Member Article

Yorkshire companies on Richard Branson’s Virgin Fast Track 100

Several Yorkshire companies including Pure Gym, Xercise4Less and Earthmill have been included in the 18th annual Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table

The 13 companies headquartered in the North East (2) and Yorkshire (11, compared to seven from both regions last year) have made a strong contribution to the local economy.

Together they employ 1,800 staff and have achieved combined sales of £760 million.

The table ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing sales over three years.

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 £44.3 million last year.

Under co-founder Andrew Cawthray, 57, it is planning to spend £42 million 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.

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.

Melton’s Transwaste, Harrogate gas supplier CNG, Sheffield’s BDB Design Build, Barnsley’s Distinction Doors, Leeds-based energy saving specialist Help-Link UK, Bradford’s Redfern Travel and Shipley-based SportsShoes.com also make the list.

The companies in the North East and Yorkshire appear with businesses from around the UK, including fashion retailer Victoria Beckham, Bill’s Restaurants, brewery BrewDog, snack firm Graze.com, retailer Oak Furniture Land, and cycling clothing brand Rapha.

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.

Sir Richard Branson of Virgin, the title sponsor for all 18 years, said: “This year’s Fast Track 100 is packed full of examples of entrepreneurs taking on many different challenges head-on.

“Their success is based on real team spirit and it is this togetherness, above and beyond any other factor, that sets great businesses apart from also-rans. The Fast Track 100 are testament to that spirit of creativity and camaraderie.”

This year’s Fast Track 100 companies achieved, on average, sales growth of 71% a year over three years, from a total of £749 million in 2010/11 to £3.8 billion in 2013/14.

The majority of companies are headquartered in London (29) and the South East (19).

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