds fourth

place in turnover in the hotel business,

it is the second largest Spanish chain

in the Americas and the top Spanish

chain in the United States, the Dominican

Republic and Costa Rica.

The Group has grown from 37 hotels to

108, of which some 54% are held under

management or leased, 40% are fully

owned or the Group holds a minority inte-

rest, and 6% are franchised. The Group

is also the owner of one of Spain’s largest

travel agency networks, Barceló Viajes,

with more than 380 agencies.

Entering a new round of growth

Ten years after launching the family

succession process in 1995, the Group

has achieved a reasonable balance on

its vacation-urban hotel ratio, and has

accomplished significant geographic

From 1998-2000, the Barceló Group experienced

significant growth in urban hotels, which grew at a

similar rate to vacation hotels.

With a turnover of more than EUR 1 billion, and an

EBITDA of more than EUR 80 million, the Group has

become the third largest Spanish international hotel

chain in hotel capability.

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diversification in the hotel business, with

the United States and Europe as its main

markets. The Group now aims to add 44

hotels over a 2-3 year period to reach 152

hotels by 2007, with a planned investment

of EUR 230 million, and expects to reach

200 hotels by 2010.

The Group’s main challenges ahead are

to continue generating growth by optimi-

sing the mix between vacation and urban

hotels while maintaining an improved

balance between hotel ownership and

hotel management. It is a tough but chal-

lenging task that will require that the top

management make important strategic

choices on the basis of various alterna-

tive growth options, including: choosing

geographic areas in which to operate;

prioritising primary business areas,

whether vacation, urban or golf resorts;

what growth approaches to adopt,

whether organic by purchasing land and

building hotels or external development

by buying individual hotels or exploring

possible acquisitions of hotel chains.

To this is added the travel business,

consisting of the agency network, with

an expansion plan that has been under

way since 2004. The network currently

has 387 units, of which 307 are located in

Spain (45% franchised); 63 are business

travel outlets managed through Barceló

Business World; and 12 are destination

services agencies and international fran-

chises in Portugal, Argentina and Mexico,

with the highest portion of the revenues

(+85%) generated in Spain and the rest

in Portugal, Argentina, Mexico and the

Dominican Republic. The Group’s biggest

travel business challenge for the next few

years is deciding whether to continue

growing the network abroad or to explore

a merger. Whatever the decision, the

challenges are significant but the poten-

tial rewards are promising.

Case study prepared by Professor Juan

Roure and Juan Luis Segurado,

Researcher, as a basis for class discus-

sion. IESE-University of Navarre


The Group’s biggest travel business challenge for

the next few years is deciding whether to continue

growing the network abroad or to explore a merger.

International Lifestyle City Magazines

Become a franchisee in your city !

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76

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 growth summit

Enhancing the business environment

This is already happening in some parts

of Europe and was recognised at the

last Growth Summit in November 2005

in Barcelona by the presentation of a

special award for enhancing the business

environment to Austrian Finance Minister

Karl-Heinz Grasser. Austria was singled

out for successfully managing to lower

its budget deficit, reduce unemployment

and increase growth while at the same

time lowering taxes – all achieved despite

strong competition from neighbouring

low wage Eastern European countries.

Europe’s 500 special award is presented

annually to a European politician who is

judged to have significantly improved

the economic climate. It also serves to

highlight the necessity of sharing best

practice between European countries.

2005: Climate change

One of the key topics addressed at the

last Growth Summit in November 2005

in Barcelona was climate change - what

it means for the economy and what chal-

lenges and opportunities it will provide for

entrepreneurs. Former US Vice-President

Al Gore delivered a powerful keynote

speech on the perils of disregarding the

effects of climate change, a forerunner

of the message he has since delivered

to a global audience through his film

An Inconvenient Truth. Climate change

is at the top of the political agenda

worldwide, even in the US where it had

been controversially sidelined until now.

It is increasingly clear that solar and wind

energies and alternative fuels will be the

booming markets of the future, a view

reinforced by the results of this year’s

Europe’s 500 Listing of the best perfor-

ming European growth companies, which

saw an increased number of renewable

energy companies ranked among the

top 20.

The Summit aims to identify and address

current and upcoming trends and give

greater awareness of their economic

impact. The conference format, consis-

ting of a main topic, learning from the

best and workshops on current priori-

ties, offers a forum for the discussion

and generation of political recommenda-

tions and improvements at both the EU

and regional levels, driven by a policy

committee. Participating entrepreneurs

EuropEan growth suMMit

2007 Growth is eastOn 18 May 2007 in Barcelona, Europe’s 500 will hold its annual conference on growth strategies and policies in conjunction with IESE Business School.

grwoth summit e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

can study opportunities such as public-

private partnerships, European funding

and public tenders, and can also contri-

bute their experience and improvement

ideas to the European Commission. This

enables them to combine corporate social

responsibility, individual business inte-

rests and high level contacts.

2007: growth is East

The main topic of the 2007 European

Growth Summit will be Growth is East.

There have been many conferences

already about India and China, but this

summit will address the whole Eastern

European/Asian potential for European

entrepreneurs. The emerging regions are

not only China and India, but also Russia

and Eastern Europe. Several Austrian

companies in the service sector have

recognised this opportunity earlier than

their peers, in banking and real estate to

mention just two examples.

High-level speakers from India such as

Lakshmi Mittal are invited. From Russia

we expect the Finance Minister of the

Moscow Region to give an insight into

Russia’s business situation and opportu-

nities and to inspire entrepreneurs to seek

support to enter the market. There will be

a perspective on China from insiders who

are successful and there will of course be

the new winners of the Europe’s 500 Listing

from the Eastern European countries.

Renewable energy is still only at the early

stage of demonstrating its potential for

huge upward growth and will allow plenty

of opportunities for entrepreneurs who

participate in this sector to help tackle

the most urgent problems of our planet.

It will be a key topic at the May summit

and an apt opportunity for follow-up from

the wake-up call that Al Gore gave us last

year and through his film.

Highlights of the 2007 Summit will

include:

• Europe’s 500 – Learning from the Best:

the winners present their breakthrough

strategies

• The regions: Eastern Europe–Russia–

India–China

• Perspectives from top entrepreneurs

and politicians

• The growth opportunities: renewables

and CO2 reduction

• The mega growth trend? Viewpoints

from experts and entrepreneurs

• Workshops on growth financing–inno-

vation–education–PPP

• EU – enterprise policies / Europe’s 500

initiatives

• Opportunities for entrepreneurs,

politicians and students to network and

exchange ideas

To register your interest and to receive

programme updates, please contact Petra

Stadler at [email protected],

or visit www.europes500.com.

By Martin Schoeller, President, Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth

Former US Vice-President Al Gore (right) at the 2005 European Growth Summit with Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Senior Vice-President, The Boston Consulting Group and Martin Schoeller, President of Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth

Much as

the World

Economic

Forum in

Davos has

b e c o m e

the premier

a n n u a l

platform for

discussing

global economic trends, the European

Growth Summit allows political leaders

and growth entrepreneurs to come

together to address the key issues of

economic growth and job creation in

Europe.

Europe is lagging behind the United

States and is struggling to meet the

challenge set by the European Council at

Lisbon in 2000 to become a single, highly

competitive market that will deliver “more

and better jobs” in Europe by 2010. These

Lisbon Agenda targets are still far from

being met and in order to deliver jobs

and growth, Europe’s entrepreneurs, poli-

tical leaders and experts need to share

best practice and successful strategies,

network and learn from each other. MA

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78

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 history

In the 1970s Professor David Birch,

an economist at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT) in the

US, was conducting research into

the life cycle of companies and

found to his - and policy-makers’

- surprise that of the 25 million

companies in the US, only 12,000

had more than 500 employees. He

also discovered that new compa-

nies created 90% of all the new jobs in

the US.

