Northern Irish agri-food businesses in Top 100

Northern Ireland's leading food retail and wholesale business has been listed in the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 league table. And a second with significant interests in agri-food manufacturing is also featured.

The Henderson Group, which supplies Northern Ireland's Spar, Eurospar, Vivo and Vivoxtra franchises, as well as operating 79 of its own stores, grew sales six per cent to £699 million last year.

The group is headquartered at Newtownabbey in county Antrim and has substantial business in the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland.

The family-owned and managed group is a significant purchaser of food from Northern Ireland suppliers. It is listed at 89 in the league of the top 100 private businesses.

Formed in 1986, W&R Barnett, a Belfast-based group, is listed at 59 on the basis of sales last year of sales of almost £1 billion. The group includes subsidiaries producing grain and feed.

The 16th annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the biggest sales.

Together the two businesses achieved sales of £1.6 billion and profits of £90 million in their last financial year, and collectively employ more than 4,100 people.