Yorkshire mid-market private firms come out on top
SHEFFIELD-based Vasanta has been named the North East’s largest mid-market private company following its top 10 entry into the Top Track 250.
The firm, which was placed seventh in the Sunday Times HSBC Top 250 – a league table of the UK’s biggest mid-market private companies – is one seven Yorkshire firms to feature in this year’s ranking.
Joining Vasanta are North Yorkshire firm R&R Ice Cream, which climbed from 82 to 48, Hull-based Rix Shipping, which climed to 63 from 87, and Barrett Steel in Bradford, which came in at 78 from 116.
Hull-based seafood specialist Andrew Marr International rose from 103 to 96 while CPP Group in York climed to 107 from 153. Leeds-based Turner & Townsend came in at 126 with clothing firm Dewhirst moving from 151 to 139.
Vasanta’s entry is a first for the firm, which was formed from the 2007 merger of Kingfield Health, ISA and Supplies Team.
Together, the 23 North East companies employ 40,000 staff and achieved combined sales of
Stuart Grant, UK head of corporate and structured Banking at HSBC, said: “It is great to see that a significant number of Top Track 250 companies, including many which HSBC has helped to grow and flourish, are performing well in these difficult economic times.”
This year’s Top Track 250 shows that many of Britain’s private, mid-sized firms are proving resilient through the downturn, and have increased their sales and made a profit over their latest financial year.
The 250 companies generated combined sales of £68bn, and employed more than 500,000 staff – equivalent to roughly 5% of GDP and 1.5% of the UK workforce.
However, there are still some signs of strain on the table with more than half the companies reporting a decrease in their operating profit margin.
The league table features household names such as Center Parcs, Flybe, Harvey Nichols, Manchester United and Warburtons.
Most of the companies are based in London (63) and the South East (49). The remainder breaks down as follows: North West (32), Midlands (26), Scotland (23), North East (23), Northern Ireland (11), South West (9), East (8) and Wales (6).