Over the next 10 years he refined his research

and discovered that a tiny 3% of these new

small companies created more than three-

quarters of all the new jobs and were key to

the US economy’s growth. He called them

“gazelles”. Professor Birch’s research was

hugely influential in helping to change the

focus of government policy towards entre-

preneurs and how they were tracked, ranked

and taught about by universities.

In Europe, the picture was not as clear, so

in 1987 a group of European Harvard alum-

ni decided to found EFER, the European

Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research,

to focus on supporting academia to carry

out case studies of entrepreneurs. EFER’s

profile was boosted at the annual World

Economic Forum in Davos, attracting the

support of McKinsey, Deutsche Bank, Rabo,

European Venture Capital Association and

many successful entrepreneurs. In addition,

several leading business schools, including

IESE, IMD, LBS, Imperial College, Harvard

and INSEAD supported annual research

and conferences.

However, it was not until 1995 that the

idea for an annual listing of Europe’s

fastest growing companies – to be known

as Europe’s 500 – crystallised, following

a challenge to EFER from the European

Commission’s Directorate-General for

Enterprise: where were Europe’s gazelles?

EFER, together with DG Enterprise, Ernst

& Young and Europe Unlimited, carried

out a search to find the fastest growing

enterprises in Europe and used Professor

Birch’s Employee Growth Index as the

ranking tool.

Once the 500 winners had been selected,

a conference was held at Ghent University

(Belgium) in 1996 to highlight their achie-

vements and discuss the key challenges

facing growth entrepreneurs in Europe,

including raising capital, succession (in

family-run businesses) and the functio-

ning of the stock market.

Since 1996, the Europe’s 500 Listing has

been published annually and the winners

recognised at an awards ceremony and

gala dinner held each November in a

different European capital.

An annual conference – the European

Growth Summit - is held separately to

focus on key trends and topics affecting

growth entrepreneurs, and a series of

Roundtables for Growth have been esta-

blished with senior officials from EU insti-

tutions and national governments to help

develop policies which will foster the best

business environment. EFER concentrates

on training teachers in entrepreneurship

and research into the role of SMEs and

gazelles in driving jobs and growth.

a short history of europe’s 500

To mark the 10th anniversary of Europe’s 500, its two co-founders Dr Bert Twaalfhoven (left), Chairman of Twaalfhoven Group and the European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER), and Juan Roure, Professor of Entrepreneurship at IESE Business School, Barcelona, were presented with special commemorative silver plates by Association President Martin Schoeller at the 2006 Europe’s 500 Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner held at the Hofburg in Vienna.

As the only pan-

E u r o p e a n

organisation

p r o m o t i n g

the interests

of the EU

for more

E u r o p e a n

g r o w t h

e n t r e p r e -

neurs, Europe’s 500, the association for

growth entrepreneurs, launched its first

Roundtable for Growth in March 2004.

The aim is to provide a practical and

informal forum for growth entrepreneurs

and senior officials from EU institutions

and national governments to identify the

EU policies and regulatory initiatives that

are stifling growth entrepreneurship and

measures which could improve the busi-

ness environment.

At the first meeting with Erkki Liikanen in

March 2004 and the second in December

2005 with European Commission

Vice-President Günter Verheugen, the

discussions centred on growth entre-

preneurship opportunities and the chal-

lenges faced by the dynamic mid-cap

businesses in Europe - in particular,

innovation and growth financing, the

single EU market and existing barriers

to pan-European entrepreneurship, and

entrepreneurial education and mindset

in Europe. The entrepreneurs present at

these meetings represented companies

with around 500 employees – the ones

creating most of the growth and jobs in

Europe.

The 2006 Roundtables were held with

Graham Meadows, Director-General

of DG Regional Policy in the European

Commission and Prof. Danuta Hübner.

With a budget of over 300 billion €

for 2007-2013 - the second biggest in

the EU – the key objective of the EU’s

recently reformed regional policy is to

identify Community priorities for delivering

more growth and jobs throughout Europe

through the use of its structural and cohe-

sion funds. The Roundtable discussed

ways in which structural funds could be

used to promote growth entrepreneurship

and innovation in Europe and concrete

proposals are being followed up.

Further Roundtables are planned and if

you are interested in joining or want to

learn more about future activities, please

contact Frédéric Soudain at roundtable@

europes500.com or phone him on +32

2 639 6235.

promotinG thE right poLiCy fraMEwork for growth and joBs at thE Eu LEVEL

Günter Verheugen (left), European Commission Vice-President in charge of enterprise and industry, speaking at the second Europe’s 500 Roundtable for Growth in December 2005, with Martin Schoeller, President of Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth.

Danuta Hübner, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, presenting the Europe’s 500 awards 2006 in Vienna.

79

roundtable e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

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that there could be much more growth

in Europe if the political and economic

conditions only allowed it. I am parti-

cularly critical of “old Europe” attitudes

which hamper competitiveness through

bureaucracy, the lack of a pioneering

or entrepreneurial spirit and a raft of

political measures constraining business

decisions. At the same time, Europe is

not sufficiently conscious in its dealings

with the developing world of the need

to defend or demand the same social

and environmental standards which have

been established here. Development aid

alone is not enough. Specific measures

and links to international trade policy

are also needed. This would motivate

more entrepreneurs in medium-sized

businesses to reach for sustained growth

in Europe as well. Just look at America,

where innovation and growth rates in

medium-sized businesses are many times

more dynamic than in Europe.

However, Europe’s 500 is not interested

in joining the blame game about who

is responsible for the problems of the

European economy: bureaucracy, protec-

tionism, inflexible labour markets and

a lack of tax incentives. The public is

fed up with hearing this and seeing the

snail’s pace of reform. It is more impor-

tant that growth entrepreneurs contribute

to solving the problems: Europe’s 500

focuses on contributing concrete propo-

sals which will make a real difference

towards helping businesses grow.

With this objective in mind, we bring

together entrepreneurs, politicians and

policy experts at an annual European

Growth Summit (see article on p.76)

to discuss upcoming trends and their

economic impact and work out prac-

tical proposals for improving the busi-

ness environment. In addition, Europe’s

500 organises regular Roundtables for

Growth between growth entrepreneurs

and senior EU and national policy-makers

to discuss specific policy measures

affecting them and to suggest ways of

fostering more entrepreneurial activity in

Europe. (See article on p.79 for further

information).

Europe’s 500 is currently working on five

main initiatives:

1. Growth financing

2. Innovation

3. Non-wage labour costs and a part-

time labour model

4. Trade with the developing countries

(Fair Wages)

5. Entrepreneurship education.

1. growth financing

This is an area where Europe’s 500 sees

a big need for action, especially since

the introduction of Basel II (the standards

governing the capital adequacy of inter-

nationally active banks). In reality this

has complicated the supply of credit to

medium-sized businesses and private

equity is not an adequate alternative

as this mostly leads to the sale of the

company after a few years.

We want to encourage a credit insurance

system which would provide, in return

for an annual risk fee, a reliable rating

system for medium-sized companies and

a bank or insurance guarantee to back

investment bank loans. This solution can

be entirely sustained by the private sector

and would remove a huge brake on

growth.

2. innovation

In Europe a patent costs about 20 to 30

times as much as in the United States.

Currently a new patent has to be legally

registered in each European country of

operation. This is time-consuming, costly

and acts as a huge deterrent to innova-

tion in Europe. Not surprisingly, invention

rates lag far behind the level in the US

and this has a trickle-down effect on

overall economic growth.

