Midlands’ fastest-growing companies revealed
12 Midlands companies have been ranked in the top 100 fastest-growing private companies in the UK.
The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table measures the compound annual growth rate for the last three years and companies must show an operating profit of at least £500,000 in its last financial year.
The 12 companies headquartered in the Midlands – eight in the West Midlands, four in the East Midlands – grew their sales by an average of 88% a year over three years to a total of £434m, and together they employ more than 1,300 people.
The largest Midlands company by sales is the phenomenon that is Gymshark. The online sportswear retailer has now broken through £100m annual sales and is ranked 12th for the second year running. In recent months it has moved into a new headquarters in Solihull and expanded its distribution capability to provide the capacity for it to continue on its growth trajectory.
The region’s top-ranked company is clinical trials supplier Midwinter Solutions, which is also in the top 3 nationally. Founded in 2013 by two former employees from Clinigen, the Burton-on-Trent pharmaceuticals company that was No 1 on Fast Track 100 in 2011, and now works with 70 global biopharmaceutical manufacturers. It grew its sales by an average of 233% a year over the last three years to £61.8m in the year to February – £11m of which were overseas.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Group, which has supported Fast Track 100 in each of its 22 years, said: “Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of UK business and have always been the beating heart of positive change. In a climate of uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to recognise those entrepreneurs.”
The companies in the Midlands appear with businesses from around Britain, including burger chain Five Guys, beauty products retailer Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, and brewer BrewDog, which was valued at £1bn last year.
