Yorkshire’s fast growing exporters revealed
EIGHTEEN companies in Yorkshire feature on the annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table, which ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
In Yorkshire and the North East, 22 companies (there were 24 last year) appear on the list and have made a significant contribution to the regional economy over the past two years. During this time they added 2,140 jobs and now employ a total of 8,950 people. Their combined sales are £1.6bn, and their international sales have grown by an average of 51% a year over two years to a total of £470m.
The region’s highest ranked company is Leeds-based IT consultancy BJSS, which has blue-chip customers including HSBC, UBS and BP. The firm opened a New York office last year, adding to bases in Chicago and Houston. It is ranked fourth nationally, after international sales climbed 184% to £17.3m in 2013.
BJSS is one of five Leeds-based companies to make the list. Others include Turner & Townsend, a construction consultancy with 83 offices in 33 countries. The company has been advising on the creation of Qatar’s new coastal city, Lusail, as well as its rail scheme – one of the largest in the world. The firm’s international sales rose 23% to £170.5m last year.
Other Yorkshire companies to make the list are Hull-based food wholesaler Turner Price, which saw international sales climb 41% to £10.1m. Commercial printer, York Mailing, increased international sales by 30% to £12.2m and Ripon Select Foods, the food ingredient manufacturer, increased international sales by 21% to just under £2m. Sheffield-based Abbey Forged Products, Rotherham’s MTL Group, Sheffield-based William Cook Cast Products, Doncaster firm Motorhog, Shipley business Cardinal, Bradford’s Barrett Steel, Halifax firm Leo Group, Ilkley company Spooner Industries, Harvard Engineering in Wakefield, Leeds-based Harder Bros, P&B Foods in Bradford, Leeds-based Progress Group and Ligentia in Leeds all made the list, too.
The International Track 200 is sponsored by HSBC and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.
Ian Stuart, head of HSBC UK commercial banking, said: “The Sunday Times International Track 200 continues to provide an interesting insight into the important contribution privately-owned mid-market companies make to the UK economy, and this year’s league table symbolises the dynamism and innovation this group of companies with international ambitions are famed for.”