Our suggestion is obvious: there should

be a single European-wide patent which

requires only one application and regis-

tration fee in the whole of Europe. Patents

should only be issued in English to avoid

costly and time-consuming translations

and there should be a central court of

arbitration in Europe to rule on possible

infringements.

3. non-wage labour costs

Statistics show that countries with low

unemployment rates in Europe have a

higher proportion of part-time employment.

Despite this, politicians in the countries

with the highest unemployment rates -

Germany, France, Italy – so far have done

very little to enact changes in their labour

markets to facilitate greater flexibility.

More part-time employment means that

the same available paid work (in hours)

gets allocated to more individuals. So

what is needed is an incentive for the

economy as well as for the employee to

offer more part-time employment and for it

to be more socially acceptable. Europe’s

500 recommends that the burdensome

non-wage labour costs, which cripple

competitiveness in many countries, be

reduced massively for part-time employ-

ment, for example by 80%. The conse-

quence would be that:

a) two part-time jobs would cost the

employer less than one full-time job.

b) the employee with two part-time jobs

could earn net more than in one full-time

job.

We recognise, of course, that not every

employee would look for two part-time

jobs, either preferring a more family-

friendly arrangement whereby one parent

works full-time and the other part-time, or

because they choose to devote the other

half of their time to personal projects or

unpaid community or volunteer work.

The savings in unemployment benefits

could be used to cover the missing

contribution to social costs. A portion

of unemployment benefits would need

to be maintained for part-time workers

to make part-time work more favourable

to staying unemployed. This would also

help in the detection of those unem-

ployed who are unwilling to work and

those who abuse the system. Such a

measure would not only achieve one of

today’s key political goals – reducing

unemployment – but would also bring

about a reduction in working costs per

hour (at higher net earnings), thereby

increasing competitiveness in those

countries that adopted this system,

which in turn would lead to higher

growth and more employment.

4. international trade and Social

Standards

One of the most challenging problems

facing the world today is the wholesale

relocation of jobs from high-wage to

low-wage economies and the parado-

xical high poverty levels which persist

in these low-wage countries. Europe’s

500 questions the predominant opinion

that the most liberal form of globalisation

automatically leads to the best results.

It cannot be good for our world that a

business can replace employees who

are provided with a social safety net

with cheap unprotected labourers while

simultaneously avoiding tougher environ-

mental regulations.

When we see the success of the 2006

Europe’s 500 entrepreneurs from the new

EU member states and simultaneously

see how much bigger the growth is in the

eastern European countries rather than

in western Europe, this is not just due,

in our opinion, to the huge potential for

catching-up that existed in those coun-

tries’ economies, but also to their adoption

of EU norms in social and environmental

standards which the EU demanded from

all accession countries.

Europe’s 500 is working on a proposal

for the EU to link a step-by-step adoption

of social and environmental standards

by developing countries to their admis-

sion to the marketplace. These coun-

tries are often overburdened and tend to

react exclusively to the demands of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and

the World Bank, which focus too much on

savings measures, budget deficits and

combating inflation. It is also worth noting

that democracies do not automatically

develop the know-how or possess the will

needed to introduce social systems and

environmental systems into a country. In

actual fact, it is the one-party, virtual dicta-

torships like Singapore, China and Russia

which introduce social development much

more forcefully and efficiently.

We encourage the EU to reward those

developing countries which are willing to

adopt the requisite social and environ-

mental measures – to let them “join the

club” - and gain trade benefits in Europe.

Those countries that do not adopt such

measures could be prevented from being

able to use their cost advantage to adver-

sely affect trade in Europe, thereby slowing

the impetus for relocation to low-cost coun-

tries and contributing to the fight against

poverty by encouraging salary levels to

increase to drive domestic demand. This

would also result in the export of more

technical know-how and machinery from

Europe to developing countries as their

domestic economies grow and reduce

their reliance on export trade with deve-

loped countries which has heavy addi-

tional costs, such as transport.

5. Entrepreneurship Education

In collaboration with the European

Foundation for Entrepreneurship

Research (EFER – www.efer.nl) of

Dr. Bert Twaalfhoven, Europe’s 500

supports the initiative on entrepre-

neurship education in universities.

Compared to the US, our universities

concentrate exclusively on the teaching

of management. Management starts in

principle where there is something to

administer and to enhance, the entre-

preneur starts with a blank sheet but

constantly creates new solutions and

processes which have to be managed

afterwards. Where entrepreneurship is

taught as a subject at business schools,

more entrepreneurship in that country

follows – this is certainly the case in

the US and is noticeably deficient in

Europe.

Europe’s 500 board of directors, all of

them entrepreneurs who have quali-

fied at least once for the Europe’s 500

listing, as well as a professor of entre-

preneurship, bring their experience and

know-how to these initiatives. Joining me

on the board are Dave Darsch, founder

of the CEO Collaborative Forum (Spain),

Jordi Galles, Chairman, Europastry

(Spain), Declan Ganley, Chairman and

CEO, Ganley Group (Ireland); George

Gerardos, President, Plaisio Computers

(Greece); Dominique Louis, Chairman,

Assystem (France); Professor Juan

Roure, Professor of Entrepreneurship,

IESE Business School (Spain); Dr Ulrich

Schwanengel, Managing Director,

Consol (Germany); Hendrik teNeues,

teNeues publishing company (Germany);

Roger Tondeur, President, MCI Group

(Switzerland); and Dr Bert Twaalfhoven,

Chairman, Twaalfhoven Group, and EFER

(Netherlands).

Europe’s 500’s activities are supported by

sponsors who currently include KPMG,

Microsoft, Coface, HKB, Sal. Oppenheim,

Schoeller Industries and The Boston

Consulting Group.

By Martin Schoeller, President of Europe’s

500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth

80

e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0 letter from the President

continued from page 3

(from left) Professor Juan Roure, Jean-Paul Thill, KPMG’s CEO EMA, Alejo Vidal-Quadras MEP and Martin Schoeller at the European Growth Summit held at IESE Business School, Barcelona in November 2005.

81

letter from the President e u r o p e ’ s 5 0 0

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i n v e s t i n g mid-cap

Pointing at the wide

dispersion of returns

between top and bottom

quartile managers, Yale

University’s endowment

fund star manager David

Swensen shows that mid-

cap stocks constitute

an inherently inefficient

market. The inefficiency

of mid-cap stocks comes from many well-

know factors: relatively reduced scrutiny

from investors and brokers, less readily

available information and the more frag-

mented nature of the market itself. Over

the last few years however, you did not

need to beat the index to do very well.

Just buying it would have generated very

hefty profits for your portfolio. Not unlike

early 2005, many strategists were quite

pessimistic in early 2006 about the pros-

pects for mid-cap European stocks. They

have been proven wrong again, and 2007

could well be a replay of 2006.

We are now in a continuing six-year cycle

of out-performance relative to European

large caps. According to the Euro STOXX

Mid 200 Index, the returns on European

mid-caps in 2006 outperformed the Euro

STOXX Large 200 Index by about 11%,

with returns rising by 24%, and despite

a sharp correction in May. Valuations are

becoming somewhat rich: in the UK, the

FTSE 250 is trading on prospective p/e of

13.9 times 2007 earnings while the FTSE

100 is rated at 11.8 times. Despite rela-

tively high valuations, large institutional

investors, including pension funds, have

been increasingly interested in raising

their exposure to mid-cap stocks in order

to generate additional alpha from equities

markets. Should they do it themselves by

buying direct holdings or via a specia-

lized fund is they key question. Because

mid-caps are inherently a specialist’s

market, in which you typically want to

spread your risk across many positions

rather than concentrate it on just a few

bets, most investors usually decide to use

pooled investment vehicles rather than

pick individual securities directly.

