SME Fast Growth 50 index – The complete list

Today we publish the final 10 companies who made it to the top of the SME Fast Growth 50 index which we have published this week in partnership with Alexander & Co.

As we release the final part of the index, John McCaffery, Partner at Alexander & Co, which itself is an owner-manged business, provides insight as to how it grew during the past three years, and what the future holds for the business.

It has been a pleasure being involved in the SME Fast 50 Index with the Business Desk.

John McCaffery, Tax Partner and Head of Tax at Alexander & Co

The Index illustrates how the North West is a dynamic place for business to scale up and succeed and we would like to congratulate every business that made the list.

Headquartered in the North West, Alexander & Co works with many entrepreneurial companies in the region.

As a privately owned company ourselves, we have faced many of the same challenges the region’s businesses have encountered over the past three years and face the same hurdles moving forward.

Because of this, we have a first-hand understanding of the issues owner managed businesses encounter.

This is the reason why we wanted to partner with The Business Desk on this project as many of the issues these businesses face resonate with Alexander & Co.

The last three years have been some of the most trying for businesses in the region but, in spite of this, all businesses on the SME Fast Growth 50 Index have achieved great success.

We have been on our own growth journey over the last three years and may have faced some of the same issues as the businesses on the Index.

In early 2020, faced with an uncertain year, we were quick to identify risks and adapt. We put trust in our employees – the backbone of our business – and quickly moved more of our work online.

As always and especially over the past three years, we ensured our clients knew we were available for them whenever they needed us and that we were able to address their changing needs.

This is paramount to how we operate as a business. In fact, some of our largest deals in recent years were brokered entirely remotely.

Later in 2020 and into 2021, we opened our offices back up as the market opened back up.

We embraced many new methods of working: WFH and hybrid just two of these. Like many other businesses, video calls and online meetings have become a way of life and made us much more time efficient (although nothing beats meeting a client face-to-face).

Like other businesses, retaining and attracting staff remains a key challenge.

Every team member is important to us, and we invest in the quality and abilities of our staff to best serve our clients.

As a business, we have embraced many cultural changes in such a short period of time, making us stronger and more diverse.

At the same time, we are proud to have retained our core values which make us who we are.

We benefit from entrepreneurial growth, helped by our non-bureaucratic, slimline management style; something many fast growing entrepreneurial companies also benefit from.

The North West is a resilient region, not without its challenges. It is entrepreneurial by nature and supported by a very strong, dynamic professional services market.

Like ourselves, those businesses that are succeeding are adaptable and able to counteract the unplanned challenges that regularly face them.

Understanding the product(s) you offer, your core market and how you add value to your clients is key to succeeding in this market.

Equally important is being commercially savvy, practical, technically excellent as well as being able to adapt, something we have seen in many of the companies in this SME Fast Track Index, and qualities which we believe are also behind our own continued success.

The Autumn Statement yesterday is likely to have provided food for thought for businesses in the North West.

No doubt the entrepreneurial spirit of the region will prevail in both the good times and not so good times that may lie ahead.

SME Fast Growth 50 Index – Rank 1-50

The SME Fast Growth 50 list has been compiled with data from Experian.

All the businesses are private and located in the North West and have shown the largest percentage increase in turnover (up to £50m) over the last three years while also remaining profitable in each of those years.