Firms fly flag for West Midlands in fast-growth profit rankings
Twelve West Midlands companies have made it onto a league table which ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing profits over three years.
The 12 companies headquartered in the West Midlands, compared to seven last year, include 10 new entrants to the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table.
Together they employ 2,100 staff and have achieved combined profits of £76m. They are part of the ‘Midlands Engine’, overtaking London for the first time on Profit Track 100 with a record 19 companies in total, up from 11 last year.
Among the new entrants is Redditch-based Gymshark. Founded by Ben Francis only six years ago, the online sportswear retailer has sponsored popular YouTubers, Instagrammers and bloggers, and used social media to boost brand recognition, driving up profits, which grew by an average of 73% a year to £8m in 2017.
Featuring for the third time is Worcestershire-based Gtech. The appliance manufacturer makes cordless vacuum cleaners, sweepers, garden tools and an electric bicycle. The popularity of its flagship AirRam vacuum helped profits grow by an average of 57% a year to £18m in 2017.
The other companies to feature include Network Telecom, MCS Group, Edenhouse, Elta Group, Click Travel, Optilan, BullionByPost, Shaylor Group, Lioncourt Homes and Benniman.
The companies in the West Midlands appear with businesses from around the UK, including online retailer The Hut Group, sandwich shop operator Pret A Manger, and gym operator PureGym. Despite cost pressures caused in part by the fall in value of Sterling, all 100 companies increased sales and average profit margins rose from 8% to 15%.
Richard Rose, partner and head of the Midlands at BDO, said: “These high-growth, high-energy and highly-entrepreneurial companies will be the difference between success and failure in our post-Brexit economic future. These businesses are playing their part by recording strong levels of revenue and profit growth and by creating jobs. We’d like to see the Government do more to help them by focusing on skills, infrastructure investment and tax simplification.”
West Midlands companies in the 2018 Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100
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