The secular case for mid-cap investing

is clear: there are over 1,000 mid-cap

companies in Europe, so it is always

possible for managers to find the diamond

in the rough. Ignoring that segment of the

market may result more risky than not

ignoring it. Most mid-cap companies are

only in one business so an investment

in their stock is quite pure. Also, several

emerging businesses such as renewable

energy can only be found in mid-cap

land. In general, stock pickers point out

that mid-sized companies can grow as

quickly as small ones and faster than big

ones. Unlike small companies however,

mid-size outfits tend to have established

products and proven track records of

generating earnings. These last two attri-

butes can make mid-size companies

“prime” candidates to be acquired by

big ones. Managers also like the fact that

mid-size companies’ top executives make

themselves more accessible.

There are many reasons to believe that

mid-cap stocks could continue to do very

well in 2007: 1) it is a class with higher

expected returns (and risk) compared to

large caps, 2) investors continue to have

a big appetite for risk as witnessed by

the current tight credit spreads, 3) M&A

activity has been and is forecast to remain

very strong, 4) the current economic

thE Mid-Cap wayInvesting in a medium-sized, European company

8�

mid-cap i n v e s t i n g

cycle has proven its resilience and its

longevity is not in doubt for the moment,

and 5) mid-size businesses tend to be

more domestic so they are hurt less by a

weaker dollar.

Another supporting factor put forward

by mid-cap bulls is simply demand. It

could continue to be very strong as many

investors have missed the rally because

the large investment firms advising them

have in general a poor mid-cap product

offering. Indeed, large firms looking after

vast pools of money typically do not find

it economical to focus on a market which

is relatively small compared to the assets

they manage. Boutique investment firms

and their clients have profited the most

from the boom in mid-cap stocks and

they are now attracting the interest of

large institutional investors, no longer just

private money. Most importantly maybe,

private equity sponsors are raising

records amount of cash and, as can be

seen by the record level of transactions,

it is becoming more and more appealing

for many public companies to be owned

by focused, professional investors with a

long-term industrial view rather than see

their stock go up or down according to

next quarter’s earnings or the unpredic-

table and volatile mood of stock market

investors.

The fact that the ECB is raising rates at

a reasonable pace could be interpreted

as a positive sign for mid-caps since

it signals confidence about economic

growth. The risk of course is that monetary

policy becomes too aggressive and that

growth slows abruptly in 2007; that would

be particularly bad for mid-cap compa-

nies indeed as they have fewer different

revenue streams than large caps.

It is not certain either that the mid-cap

sector will continue to be a happy hunting

ground for managers: valuation anoma-

lies are becoming harder and harder to

unearth as the mid-cap space attracts

every-increasing attention. The days

of finding a dull but worthy industrial

company that is deeply undervalued are

waning. It is difficult to imagine a mid-

cap stock that has not been sized up

by hedge funds, private equity houses,

trade buyers and a rising number of

more active, traditional fund managers.

Almost all carry out computerized, quan-

titative screening of stocks to seek out

bargains on the basis of financial ratios

and earnings performance. Many also

employ the tactics of traditional stock

pickers to seek out primary information

such as scouring trade publications and

talking to suppliers. Finally, another risk

for investors is to invest in large-cap

managers disguised as mid-cap ones.

Indeed, many mid-cap managers have

seen massive asset inflows of late, trig-

gered by their recent historical success.

They could slowly be tempted to drift

towards investing in large-cap stocks for

liquidity reasons and there is a risk that

their performance could become more

index-like, which would mean of course

that their management fees would no

longer be justified (a little like beta mana-

gers pretending to be providers of alpha,

in order to charge higher fees). Investors

beware!

Nicolas Sarkis

[email protected]

360

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320

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300

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280

270

260

440

420

400

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360

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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2006

Dj Euro Stoxx Mid Dj Euro Stoxx Large

There are many reasons

to believe that mid-cap

stocks could continue to

do very well in 2007.

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Small Companies FranceAAZ Challenger 12.61 78.84 ** AAZ Finances EUR 13.72AEden France Croissance 14.73 84.33 62.74 ** KBL France XFR 30.58AXA France Small Cap C 30.56 129.42 91.73 ***** AXA XFR 199.49AXA France Small Cap C 30.56 129.42 91.73 ***** AXA XFR 199.49BMM France PME P 18.46 86.62 70.55 *** Banque Martin Maurel XFR 24.14BNP Paribas Smallcap France C 24.64 110.47 83.55 ***** BNP Paribas XFR 79.29Boscary Mont-Blanc Sélection 37.13 110.25 **** Financière Boscary EUR 26.31Cambacérès Risques 24.18 102.89 51.27 *** Credit Mutuel Nord Europe EUR 10.13Cambon Ventures 14.31 57.58 7.67 * Chaussier Gestion XFR 5.94Centrale Actions Avenir 13.88 69.57 91.02 * CCR XFR 105.6CFD Small Caps 12.17 CFD Capital Management EUR 1.85CFD Small Caps 12.17 CFD Capital Management EUR 1.85Chaussier Croissance 16.13 81.02 69.75 ** Chaussier Gestion XFR 18.9CIC Euro Opportunités 25.48 87.41 30.16 *** CIC XFR 279.31CIC Nouveau Marché 12.56 68.26 -10.36 ** CIC XFR 13.83CIC Sud-Est 21.17 84.39 76.09 ** CIC XFR 59.91Cogefi Carpe Diem 5.4 53.91 -6.47 * Cogefi XFR 3.39Cogefi Prospective 9.6 61.86 10.14 * Cogefi EUR 14.46Découvertes 10.31 75.82 95.36 ** HSBC Private Bank France XFR 42.02Dexia France Small Caps C 20.54 102.26 89.9 **** Dexia Asset Management XFR 10.86Dexia France Small Caps C 20.54 102.26 89.9 **** Dexia Asset Management XFR 10.86Dexia France Small Caps C 20.54 102.26 89.9 **** Dexia Asset Management XFR 10.86Digital Funds Stars France 23.14 UBS Third Party Management Co S.A. EUR 25.33Echiquier Junior 10.62 59.13 83.76 * Financière de l’Echiquier XFR 178.92Fortis France PME 21 84.66 101 *** Fortis Investments XFR 32.33France Futur C 24.45 100.83 63.52 **** BFT XFR 108.45France Futur C 24.45 100.83 63.52 **** BFT XFR 108.45Fructi France Microvaleurs 1.42 Banques Populaires EUR 19.57Fructi France Smallcap 14.62 61.6 -7.66 * Banques Populaires XFR 27.05Generali France Small Caps 22.26 100.36 100.32 **** Generali Fin. EUR 49.74HSBC Small Cap France 26.36 122.46 101.8 ***** HSBC Investments XFR 163.68IDE France Dynamisme 26.59 71.58 125.14 ** Investisseurs ds l’Entreprise XFR 83.66IXIS Médianes 17.53 91.8 74.89 *** IXIS Asset Management XFR 186.69LFI PME 11.44 106.37 59.93 **** Portzamparc XFR 4.59MCA France 16.81 62.81 50.24 * MCA Finance XFR 7.26MG Nouveau Marché C 13.59 68.65 -11.53 ** Muta Vie XFR 8.72MMA Perspectives 25.26 103.25 45.75 **** MMA XFR 147.76Moneta Micro Entreprises C 34.59 122.03 ***** Moneta Asset Management EUR 122.1Objectif Small Caps France 13.74 78.76 91.69 ** Lazard Freres Gestion XFR 189.52Palatine France Midcap 16.49 95.55 35.72 **** Banque Palatine XFR 121.26Palatine France Small Cap 6.01 73.22 -11.1 ** Banque Palatine XFR 14.52Pluvalca France Small Caps 27.16 103.9 121.96 *** Financiere Arbevel XFR 31.17Robeco Small Cap France 4.95 64.45 36 * Banque Robeco XFR 20.95RP Sélection Mid Cap 13.84 115.1 156.92 **** SPGP EUR 101.15Saint Germain Opportunités 8.85 43.76 40.3 * Banque Privee Quilvest XFR 9.13Saint Honoré PME 19.53 95.12 90.87 *** Cie Fin. Rothschild XFR 89.45SGAM Invest France Sm. Cap C -0.31 55.05 -9.58 * Societe Generale XFR 76.12Siparex Small Cap Value 30.84 140.3 221.79 Siparex XFR 151.73Trusteam Microgarp 11.52 TrusTeam Finance EUR 7.57Vendôme Sélection 25.11 91.89 64.99 *** BGPI XFR 170.77Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.

