Member Article

High growth companies increase 38% in Yorkshire & Humber

The proportion of high-growth companies in Yorkshire and Humberside increased by 38% between March 2012 and March 2013, the latest Barclays and BGF Entrepreneurs Index report reveals.

This rise means that over a quarter (25.3%) of the region’s mid-sized SMEs can now be defined as high-growth.

This Entrepreneurs Index is the fourth in a bi-annual series tracking the entrepreneurial lifecycle across the regions of the UK, using data to measure start-ups, growth and share sales.

The report reveals that Yorkshire and Humberside saw a 1% rise in the number of active, growing companies recording share sales in the past year to 418.

Yorkshire and Humberside was the only region in the country to register a rise – reflecting a national picture of potential investors being selective and entrepreneurs waiting for more favourable conditions to sell.

In the case of Yorkshire and Humberside, expert panellists quoted in the report attribute this uptick in share activity to the region’s entrepreneurs cautiously beginning to ride the wave of economic growth.

There was a 0.4% rise in the number of enterprises[iv] in 2013, making Yorkshire and Humberside home to 150,725 enterprises.

Martin Cuthbert, regional director, Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, Yorkshire and Humberside, comments on the report findings: “Yorkshire and Humberside has benefited from an influx of investment capital in recent years and the findings in this edition of the Entrepreneurs Index confirm that the local economic recovery is gathering pace.

“From our perspective, we are starting to see renewed M&A activity and the fact that an increasing proportion of local companies are going on to become high-growth indicates that these businesses have strong foundations underneath them and savvy entrepreneurs leading them.”

Andy Gregory, regional director, North, North Wales & Northern Ireland adds: “This latest Entrepreneurs Index clearly highlights the positive environment that exists in the Yorkshire & Humberside region for businesses of all sizes looking to grow.

“It is encouraging to see that the region has seen a significant 38% gain in the proportion of high-growth companies. As long-term equity investors in growing UK companies, we are encouraged by the fact that there is this clear and addressable market in the Yorkshire & Humberside region, full of business owners who are keen to expand.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .