Yorkshire’s Fast Track 100 have sales of £760m
MORE rapidly-growing companies have made it onto this year’s Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table this year than previously.
In total, 13 companies based in Yorkshire and the North East feature – up from seven businesses last year.
Together they employ 1,800 staff and have achieved combined sales of £760m.
The top-ranked company in the region is North Yorkshire soft drinks manufacturer Cawingredients (No 13), which is one of 11 new entrants.
It counts Aldi UK and other soft drink brands as its customers, and investment in its manufacturing facility has helped sales double to £44.3m last year.
Under co-founder Andrew Cawthray, 57, it is planning to spend £42m to expand its factory in Northallerton and create 100 jobs.
There are six companies headquartered in West Yorkshire, including two low-cost gyms based in Leeds – Pure Gym (No 18) and Xercise4Less (No 21).
There are also two energy-related companies – Earthmill, which is headquartered in Wetherby and installs wind turbines; and Leeds-based Help-Link UK (No 44), which specialises in energy-saving and heating products and services and installs more than 40,000 boilers in UK homes a year.
Based in Wetherby, Earthmill has been ranked at number 17 in the listing, after increasing turnover by 113% over the past three years.
The business was started out of managing director Steve Milner’s garage in 2009 and has grown to employ 42 people with a turnover of over £13m.
The company has installed more than 200 small-scale turbines on farms across the UK.
In 2013 it received a £4.1m investment from private equity house Connection Capital.
Steve Milner, Earthmill’s managing director, said: “I am so proud that we have been included in this prestigious ranking.
“It’s a testament to the Earthmill team and their brilliant entrepreneurial, can-do attitude.
“So many farms are under financial pressure.
“By installing a small scale turbine on their farm they are able to improve their financial position, secure their future energy costs and reinvest in other areas of their business.”
Leeds-based Xercise4Less currently has 24 sites open and its first London site is due to open early next year.
In total, the gym chain intends to open an additional 30 sites in 2015.
Its run by Jon Wright who is an ex-professional rugby player and it has secured funding from the Business Growth Fund and Lloyds Bank.
Wright said: “Xercise4Less is an ambitious brand, but our growth has outperformed even our most aggressive targets.
“Our success has come from starting small, and evolving the business organically based on a tried and tested business model that we adapt and flex to stay ahead of the game.
“A lot of it is about purchasing the right sites for the right price in the right location – and we go for very large sites with good access, close to traditional health club operators enabling us to gain market share from customers looking for a cheaper and better alternative.
“The Fast Track 100 league table and awards programme is sponsored by Virgin, Barclays, BDO and BGF, and is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.