Small Companies italyLeonardo Small Caps 17.4 58.8 52.72 Leonardo SGR S.p.A. XEC 41.3Optima Small Caps Italia 24.43 71.97 72.89 Optima SGR S.p.A. EUR 43.96Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.

* Since Launch Performance figures are calculated in fund base currency.

Small Companies netherlandsABN AMRO Small Comp Neth Fund 39.89 168.03 183.26 ABN AMRO Investment Management Funds BV XNL 126.1Orange Fund 41.2 154.56 118.05 Kempen Capital Management XNL 141.22Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.


Small Companies ukAbbey Natl Smaller Companies 25.84 87.49 36.85 ** Abbey National UT Managers GBP 27.98Aberdeen UK Emerg Cos A Acc 29.41 77.89 51.23 ** Aberdeen Unit Trust Managers GBP 186.54Aberforth UK Smaller Cos 29.61 119.88 140.49 **** Aberforth Unit Trust Mngrs GBP 865.03AIGLI/M&G Innovator 27.71 114.31 21.26 **** AIG Life (Ireland) GBP 0.01Artemis UK Smaller Cos 19.44 85.29 101.52 *** Artemis Fund Managers Limited GBP 633.17AXA Framlington UK Sm Cos Inc 20.3 104.98 122.29 **** AXA Framlington Group GBP 251.25AXA Rosenberg UK S Cap A 18.94 61.61 76.46 * AXA Rosenberg Mgt Ireland Ltd GBP 20.29AXA UK Smaller Companies 24.35 80.29 37.18 * AXA Fund Managers GBP 139.42Baillie Gifford BrSmCo A Acc 37.49 127.9 105.75 **** Baillie Gifford & Co GBP 486.35Baring UK Smaller Companies 26.41 80.02 37.67 ** Barings GBP 39.59Cavendish AIM Rtl -2.46 Cavendish Unit Trust Mgmt GBP 9.22Cazenove UK Smaller Cos B 38.5 102.3 48.11 *** Cazenove Investment Fd Mgt GBP 18.79CF Canlife UK Smllr Companies 4.22 33.61 24.58 * Capita Financial Managers Ltd GBP 75.32Close Beacon Investment 9.89 38.64 4.86 * Close Fund Management Ltd GBP 17.18Close Special Situations Fund Close Fund Management Ltd GBP 5.21Credit Suisse Small Companies 34.43 102.72 97.08 *** Credit Suisse Asset Mgmt (UK) GBP 42.23Dimensional UK Sm Comps Inc 30.3 Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd GBP 48.56Discretionary Unit 23.71 79.84 97.58 ** Discretionary Unit Fund Mgrs GBP 64.41Electra Active Value 5.08 34.23 29.83 * Electra Quoted Management Ltd GBP 25.28F&C UK Smaller Cos SC1 Acc 30.75 111.27 44.76 **** F&C Fund Management Ltd GBP 71.63First State British Sm Cos A 10.58 63.3 86.33 ** First State Investments GBP 16.7Gartmore UK & Irish Sm Co Rtl 20.72 70.43 52.91 * Gartmore Fund Managers GBP 284.62Henderson UK Smaller Cos A 32.56 105.15 28.2 *** Henderson Global Investors GBP 155.95HSBC UK Smaller Cos Inc 18.96 64.37 43.48 * HSBC Investment Fds (UK) Ltd GBP 26.88Insight Inv UK Sm Cap Rtl Inc 25.02 88.37 70.1 ** Insight Investments Mgmt Ltd GBP 30.54INV PERP UK Sm Cos Equity Acc 30.6 119.55 99.74 **** INVESCO Fund Managers GBP 435.59INV PERP UK Sm Cos Growth Inc 13.37 74.1 56.6 ** INVESCO Fund Managers GBP 152.86Investec UK Smaller Cos Acc 34.13 120.83 152.97 **** Investec Fund Managers Ltd GBP 122.01JPM UK Smaller Cos A Acc 37.73 123.5 101.21 ***** JPMorgan Asset Management GBP 264.96Jupiter UK Smaller Companies 31.28 85.62 64.07 ** Jupiter Unit Trust Mgrs GBP 82.5L&G UK Smaller Cos E Inc 30.68 96.96 74.65 *** Legal & General UT Managers GBP 181.99Lazard UK Sm Cos Retail 35.26 114.79 103.27 **** Lazard Fund Managers Ltd GBP 97.82Liontrust Intellectual Cptl 12.8 62.96 71.48 * Liontrust Investment Funds GBP 111.55M&G Smaller Companies A Inc 28.71 123.21 94.57 ***** M&G Group GBP 241.49Marlborough Special Sits 26.82 111.31 152.85 **** Marlborough Fd Mgrs GBP 136.59Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Fund 28.35 Marlborough Fd Mgrs GBP 36.36Merrill Lynch UK Sm Cos Inc 30.2 130.72 113.1 ***** BlackRock M Lynch Inv Mgrs (UK) GBP 209.69

Fund name return return return S&P Manager Currency Fund Size 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Fund Stars


EuropEan Mid-Cap fundsA selection of small and mid-cap investment funds in Europe filtered by the yearly best performances.

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New Star GF UK Smllr Cos 11.97 74.68 73.87 ** New Star Asset Mgmt Limited GBP 15.44Norwich Henderson UK Small Co 33.27 108.22 30.79 **** Norwich Union Intl Ltd GBP 0.44Norwich Perpetual UK Small Co 31.24 122.14 97.14 **** Norwich Union Intl Ltd GBP 1.05Norwich Schroder UK Small Co 31.91 85.83 85.77 *** Norwich Union Intl Ltd GBP 3.65Norwich UK Small Co 26.89 73.43 62.18 ** Norwich Union Intl Ltd GBP 2.78Norwich UK Smaller Cos 1 26.71 77.7 71.23 * Norwich Union Trust Managers GBP 111.59Nucleus Sm Securities Trust 7.15 56.41 -4.3 * Smith & Williamson FA Ltd GBP 17.3Old Mutual UK Sel Sm Cos Acc 40.92 147.94 174.82 ***** Old Mutual Fund Managers Ltd GBP 561.42OM (Dub) UK Sel UK Smllr Cos 38.91 180.95 ***** Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) Ltd GBP 105.29Premier UK Smaller Companies 6.84 64.83 59.69 ** Premier Portfolio Managers GBP 6.67Premier UK Smaller Companies 6.84 64.83 59.69 ** Premier Portfolio Managers GBP 6.67Pru Small Companies Trust Inc 28.15 121.6 97.02 **** Prudential Unit Trusts Ltd GBP 244.11R&M UK Equity Smaller Comp Cl A River and Mercantile Funds ICVC GBP Rathbone Smaller Cos Inc 26.8 97.28 70.21 **** Rathbone UT Mgmt Ltd GBP 48.49Rensburg UK Micro Cap Growth 21.45 91.11 *** Rensburg Fund Management Limited GBP 29.67Rensburg UK Smaller Cos 25.26 92.74 60.78 ** Rensburg Fund Management Limited GBP 51.68Resolution Smaller Cos Inc 38.42 124.67 77.63 *** Resolution Fund Managers Ltd GBP 108.83Schroder Inst UK Sm Cos 27.83 88.44 102.74 ** Schroder Unit Trusts (UK) GBP 464.8Schroder UK Smaller Cos Inc 32.05 85.59 88.28 ** Schroder Unit Trusts (UK) GBP 451.34SG UK Smaller Cos Ret Acc 22.82 Société Générale Investmt Fds GBP 117.18Skandia GBP InvPe UK SmCo IRL 28.83 111.38 **** Skandia Ireland Limited GBP 0.14Std Lf UK Smll Cos Rtl Acc 46.44 137.26 106.59 ***** Standard Life Investments GBP 226SW UK Smaller Cos A 29.97 94.16 74.36 *** Scottish Widows UT Mngrs Ltd GBP 228.09SWIP UK Smaller Cos A 33.89 96.72 52.73 *** Scottish Widows Investment Partnership GBP 87.63Threadneedle UK Sml Cos 1 33.61 102.28 77.41 *** Threadneedle Invstmt Services GBP 155.88UBS UK Smaller Companies A 26.98 96.9 *** UBS Global Asset Mgmt Fds Ltd GBP 69.61Unicorn UK Small Cos A Inc 31.35 43.06 * Unicorn Asset Management Ltd GBP 3.58Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.


