It's that time of the year when all industry eyes are on PR Week's league table. Along with award nominations, it's one of the events in the calendar that everyone looks at, as much out of curiosity as anything else.

I was looking forward to seeing this year's more than usual given the change in our industry and the state of the economy.

While it may lack some of the sophistication of the FTSE, I think the top 150 is a decent enough indicator of what the industry vibe is and no surprise that 'flat' is the new 'growth'. Some interesting omissions (I'll leave that for you) and a few reality checks but something that caught my eye was the growth of the Group - that's a conversation for another time.

So Octopus Group grew by 4%, up to our highest position (60). That's a real testament to everyone's focus on doing a good job for our clients! It's also nice to retain the private status given that so many consultancies above us aren't.

Sandy Purewal