Chris Bond, Tax Partner and Local Head of Tax
Northamptonshire’s fastest-growing mid-sized businesses have generated a total of £2.1bn in the past year, achieving growth of £200m each year for the two years previous, according to a report published by accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP.
Motorvogue Group – a car dealership business – tops the list with a 58% revenue increase over the past three years. Other companies making the top five were: RML Group, Sloane Helicopters, Barwood Homes and Panther Warehousing.
Manufacturing companies lead the charge for the county with 38% of businesses in the sector making the top 50. This was followed by companies in the transport and logistics, and retail sectors with 20% and 14% of total businesses respectively.
The research focuses on changes in turnover among the companies headquartered in the county over the last three years to calculate a year-on-year average growth, before calculating an overall average growth rate.
Chris Bond, who leads the Tax Team and is a Partner at BDO LLP in the East Midlands, said: “The Northamptonshire Growth Barometer tells an impressive story in its first year of publication. As a local resident, it’s great to see this group of businesses clearly demonstrating the importance of mid-sized companies to our regional economy. From freight-forwarding and footwear to retail and healthcare, these fast-growth, entrepreneurial businesses are innovating, creating jobs and setting new standards.”
Hilary Chipping, Chief Executive of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), adds: “The results of this research are really encouraging, and businesses should be optimistic about the future. Northamptonshire is a magnet for logistics companies that like the county’s central location and easy access to motorways. As an area with the highest levels of business innovation in country, the county has vast growth potential. We have a cluster of high-tech businesses around Silverstone, these could be the future: growth from within.”
The research has been released as part of BDO LLP’s series of Shires growth reports across the Midlands, which has seen the firm release growth indicators across Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.
Andy Offer OBE, Founder of 2Excel Aviation, which appeared in the top ten with three-year revenue growth of 24%, added: “A major challenge for many businesses today is finding the right people. Being in Northamptonshire helps as labour costs are lower than in London. The skills gap isn’t a problem restricted to the shires. People are willing to move to Northamptonshire because it’s a great place to live. It’s then over to entrepreneurs to create a compelling proposition to attract the best talent. We recently became 51% staff-owned through an employee ownership trust, which we believe will position us well for future growth.”
View the 50 companies and read interviews with business leaders here: https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/northamptonshire-growth-report-2019.