Small Companies Switzerland3V Inv Swiss Small & Mid Cap 26.82 142.76 137.07 **** Oppenheim Pramerica Asset Mgt S.a.r.l CHF 263.37AIG EF S&M Caps Switzerland A 20.82 AIG Private Bank Ltd CHF 10.12Asselsa SM-Caps Switzerland 33.53 99.03 ** PMG Fonds Management AG CHF 42.15Bank Hofmann Swiss Sml Stocks 37.06 115.99 88.19 ***** Bank Hofmann Fund Mgmt Ltd CHF 141.11Bank Hofmann Swiss Sml Stocks 37.06 115.99 88.19 ***** Bank Hofmann Fund Mgmt Ltd CHF 141.11Callander F-Swiss Gr Mid-C C1 26.79 78.91 56.08 * Banque de Luxembourg CHF 13.34CommCept Swiss Mid&Small Caps 8.79 49.48 * FidFund Management S.A. CHF 12CS EF Small & Mid Cap Switzl 41.23 102.69 82.3 ** Credit Suisse AM Schweiz CHF 239.57Gem Small&Mid Caps Switzerld 26.42 FidFund Management S.A. CHF 234JB Inst Swiss S&M Cap Eq A2 37.62 Bank Julius Baer CHF 39.97JB Swiss Small&Mid Cap SF B 35.08 94.37 57.32 *** Julius Baer Investmt Fd Serv. CHF 129.71LODH Opp Swiss Sm & M Caps 35.81 106.13 82.15 *** Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie CHF 92.95LODH Swiss Cap ex-SMI I 38.83 Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie CHF 78.91LODH Swiss Cap EX-SMI P 38.9 115.62 113.9 **** Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie CHF 488.35MI-FONDS (CH) Inst Sm Stock CH UBS Fund Management AG CHF 38.71MirGest Swiss Small & Mid Cap 37.48 Mirabaud Investment Mngt Ltd CHF 38.78OZ Swiss Equities Optimized 13.76 51.75 26.74 * Helaba Investment (Schweiz) AG CHF 65.88OZ Swiss S&M Cap Selection Fd 25.72 Helaba Investment (Schweiz) AG CHF 25.82Pictet (CH) Swiss Mid-Small P 32.11 108.91 91.6 *** Pictet & Cie CHF 228.13RBZ Swiss Small & Mid Caps 39.24 83.64 46.14 * Rothschild Fund Management AG CHF 27.84Reichmuth Pilatus 20.84 97.4 104.08 ** Reichmuth & Co Investmentfds AG CHF 74.71SaraSelect 36.69 115.72 126.05 **** Sarasin Investmentfonds AG CHF 676.65Schroder ISF Swi Sm&Mid A Acc 40.25 107.01 *** Schroder Investment Mgmt (Luxembourg) CHF 163.35Swisscanto (CH) EF SMCap CH A 38.15 105.9 94.36 *** Swisscanto Fondsleitung AG CHF 618.76Synchrony IF Small Cap CH A Gerifonds SA CHF 41.5UBS (CH) EF-Mid Caps Switzl 33.74 95.86 83.96 ** UBS Fund Management AG CHF 528.89UBS (CH) EF-Small Cap Switzl 32.82 108.25 99.71 **** UBS Fund Management AG CHF 404.7UBS (CH) IF-S&M Eq Switz B 35.98 107.68 102.99 *** UBS Fund Management AG CHF 196.46

Vontobel Swiss Mid & S-Cap A2 34.08 90.19 55.34 ** Vontobel Fonds Services AG CHF 89.67Vontobel Swiss Small Companies 34.87 116.35 107.55 **** Vontobel Fonds Services AG CHF 490.34XMTCH on SMIM® 43.81 Credit Suisse AM Schweiz CHF 584.69Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.


