The eighth annual Top Track 250 league table supplement was published in The Sunday Times on 14 October 2012, with title sponsor Grant Thornton.

Top Track 250 is the sister publication of Top Track 100, which identifies Britain's 100 private companies with the biggest sales. The league table ranks the 250 next biggest private companies, provided either sales or operating profits have increased in their latest available accounts. Sales range from £150m to £600m.

Despite the tough economy, half of the companies on the league table improved their operating profit margin in their latest year, and 95% increased their sales to a combined £77 billion, equivalent to 5% of GDP. Staff numbers are up 36,000 from the previous year to 500,000, representing 1.7% of the UK workforce.

Shepherd Group is the top company with sales of £608m. The company operates as a contractor, manufacturer and engineer, and owns the Portakabin and Portaloo brands. Other well-known names include Aston Martin, Selfridges, Virgin Active, Lush, Boden, Nando's, Dreams and Warburtons. See the press releases.

The 2013 Top Track 250 league table will be published next October.