Host of North West firms in Sunday Times list of fastest-growing exporters

Eight North West firms have secured a place on the Sunday Times Lloyds SME Export Track 100 league table which ranks Britain’s small and medium-sized private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.

The eight companies headquartered in the northwest (compared to nine last year) include seven new entrants. Their international sales have grown by an average of 98% a year over two years to a total of £39m, and together they employ 500 people.

The top-ranked company in the region is printing services provider The TALL Group, which features for the first time. The Runcorn firm ships millions of documents each year to clients across the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. In 2016 it provided 20m ballot papers for Uganda’s general election, helping exports hit £3.8m.

Another new entrant in the region is PortSwigger Web Security, which is based in Knutsford. It develops security testing software for organisations in 120 countries, ranging from small firms to tech giants Microsoft and Google. Started by ex-professional hacker Dafydd Stuttard, in 2008 exports rose to £7.4m in 2017.

Gareth Oakley, managing director SME banking at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “For businesses that take the leap to trade overseas, the rewards can be significant – the strong growth achieved by this year’s SME Export Track 100 is proof of that. At Lloyds Banking Group we are committed to helping businesses scale-up and trade internationally, and have pledged to help 5,000 first-time exporters every year until 2020 in support of this. Our International Trade Portal is a valuable source of insight for any businesses looking to explore overseas options”.

The SME Export Track 100 is sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group, DHL Express and Heathrow Airport, and is supported by the government’s Exporting is GREAT campaign. It is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.

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