20 companies headquartered in the Northeast (compared to 18 last year), including 14 in Yorkshire have won places on the 12th annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table.
Published this weekend, the league table ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
These regional stars have grown their international sales by an average of 40% a year over the last two years to a total of £746m, all are profitable and together they employ more than 8,500 people. The figures largely relate to financial periods before Covid-19 struck.
The region’s top-ranked company is subsea equipment engineer Express Engineering (No 11), which saw international sales grow an average of 131% per year over its last two years to reach £21.3m in the year to September 2020, on gross total sales of £36.1m.
The companies in the Northeast appear alongside well-known British brands based across the UK including Sweaty Betty, the women’s activewear brand sold in 195 countries; BrewDog, which was valued at £1bn in 2017 and now has 100 bars worldwide; and Brompton, the bicycle manufacturer, which ships to 47 markets.
International Track 200 star alumni include Skyscanner, Fever-Tree and Dr Martens – which featured on the league table in 2013 with exports of £100m and floated last month valued at £3.7bn.
The league table programme is sponsored by HSBC and DHL Express, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK, said: “After a challenging start to 2021, all eyes are on the companies that will drive a return to growth in 2021. We are confident that the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of businesses such as those in the Northeast listed on International Track 200 will carry them forward. These companies show the strength, ambition and resilience of businesses across the UK and are the sort of businesses we are proud to support every day.”
