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Revealed: Two North East firms among Britain’s 200 fastest-growing exporters

Two North East companies will feature in the eighth annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table, published this weekend.

The table ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.

The two businesses headquartered in the region, compared to three last year, have grown their international sales by an average of 44% a year over the last two years to a total of £83m. Together they now employ almost 1,000 people.

The region’s top-ranked company is Greencroft Bottling (No 83), which features for the second time and grew exports to £6.4m in 2016.

The Durham firm claims to be one of the largest wine bottlers in Europe, and its facility can fill up to 90,000 bottles and boxes of wine an hour. It has customers in Australia, New Zealand, California, Chile and South Africa and last year it invested £3m to increase its bottling capacity by 25%.

Also on the league table is Frank Recruitment Group (No 104), which makes its first appearance. The Newcastle upon Tyne-based IT recruiter operates in more than 70 countries and recently opened offices in Philadelphia and Dallas. International sales grew to £76.7m last year.

The companies in the region appear with businesses from around Britain, including jewellery designer Monica Vinader, cycling gear manufacturer Rapha, and sandwich shop chain Pret. Past stars range from drinks maker Fever-Tree to travel search engine Skyscanner.

The league table reflects the importance of Europe to Britain’s mid-market exporters ahead of the Brexit negotiations. Almost 85% of the companies (167) sell to the continent, the most popular market, followed by North America (112) and Asia (75).

It is sponsored by HSBC and DHL Express, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.

Amanda Murphy, UK head of commercial banking at HSBC, commented: “This year’s Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is testament to the exciting opportunities available to ambitious UK businesses with appetite to grow their goods and services abroad.

“We work very closely with our business customers to help them achieve their goals, so it makes me immensely proud to see so many of them succeed.”

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