LibraryCompany reports collection

About the collection

Our collection of company reports is thought to be the largest collection in a Scottish academic library, with holdings from approximately 5,000 to 6,000 companies. Some reports date back to the 1930s.

These reports are available to members of the University of Strathclyde Library. Links to the web pages of some of the companies can be found via databases available to staff or matriculated students of the University. Contact us for more information.

Collection criteria

We collect reports from:

  • the Times top 1000 UK companies as measured by market capitalisation (up to 1998)
  • the Financial Times (FT) top 500 UK companies by market capitalisation (1999-)

We continue to collect reports from companies which drop out of this group in later years. We also add companies to the collection if we receive sufficient requests from Library users, or if a new company is established in an industry sector known to be of particular interest to the University. 

We collect reports of some overseas companies listed in:

  • FT Top 100 for Europe
  • FT Top 100 for USA
  • FT Top 100 for the Far East

Receipt of a particular company's report may stop for a variety of reasons. The company may have:

  • gone into liquidation or receivership
  • been acquired by a larger company
  • returned to being a private company

Some companies will not post their reports, as they are not obliged to maintain mailing lists.

Finding a company report

You can find company reports by searching SUPrimo:

1. Search all company reports

In the search box, type 'company report'. You can limit your search results by choosing specific subject or name limits from the filters on the left hand side of the screen.

2. Search by company

In the search box, type 'company report' followed by the keyword(s) from the name of the company you are looking for.

You can retrieve the company:

  1. by searching for individual elements of the name
  2. searching by acronym, e.g. IBM = International Business Machine
  3. through all of its name changes, e.g. 'Safeway' will link to 'Argyll Group' and vice versa

3. Search by industrial sector or country

In the search box type 'company report' followed by the keyword(s) for the specific industrial sector or country you are looking for, e.g Banks, French.

4. Search for company mergers or takeovers

  1. Go to the Advanced Search option in SUPrimo
  2. Choose 'any' and 'contains' 
  3. In the search box type 'company report' followed by either take* or merge*. Make sure you include the asterisk (*)

You can also add more keywords to your search, for example the company name, industrial sector or country.

Requesting a company report

We store company reports in closed access on Level 1. We need 24 hours' notice for retrieval.

To ask us to retrieve a report for you:

  1. Log in to SUPrimo and find the report
  2. Look under the 'get it' tab and scroll to the issue you would like
  3. Use the 'request' link and fill in your details

We issue each report for a maximum of one week.

Access options for people who do not study or work at Strathclyde

We have a policy of not loaning original company reports outside the institution. We can provide copies of reports for a fee. 

Request access to a report

Please contact us by email to request access to a company report. Our Faculty Librarian for Business will then contact you to find out more about your request.

Get a copy of or view a report

We deal with access requests in one of two ways, depending on the volume of materials required:

Option 1

We will photocopy items and post them to you once you complete a signed copyright declaration, which we will send to you.

We will provide you with an estimate of costs beforehand. We calculate costs from several charge components:

  • Photocopying charge of 30p per A4 page or 40p per A3 page
  • VAT at current rate (20% as of January 2010)
  • Postage and package charged at normal carrier rates

Please note we charge a minimum of £15 for smaller requests (generally 25-30 pages or less, depending on paper size).

Requestors are often interested in a very specific part of the report. Within reason, and assuming the particular aspect of the report is readily identifiable, we will make efforts to photocopy just the required section(s), if requested.

Option 2

Visit the Library to view the report(s).

We ask that you give us at least one week's notice so that we can retrieve the materials from our closed storage area. We will then place the materials in our Special Collections reading room in time for your visit. A photocopier is available (charges apply).