Midlands businesses named amongst UK’s best for international sales growth

A firm making vacuum cleaners and a jeweller which counts European royalty and Chinese entrepreneurs amongst its customers have both been named in a list of the Midlands’ firms with the fastest growing international sales.

Published this weekend, the eighth annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies for their overseas sales success.

This year’s list includes 20 companies headquartered in the Midlands, which is an improvement on the 17 named last year.

Of the companies named, 11 are new entrants to the league table.

In total, the 20 companies have seen international sales grow by an average of 47% a year over the last two years to a total of £211m, and together they now employ more than 6,200 people.

The new entrants include Worcester-based Gtech, which makes appliances including vacuum cleaners, cordless garden tools and electric bicycles. It has sold more than 22 million domestic appliances in 19 countries and exports grew to £5m last year.

Stratford-upon-Avon-based George Pragnell features for the second time. World-famous artists, Chinese entrepreneurs and European royalty have all bought jewellery from the family firm, which was established in 1954. International sales reached £15.3m last year.

Also named in the table is Birmingham-based automotive technology supplier, Grayson Thermal Systems.

The company, which manufactures cooling, heating and air conditioning systems, has seen a 42% rise in its international sales over the past two years.

Grayson, which employs 270 people across four sites in the West Midlands and a US operation in Indiana, is hoping the launch of its first new product of 2017 will see it sustain its strong performance.

It is expecting more than £2m of orders from customers in the global bus and coach sector for its new 24-volt electric water pump.

Ian Hateley, technical director at the firm, said: “This is a very exciting product introduction for our business and builds on more than 50,000 high-performing water pumps that we have supplied into the marketplace to date.”

Charles faram, based in Malvern, supplies hops to brewers in 47 countries, while Northants-based Dalepak owes much of its success to the automotive sector.

Ahead of the Brexit negotiations, the league table is said to reflect the importance of Europe to Britain’s mid-market exporters. Almost 85% of the companies (167) sell to the continent, which is the most popular market. This is followed by North America (112) and Asia (75).

The table, sponsored by HSBC and DHL Express, is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.

Amanda Murphy, UK head of commercial banking at HSBC, said: “This year’s Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is testament to the exciting opportunities available to ambitious UK businesses with appetite to grow their goods and services abroad.

“The 20 companies in the Midlands are putting the region firmly on the map as a thriving business hub. We work very closely with our business customers to help them achieve their goals, so it makes me immensely proud to see so many of them succeed.”

The Midlands table in full