1. Helen Rhodes Management Librarian h.j.rhodes@bath.ac.uk
Research that company
Welcome and Introduction
The purpose of this brief session is to highlight the library resources for finding company information so that you can research the companies you are visiting this week.
I have put together a selection of screenshots to remind you of database content that is available to you.
Helen Rhodes
Management Librarian
Image copyright of Lorenzo G:

2. Things to consider All the company information you want
may not be openly available
In which country is the company based?
Is the company a subsidiary of a larger parent company?
Information available will depend on the type of company
e.g. public companies have to file detailed information, private companies do not.
As you research remember that the information you want may not be publicly available. Some companies do not want their competitors to know how they do what they do, how much they do and how well they perform . They want to keep their competitive edge.
In which country is the company based? If you are having difficulty finding information is this because it is a small subsidiary company? You need to find the parent company and mine down for the information on its child companies.
Public companies are the easiest to find information for as they trade on a stock exchange and by law have to file some information at Companies House in the UK or equivalent in other countries e.g. US SEC (Securities and Exchange commission). They also have to report to shareholders via regulated accounting documents.
Private companies - much more difficult to find information, particularly financial information. You have to be more inventive in your searching, but it’s not impossible to find information.

3.
All resources in presentation found under company or market research links on the ‘resources for management’ web page:

4. Framework for analysing the FBC companies
Numbers
Ownership
Market strategy and success
Business model, people and values
I have grouped some of the themes together because it is easier to show the databases in this way.

5. Numbers Revenue and profit, growth rate, employees use:
FAME for UK public and private companies
Hoovers for companies and organisations worldwide private and public
Marketline for large companies worldwide
Osiris for listed companies worldwide

6. Focus on Ted Baker UK public company Clothing retailer
With a UK quoted company you have lots of choice over where to find information.

7. Examples: Ted Baker (public UK company = detailed from FAME)
I recommend starting with FAME for the financials. Find turnover, assets and employees and trade description. UK primary SIC (retail sale of clothing) – useful when looking at market research databases. (Note that SIC is G on IBISWorld).

8. Ted Baker
Profit, profit margin. Annual accounts for 10 years.

9. Ted Baker (other financials from FAME)
Other financial analysis e.g. trends and changes and peer report.

10. Ted Baker on Hoovers
Hoovers is useful because it draws so much information into one place and is really easy to use. Use the ‘company index’ to explore the different sections, including financials.

11. Ted Baker financials on Marketline
Marketline also has detailed financials for Ted Baker. Use whichever database you prefer!

12. Private companies – focus on Bloomberg
Less financial information available
Need to use a variety of sources to build a picture of a company’s finances

13. Example: Bloomberg – USA private company = limited financials

14. Example: Bloomberg UK Limited - private company but financials available (on FAME)
A greater degree of financial disclosure is required of UK and European private companies compared to private companies in the USA.

15. Ownership
FAME for UK public and private companies Hoovers for companies and organisations worldwide private and public Osiris for listed companies worldwide

16. FAME – ownership structure for Mars Food UK Ltd
The slough based company is a subsidiary of the Mars Family. Decide whether you are going to investigate the company or the parent company or both.

17. PA Consulting Family tree on Hoovers

18. Divine Chocolate shareholder details on FAME
Shareholder information on Divine Chocolate is interesting – a third of the company is owned by the Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of cocoa farmers in Ghana. Another 18% is owned by a Christian Charity.

19. Market strategy and Success
use:
Marketline for large companies – objective analysis and SWOT
IBISWorld for industry level analysis, competitive landscape, operating conditions
Nexis for medium to large companies – industry news, company profiles and SWOT
Passport for industry reports and market share

20. Focus on John Lewis Partnership

21. Marketline company reports: John Lewis Partnership
Marketline has detailed reports on top companies with business description, history, list of major products & services, SWOT and links to key competitors.

22. Marketline: SWOT overview of John Lewis Partnership
Marketline gives bullet point SWOT and detailed analysis under each heading.

23. Industry information on Department Stores: Competitive landscape Report on IBISWorld.
IBISWorld gives industry level analysis. This ‘Department Stores’ report provides a brief outline of major companies (including John Lewis), industry performance, operating conditions, industry outlook. This information can help provide a picture of the market conditions in which a company operates.

24. Focus on Wessex Water http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/About-us/Home/
Wessex Water’s website is a great starting point.

25. Industry information on IBISWorld Sewerage: operating conditions & success strategies (relevant to Wessex Water)
IBISWorld covers 400 industries so there is even one on ‘sewerage’. This ‘operating conditions’ report covers capital intensity and strategies for success.

26. Fitch ratings on Nexis: Wessex Water
Nexis aggregates news from thousands of sources worldwide. Source include news, press releases, ratings reports, company reports, industry reports.

27. Water sector outlook on Nexis (relevant to Wessex Water)
Another example of industry information on Nexis. Here is a Moody’s Investors Service summary of the UK Water Sector outlook.

28. Focus on Dyson

29. SWOT report on Dyson Nexis (GlobalDatareport)

30. SWOT reports on Nexis – use ‘companies’ tab
Most of the databases are easy to use, but Nexis requires more explanation. The news is the default, so make sure to select ‘companies’ from the menu and search for SWOT reports for Dyson as shown in the slide. GlobalData is the company that provides the SWOT reports on Nexis.

31. Passport Industry report: Vacuum cleaners – relevant to Dyson
Passport has industry reports covering competitive landscape, prospects, trends and mentions key players such as Dyson.

32. Market share of Dyson in vacuum cleaners on Passport
For companies who supply good and services you can find market share information on Marketline. We can see that Dyson has the largest market share for vacuum cleaners.

33. Business model & people and values
use:
Company annual reports & company websites & press releases – insight into business model & values
Marketline for large companies – objective analysis, company history
Nexis for medium to large companies – industry news, company profiles (can also be used to find press releases)
Business Source Complete & ABI/Inform for industry news
Finding information on the business model and people and values will require a bit more investigation than some of the straightforward facts and figures.

34. Triodos Bank Annual Report on website
Triodos Bank’s Annual Report is full of information about its business model, values and people.

35. NHS Blood and Transplant Centre
As the NHS Blood Bank isn’t a company, information will need to be gathered from the NHS website and from news sources. The website covers Board members, strategy and values.

36. Rolls Royce – business model on website
Rolls Royce provide information on their website about their strategy and business models. Not all companies will provide this level of information.

37. Handelsbanken Great Britain company profile on Marketline: company view – goals/values
Marketline profiles provide an objective overview of a company and the SWOT analyses can be particularly helpful. However note that many companies will have a ‘company view’ section. This is usually lifted from the company’s annual report or as the case of Handelsbanken, the company’s website and will give you insight into the company’s view. See also the link to ‘key employees and biographies’.

38. Divine Chocolate Industry press on Nexis
The industry news on Nexis can provide a useful insight into company values.

39. Videos & guides to help you use the databases
As time in limited in this presentation I have just given you screenshots of the resources. Note that for some databases on the Library website I have provided videos and guides to help you.

40. Most of the databases featured here are covered my workshop handouts
The databases featured in this presentation are explained in more detail in the workshop handouts on the library website. (Those of you who attended the Research Databases classes in October/November will have copies already.) See the management resources page and follow the link to ‘workshop handouts’
See Library website:

41. Conclusion
You have a great deal of choice when searching for company information
Use both free resources on the internet and the Library’s many databases
Ask for help if you need it!
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