Small Companies EurolandAGF Invest Euro 29.37 AGF EUR 113.18AXA L Fund Sm Caps Benelux C 25.53 140.67 148.85 ***** AXA-IM / Axabank XLF 13.29Barclays Small Cap Euro PEA C 15.09 79.32 46.84 ** Barclays EUR 100.65BG Sicav SC Euro Eqs DXB-C Generali Investments EUR 64.31Bim Azionario Small Cap Italia 19.38 72.85 ** BIM Intermobiliare SGR S.p.A. EUR 60.94BK Small & Mid Caps 27.39 93 *** Gesbankinter EUR 207.91BMM Eurosmallcaps Banque Martin Maurel EUR 2.63BNL European Small Caps A 27.54 121.01 **** BNL Global Funds PLC EUR 11.1BNP Paribas Micro Cap Eurol. 13.57 73.61 * BNP Paribas EUR 18.92BNP Paribas Smallcap Eurol. C 25.69 103.35 97.73 **** BNP Paribas XFR 457.7CAAM Midcap Euro P 26.87 107.09 83.29 *** Crédit Agricole XFR 121.04CAAM Midcap Euro P 26.87 107.09 83.29 *** Crédit Agricole XFR 121.04Capitalgest Small Cap 26.33 51.25 59.04 * Capitalgest SGR S.p.A. EUR 98.13Centrale Avenir Euro 21.4 CCR EUR 32.35Dexia Eq B EMU Small Caps C 33.82 120.2 127.89 *** Dexia Asset Management XBF 25.19Dexia Eq B EMU Small Caps C 33.82 120.2 127.89 *** Dexia Asset Management XBF 25.19Dexia Eq B EMU Small Caps C 33.82 120.2 127.89 *** Dexia Asset Management XBF 25.19DWS Euroland Neue Märkte 13.98 70.91 0.06 * DWS Investment S.A. XDM 63.88Elan Midcap Euro C 30.74 Rothschild Banque EUR 47.65Elan MS Midcap Euro PEA 23.75 85.6 ** Rothschild Banque EUR 10.52EuroAction: Midcap 22.54 89.08 51.39 * Union Investment Lux S.A. XDM 242.88Groupama Avenir Euro I 26.71 100.96 *** Groupama EUR 37.79HSBC GIF Euroland EqSmCo AC EUR 33.71 114.89 *** HSBC Investment Fds (Lux) SA EUR 42.91HSBC Microcaps Euro C 11.4 67.93 -21.26 ** HSBC Investments XFR 31.46Iéna Euro Mid C 17.18 81.22 58.04 ** BFT EUR 41.23Iéna Euro Mid C 17.18 81.22 58.04 ** BFT EUR 41.23iShares DJ EURO STOXX Sm Cap 32.22 Barclays Global Investors EUR 193.16iShares DJ EURO STOXX Sm Cap 32.22 Barclays Global Investors EUR 193.16IXIS Découvertes 8.2 63.37 13.78 * IXIS Asset Management XFR 44.11Kairos Partners Small Cap 17.56 67.73 ** Kairos Partners Sgr S.P.A. EUR 683.07LBPAM Actions Midcap C 37.06 127.06 160.04 ***** La Banque Postale EUR 273.26LFP Microcaps 9.28 61.64 * La Francaise des Placements EUR 10.46Lupus alpha Sm Tec Champ C 24.93 75.79 30.29 ** Lupus alpha Asset Mgmnt GmbH EUR 89.43Lupus alpha Smllr Eur Champ C 27.84 108.67 149.78 *** Lupus alpha Asset Mgmnt GmbH EUR 181.32Lyxor ETF MSCI EMU Small Cap 25.55 Lyxor Asset Management EUR 78.49Mellon Small Cap Eurold A EUR 32.29 122.67 **** Mellon Global Investments Ltd EUR 237.38Natexis Actions Cap. Struct. -9.42 Natexis Equity Management EUR 31.59Nextra Azioni Pmi Italia 12.32 69.05 80.7 ** CAAM Sgr S.P.A. EUR 202.37Objectif Small Caps Euro 21.15 76.87 ** Lazard Freres Gestion EUR 225.55Parvest Euro Small Cap C 24.53 99.69 96.21 ** BNP Paribas Asset Management XEC 110.27Prévoir Perspectives 17.96 92.54 *** Société de Gestion Prévoir EUR 8.88SGAM Fund Eq Euroland S-Cap A 30.92 SG Asset Management EUR 149.08SGAM Index Small Cap Euro 31.11 SGAM Alternative Investments EUR 49.88SLB EuroSmallCaps Fund 19.06 107.15 86.47 *** Swiss Life Belgium EUR 3.61Symphonia Comp Az Italia S Co 12.49 58.61 11.18 * Symphonia Sicav S.P.A. EUR 87.03Synergy Smaller Cies A 22.17 92.74 Sycomore Asset Management EUR 284.24Zelia Euro Small Caps 19.06 107.15 86.47 ** Zelia Assurances XBF 14.35Source : Standard & Poor’s Database Name : Pan European Date : 29/12/2006 Calculation Settings : Euro, Nav - Nav, Gross Reinvested.




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90

l i f e s t y l e yachting

Monaco Yacht show, is the only International

Boat Show dedicated exclusively to luxury

yachting. And, attracted by the prestige of

this event, top luxury brands, Blancpain,

Lanson Champagne, Lenotre, Baccarat,

Lalique, Dassault Aviation and Mercedes,

enthusiastically join forces with the MYS.

Among 91 superyachts, 44% measure more

than 40 meters in length. Taking part, 520

exhibitors, 77 shipyards, 29 luxury yacht

brokers, 54 naval architects and interior

designers, 187 equipment manufacturers

and 11 of the world’s top 15 customised

yacht builders.

“The Monaco Yacht Show is a perfect

example of an exhibition capable of crea-

ting community growth, not only has the

Principality of Monaco benefited, but the

entire nautical industry worldwide”, said

HSH Prince Albert 11 of Monaco.

“We Care For the Earth” is the theme throu-

ghout MYS. With the collaboration of Camper

and Nicholson, Monaco Yacht Show is the

first Monegasque event to receive the

“Carbon Neutral” award, striving to increase

awareness of its participants on global

warming issues.

91

yachting l i f e s t y l e

In spite of the astronomical costs,

world production of luxury supe-

ryachts has been growing at a

rate of knots in recent years. At

46.+ meters Lulworth is the world’s

largest gaff-rigged superyacht.

Discovered virtually abandoned in

the Italian sun in 2001, she was

bought by a company owned by

gregarious Dutch businessman

Johan van den Bruele who decided

to create “the restoration of the

century” using original materials,

even managing to track down rare

Honduras mahogany for the hull. It

takes 20 minutes to hoist the main

sail and when Lulworth races there

are 28 crew on board. Restored

in the boatyards of Viareggio, she

even boasts the original silverware

and interior features, graciously

returned by one of the previous

owners. For sale at 19.5€ million and

available for select day charters at

15,000€ including crew and skipper

Guiseppe Longon.

With 23 cutting-edge boats on show

the Italians are top of the “Builders

Nations” league, holding the keys to

the season’s must-haves, followed

by The Netherlands with 14, France

11, USA 8, Germany 7, New Zealand

6, Monaco 3, Russia 2, Turkey 2, UK

2 etc.

Blancpain

The Yacht Show also supports The Monegasque Association

Against Muscular Dystrophy, helping children affected by

this serious genetic disease. Each year since 2001, the MYS

donates, to AMM, half of each 50€ entry ticket and, sets up fund

raisers such as the annual Blancpain “Only One Watch” auction

with Prince Albert in the front line. The world’s most exclusive

auctioneers of rare timepieces Antiquorum and Osvaldo Patrizzi,

raised 110,000€€ this year. “With its 72-hour power reserve the “Only

One” watch is unique, the winding rotor, hand carved by Blancpain’s

master engraver, bears the image of the Lake Geneva historical sailing

vessel La Vaudoise”, explained the auctioneers.

16th Monacoyacht show

xxxx

Lulworth

Candyscape

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l i f e s t y l e xxxxxxx

l i f e s t y l e yachting

Impossible to ignore Maltese

Falcon,Tom Perkins’ magnificent state-

of-the-art sailing-yacht, the largest

project to date to come out of Perini

Yildiz Tuzla shipyards, Istanbul. In

addition to being a superb example of

technology and engineering in action,

look up! The UK based Insensys

company is responsible for the

Falcon’s revolutionary rotating mast

and the metallic silver rigging resem-

bles the ribs of an immense prehistoric

carbon creature. “We clean it with a

Karcher pressure washer with rotating

brushes and a very, very long hose,

along with two crew in the rig”, says

the yacht’s captain, Chris Gartner.

The interior is by French architect/

designer Christian Liagre, a combina-

tion of classical marine tradition and

contempoarary elegance. It’s yours for

a mere 100€ million

For sale, or to charter, Mirabella V, the

247-foot luxury sailing yacht exhibited

by brokers Nigel Burgess. Mirabella is

the world’s largest sloop, and is in the

Guinness Book of Records having the

tallest mast and largest sail. Burgess

say it is nimble for its’ size and can

reach speeds of upwards of 20 knots

under sail. There’s room for 12 guests

in six luxurious cabins with en-suite

bathrooms, Plasma TV’s, DVD and

CD players with 250-hour centralised

music system and, of course internet

and telephone connections. The

master suite on the main deck runs the

length of the boat. No excuse to stay

cabin side, try the Jacuzzi and pool,

the 30-foot tender will whisk you off to

your favourite restaurant. Burn off the

calories on the jet skis or in the gym.

Oh! and there are indoor and outdoor

movie screens. Price on application

but if you want to charter for a week

$300,000 includes the crew of 14.

9�


The brilliant design duo brothers, Nick and

Christian Candy, recently refitted, the Benetti

built, Candyscape presented by Edmiston with

a price tag of 15.5€ million or, for charter at

€180,000 - €200,000 depending on the time of

year. “This is our first venture into boat design for

Candy & Candy. It’s art-deco meets contempo-

rary: a fusion”, explains Candy. It’s certainly no

ordinary 6-cabin: 6 bathrooms vessel. Original

artworks hang on silk covered walls, platinum

and gold leaf coat the ceilings whilst bespoke

furniture needs to be admired for its’ elegance.

