Region’s companies named amongst UK’s best for international sales growth
A host of the region’s companies have been named in a list which ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
The region’s top-ranked company is fitness clothing brand Gymshark, which is also in the top three nationally. Founded in 2012 by Ben Francis in his parents’ garage, it sells direct to customers in 178 countries via its 13 multilingual websites.
It recently moved into a new Solihull headquarters, which has a Gymshark logo that can be seen on Google Earth. It grew its international sales by 228% pa to £81m, on total sales of £103.2m, in 2018.
New entrants to the 10th annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table table include Staffordshire-based Busy Bees, which looks after more than 50,000 children at its 550 nurseries from Canada to Malaysia and has announced plans for 32 nurseries to open in China. Overseas sales hit £94.9m, on total sales of £327.5m, in 2017.
Meanwhile Coventry’s Envisage Group also made the list.
The company develops concept cars for the likes of Bentley, Jaguar and Nissan, and recorded international sales of £3.2m in 2017, on total sales of £48.5m.
The companies appear alongside well-known British brands, including BrewDog, now valued at over £1bn; and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, founded by the Hollywood make-up artist.
Alumni stars include Aston Martin, Specsavers, Fever-Tree, and Lush – which featured on the first league table in 2010 with exports of £151m, and which have now hit £300m.
The league table programme is sponsored by HSBC, DHL Express and Oracle NetSuite, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, HSBC UK, said: “We at HSBC UK are delighted to back The Sunday Times International Track 200 again this year. All the businesses it showcases have truly inspiring stories to tell about creativity, resilience and ambition to succeed. The 16 companies in the Midlands are putting the region firmly on the map. They are the kinds of enterprises we are thrilled to support and that provide the backbone of our economy, today and tomorrow.”
