Fastest 50
Insider's unique annual survey of the region's fastest-growing companies ranked by both profitability and turnover features some familiar faces and some dynamic new enterprises shining through with innovation and determination. Lisa Miles reports. Research by Rob Mayfield
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Onwards and upwards
Insider's unique annual survey of the region's fastest-growing companies ranked by both profitability and turnover features some familiar faces and some dynamic new enterprises shining through with innovation and determination. Lisa Miles reports. Research by Rob Mayfield
From 18th century jewellers through to 21st century software developers, companies in the Midlands are thriving across a broad spectrum of sectors. Examples of fast-growing companies can be found in garden centres, on building sites, laying road surfaces and selecting upholstery fabrics.
Several of the companies featured in this year's tables are now making a regular appearance. It is all too often the case that companies grow too fast and are unable to sustain that expansion or to make the relevant returns to shareholders. So it is encouraging to see names such as Goldsmiths, Drive Assist and Caudwell returning for another showing. No surprise that some of these regulars are also the subject of intense speculation over their future. Rumours abound about a secondary buyout at Goldsmiths, while Caudwell - and its ebullient boss John Caudwell - completed a deal last year when he sold off his Singlepoint business to Vodafone. Elsewhere, Nottingham-based ClinPhone now talks openly about a flotation.
But the newer kids on the Fastest 50 block such as Blitz Games in Leamington Spa, which develops games for the likes of Disney and Warner Bros, and smoothie enthusiasts PJs in Nottingham, have equally exciting stories to tell. Their entrepreneurial founders can regale us with tales of spotting and exploiting exciting niche markets that have since entered the mainstream consciousness.
Companies large and small are maintaining exciting levels of expansion and investment. And opportunities abound for investors and business advisers to take some of these companies to the next level.
We provide a top 50 for both East and West, a technique that serves to highlight small but interesting differences. Both regions, for example, are riding high on the back of property booms. But our top 50 for the West Midlands includes the larger crop of companies related to this sector.
The top western company, Waterfields, specialises in interior design and refurbishment, as does CPL Interiors of Birmingham at number five. Both the long-established and the newly created businesses in housebuilding, construction and real estate are growing rapidly.
In the East it is technology that is beginning to reveal the most dramatic and interesting success stories. Nottingham-based ClinPhone, a company that has attracted considerable national attention, is helping the pharmaceuticals industry to increase efficiency, while Tioga in Derby is busy making the electronic systems without which much of our modern world would fail to function.
But the East Midlands cannot escape the lure of the property market and construction is still high on the agenda. Road haulage and warehousing also feature, highlighting the Midlands' role as the UK's distribution hub.
Our tables are based on accounts submitted to Companies House over the last five years and the ranking is established through a combination of their turnover and profitability. As such, companies that are experiencing considerable growth but are indebted up to the hilt or still sustaining significant losses don't tend to feature.
By this reckoning we believe our survey to be the most definitive assessment of business growth in our region.
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