Lincoln firms named among East Midlands’ fastest growing companies

Some 10 Lincoln businesses have been named among the fastest growing companies in the East Midlands Top 200 Report, produced by financial advisers Grant Thornton, in partnership with CBI.

Potato suppliers Branston Holdings Limited (read more about the company in issue 52 of Lincolnshire Business) ranked the highest for Lincoln in 12th place, whilst European Support Services (UK) Limited, based on Newland, was the second highest in 23rd position.

Chris Eley Produce Limited, based in Spalding, was ranked top for the whole of the East Midlands, making it the fastest growing company for 2016.

The list, which was released on May 6, highlights the 200 fastest growing companies run and managed from the East Midlands on the basis of profit growth, to deliver a unique snapshot of the health of the region’s economy.

It is the only report to provide an in-depth study of the growth, performance and percentage rise in the profitability of businesses, from a regional perspective and by individual market sector and county.

A total of 30 Lincolnshire companies made it onto the top 200 list – five more than in 2015.

The 10 Lincoln companies are:

• Branston Holdings Limited – 12th
• European Support Services (UK) Limited – 23rd
• Daubney Limited – 37th
• J.E. Porter Limited – 52nd
• Starglaze Windows And Conservatories Limited – 57th
• Blankney Estates Limited – 107th
• John Martin-Hoyes (Holdings) Limited – 131st
• A.S.C. Metals Limited – 157th
• Burton Waters Marina Limited – 176th
• Battles Limited – 199th

The report identifies the county’s top sectors as agriculture, wholesale, property and construction, services, and manufacturing, whilst revealing that employment in Lincolnshire businesses on the report has grown 43% in the last three years.

According to the 2016 report’s findings, the East Midlands’ 200 best performing businesses have grown profits by an average of 31.6% per year, and collectively, have an operating profit of £736 million, employ 63,045 people, and turnover a total of £12.8 billion – a growth of 58.3% in the last three years.

Based on the ‘typical company’ in the top 200, this equates to an annual compound growth of approximately 12% per year.

This growth in profitability has enabled the East Midlands’ Top 200 companies to generate nearly 17,000 net new jobs over the period of the report, an increase of 36% over the three years, simultaneously increasing average wages and productivity at a higher rate than the national average.

Manufacturing and services continue to be the two fastest growing sectors in the region and represent 48% of the companies on the 2016 report.

Commenting on the East Midlands Top 200 Report 2016, Grant Thornton’s Phil Sayers, partner in the firm’s Leicester office, said: “The research and analysis behind the Top 200 Report reinforces that the East Midlands is a great place to do business.

“For the hundreds of great companies based in the region, including those on the list this year, the benefits of operating in the region are obvious. They each benefit from the East Midlands’ great transport links, large pool of talented and educated workers, many vibrant businesses with which to trade, and a unique mix of available resources and relatively low costs.”

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