Check out Halle Berry’s knife belts worn in the

James Bond film “Die Another Day”. Admire the

Louis Vuitton monogram trunk covering one of

the guest cloakroom walls, the mahogany dining

room table that flips over to become a gaming

table complete with roulette wheel.

From YachtPlus comes the Sea-Sleek Norman

Foster customised 100-footer, built from 100%

carbon fibre including the sails. It has room for

6 passengers and four crew. Push button sail

controls means one person can operate the

boat. Their 180-foot mega-yacht features a top

speed of 16 knots and an 861-square foot main

salon. The glass superstructure floods the inte-

rior with sunlight and gives 360-degree views

from the upper decks. Price? A mere $75.5

million and from the time you place the order,

expect a three year wait: because it’s worth it.

I’m not paying that!

So, YachtPlus have created Fractional

Ownership, a very practical and exciting

formula. “We have a fleet of 20 luxury motor

yachts built exclusively for our Fractional

Ownership Programme”, explains Han

Verstraete of YachtPlus. “Clients have the luxury

of leaving hectic schedules behind to escape

on board their own fully serviced yacht, with

crew; where and when they want. The Norman

Foster designed boats have 5-cabins, are built

by Rodriguez Cantieri Navale. 5 weeks a year

in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean will cost

approximately £849,000 plus an annual fee of

£86,000 which includes crew and servicing.

Maltese Falcon (up), Mirabella V (down)

Master Bedroom (up) and living room (down) Candyscape

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The Autumn Boat Bonanza continues in

Monaco, before moving on to Genoa,

Barcelona and Paris, with the super

sexy riva63 Vertigo, a must have

toy for the likes of Brigitte Bardot and

Sean Connery. Founded in 1842, by

Pietro Riva in Sarnico, Northern Italy,

Riva is the world’s oldest and most

renowned boat builder. In the 1950’s

Carlo Riva took over the yard, located

on the banks of Lake Iseo, and “le tout

Hollywood” fell in love with Riva, now

part of the Ferretti Group. Production

is limited to about 50 boats a year and

you’ll pay about €2.05€ million plus tax

for the “63” with vee-drive gearboxes.

“Expect the best and live the best

– Riva”.

For a larger motor yacht there’s

Annaliesse, at 280 feet, shown at MYS

by Edmiston. Room for 36 guests, with

a crew of 45, including an in-house

beautician and personal trainer. This is

sea-spa attitude with Jacuzzi, sauna,

massage rooms, his and hers hair

salons, nail parlour and gym. The price

is about $850,000 a week and if you

want to make them an offer at the end of

the week it will have to be in the region

of €€79 million.

The Wally Company, created in 1993,

was named by owner Luca Bassani’s

son after Wally Gator his favourite

cartoon character. Bassani, a wealthy

Italian economist turned yachting

entrepreneur, collaborates with naval

architect Luca Brenta to build fast,

light, safe, stylish and very expensive

carbon fiber sailing yachts. SYtango is

the fifth unit of the successful Wally80

design. Combining high performance

with interior volumes that are uniquely

large considering its’ 24 meter size,

there’s flush deck canting keel and

three cabins.

“The Monaco Yacht Show provides an

excellent opportunity to do business,

although there is obviously a lot of

competition”, explains Rupert Nelson,

sales director of Yacht Broker Nigel

Burgess. 12 guests and 15 crew make

indian Princess one of the Burgess

best boats. Definitely the grand piano

is an attraction, the games room with

180 degree panoramic view, and the

AC3 cinema/theatre, the gym, running

machine, cross trainer and oh! so much

to enjoy a life on the ocean wave.

Phocea is one of the largest privately

owned sailing yachts in the world, built

in 1976, by Arsenal de Toulon and raced

single-handed in the Transatlantic Yacht

Race by Alain Colas. She was then

converted for Club Med who sold her

to French entrepreneur/actor Bernard

Tapie. Her transformation into the jet-

set took place when Mouna Al-Ayoub

bought her and spent fortunes on the

interior décor, recently transformed by

David Linley. Mike Horsley of Edmiston

presented Phocea at MYS. “She’s in

the region of 19.5€ million to buy. If you

want her for charter think 80,000€ per

week, including crew, plus expenses”,

Horsley quoted.

Last May, Burger Boat Company laun-

ched the 144 foot tri-deck Mirgab V,

the largest aluminium yacht in its’ 143-

year history. The defining focal point

is a 1-meter diameter, glass tube

pneumatic elevator surrounded by a

circular sculpted bronze stairway and

illuminated glass treads spanning three

stories. This incredible stairway, desi-

gned and created by Les Metailliers

Champenois, is grounded on all three

levels with rare onyx stone.

No expense was spared when a high

profile executive and 24-hour party

person commissioned, from Amels,

Lady in Blue. This is the yacht that

thinks it’s a resort, read, Aman-on-Sea.

There are space for 10 guests and 14

crew, interior design is by Studio Alberto

Pinto, featuring a working fire place.

There’s plasma TV’s everywhere, disco-

theque, Jacuzzi, treadmill and the usual

tenders and toys. For sale at 35,000,000

USD or charter for 300,000 USD weekly

+ expenses. The galley would attract a

3-star chef – but Alain Ducasse doesn’t

come cheap.

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Monaco Yacht Show

www.monacoyachtshow.com

Blancpain SA

Chemin de l’étang 6

1094 Paudex, Switzerland

T: +41 21 796 36 36

www.blancpain.com

Edmiston & Company

Le Panorama

57 rue Grimaldi,

MC98000. Monaco

T: +377 93 30 54 44

www.edmistoncompany.com

Perini navi

Via Michele Coppino,

114-55049 Viareggio, Italy

T: +39 05844241

www.perininavi.it

YachtPlus

161 Brompton Road,

London SW3 1QP

T: +44 020 3144 0103

www.yachtplus.co.uk

nigel Burgess group

16/17 Pall Mall

London, SW1Y 5LU

T: +44 2077664300

www.nigelburgess.com

riva

VIA Predore 30

24067 Sarnico

Italy

T: +39 0359 10202

www.rivaboats.com

Candy & Candy Ltd

100 Brompton Road

London SW3 1ER,

T: +44 (0) 20 7594 4300

www.candyandcandy.com

Camper & nicholson

international

Port Camille Rayon, 06220

Golfe Juan, France,

T: +33 (0) 4 97 04 10 50

Amels

www.amels-holland.com

Burger Boat Company

www.burgerboat.com

Address Book

Riva Vertigo (up), Analiesse (down)

Wally Tango


l i f e s t y l e hot products

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Conran shop, Wi-Fi Bunny, € 115

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Sony Ericsson P990, € 770

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l i f e s t y l e hot products

The appearance of IT takes on colour with the

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Vital colours

royal comfortTaking on the steepest slopes in freestyle can also be done with style on a snowboard that’s not

content to be like all the others. With its bed of lilies, this snowboard’s elegance is what makes the

difference. Now it’s your turn to look good.

Rip Curl royal honor, € € 419

When you see it you can’t help comparing it with a minia-

ture of a Jedi Knight laser sabre . But no, it is in fact an

MP3 reader with the measurements of a cigar and a ring

that lets you control all its musical functions. What’s the

most original thing about it? Just shake it three times to

change the listening mode. Unless you prefer creating

jogging playlists that the personal stereo will let you listen

to while you’re walking or running.

MP3 Sony design personal stereo NW S2003, € 140

sabre laser

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