Yorkshire firms rank on list of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies
The 22nd annual Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table features five companies headquartered in Yorkshire.
Ranking Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing sales, the list will be published this weekend.
The five Yorkshire companies include four new entrants to the league table. Their sales have grown by an average of 58% a year over three years to a total of £69.6m, and together they employ 220 people.
The region’s highest ranked company is specialist mortgage broker Pure Retirement, which is new entrant. The Leeds-based firm helps its customers, who must be aged 60 or over, convert the equity tied up in their homes into a cash lump sum.
Pure Retirement, has grown its sales over the past three years by an average of 77% a year, reaching £21.1m last year. The company is anticipating to be managing £1bn worth of loans in 2019, up from the £600m on its books.
The other new entrants include bathroom distributor Harrison Bathrooms. Based in Keighley, the company now supplies over 1,000 UK retailers and plumbing merchants with 12,000 products per week and has grown sales by 66% a year, hitting £13.1m in 2018.
C2evenets, the Wakefield-based events management agency, and Knaresborough furniture manufacturer naughtone also made the list, with sales of £6.9m (49%) and £23.4m (50%) respectively.
Biopharmaceutical forum organiser BioPhorum finished off the league table in 100th position. The Sheffield-based firm grew its sales over the past three years by an average of 46%, reaching £5.2m last year.
The Fast Track 100 is sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, Barclays, BDO, BGF and N+1 Singer, and is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Group, which has supported Fast Track 100 for all 22 years, said: “Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of UK business and have always been the beating heart of positive change.
“In a climate of uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to recognise those entrepreneurs, like those of this year’s Fast Track 100, who are making the world a better place for everybody.”
