Yorkshire makes a strong showing in profit league table
A NUMBER of Yorkshire firms have been listed in a prestigious profits league table for the first time.
They include a hotels group and software firm.
Among the firms making a fresh appearance in the Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100, which looks at companies with the fastest rates of growth, is Leeds-based hotel operator QHotels – ranked 80th in the table and boasting a 54% profit increase over the last three years.
The firm, which employs around 2,000 staff, has created 1,654 jobs during the period and is the biggest North East employer to be included.
The highest ranked Yorkshire firm is Huddersfield-based Simply Biz, with a 90% increase in profits, followed by Sheffield firm Flow Group at 38th.
Wakefield-based The Car People is ranked 65th with a 58% profit increase, then York’s CPP Group in at 76 with a 55% profit rise, and finally Halifax-based SSP with a 54% profit gain, which is ranked 79th.
Together, the North East firms have combined profits of more than £163m and employ 13,287 having added more than 5,000 in the last three years.
The companies appear alongside well-known national brands such as fruit drinks maker innocent, Pret-A-Manger, and clothing retailer White Stuff.
Ian Morrison, partner and head of the entrepreneurs and private company team at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said: “It is great to see local privately-owned companies delivering sustained profit growth and making such a positive contribution in spite of the economic slowdown.
“The North East is showing how private companies and dynamic managers and owners can drive regional economic growth and development.”
Nearly a third (30) of the 100 companies included in the league table are headquartered in London. The Midlands is home to 15, the South East 12, Scotland 10, the North West nine, the South West six, the East four, Wales two and Northern Ireland just one.
The combined profits of the 100 exceed £1.2bn with some 82,719 employed.
The Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100 is based on historical data, with October 2008 being the latest financial year end from which audited figures are featured.
It therefore measures historical performance in the months leading up to the current economic downturn and is not necessarily an indicator of future performance.
