Region's fastest-growing businesses revealed

Sep 23 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

TODAY is the day when we reveal the businesses who have made it into Ward Hadaway's Fastest 50 for 2009 - the comprehensive list of the North-East’s fastest-growing businesses.

Sponsored by leading law firm Ward Hadaway and backed by The Journal, the list highlights and celebrates companies and organisations in the region showing the strongest growth as a way of rewarding high achieving companies and encouraging others.

The 2009 Fastest 50 contains b usinesses from a wide range of sectors from holidays and leisure to marine and offshore engineering.

Colin Hewitt, head of commercial law at Ward Hadaway, said: “The Fastest 50 has again delivered a fascinating snapshot of the North-East economy.

“The sheer variety of companies represented in the list demonstrates the continuing strength and vibrancy of the region’s business world and gives us all something to feel proud about - all the more important in view of the current economic climate.

“All the businesses listed here are forging ahead and seeing their turnover grow - they are real trailblazers who deserve our support, encouragement and our applause.”

Experts from St Chad’s College/Durham Business School were drafted in to help compile the list, making it even more authoritative.

Following today’s publication of the Fastest 50, an awards ceremony will take place at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead on Friday October 9 when the winners of the Fastest 50 will be revealed.

There, awards will be given to the fastest growing small, medium and large business, as well as an overall award for the fastest growing business of the year.

The full list in order will be published in a supplement inside the Journal on October 14. To advertise in the supplement contact david coburn on 0191 201 6390 or david.coburn@ncjmedia.co.uk  Here is the Fastest 50 for 2009 in alphabetical order:

4Projects Ltd, Sunderland

4Projects specialises in producing software to help different companies work together on the same project. Most often used on large-scale construction and energy projects, 4Projects’ software has been used on high profile schemes including the new roof over Centre Court at Wimbledon and the 2012 Olympic Stadium in London.

A&P Group Limited, Hebburn

Originally founded as a centre of expertise in shipyard design and construction in 1971, A&P has developed into a leading force in ship repair, conversion and marine services and has carried out ship repair work for clients in more than 70 countries.

AHA Medical Services Limited, Durham

Based in Belmont on the outskirts of Durham, AHA provides a range of services to the healthcare sector including warehouse and distribution services, workforce health protection programmes, care lines and help lines and marketing and customer fulfilment programmes.

Analox Limited, Stokesley

Analox makes gas analysis equipment for the military, commercial diving, sports diving, hospitality and general safety industries. It exports more than 60pc of its products and won the Export Award in the Tees Valley Company of the Year Awards 2005.

Arefco Special Products Limited, Ashington

With its headquarters in Ashington and a US operation in Houston, Texas, Arefco supplies a range of blue chip industrial companies with specialist engineering products including hydraulic and pneumatic seals.

Bannatyne Fitness Limited, Darlington

Owned by Dragons Den TV star and entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne, this fitness club chain is one of the largest of its kind in the UK with 62 outlets nationwide. The company has previously won two Fastest 50 Awards, in 1999 and in 2000.

Cecil M Yuill Limited, Hartlepool

Trading as Yuill Homes, this well-known housebuilder has been building homes in the North-East for over 80 years and has won a range of awards for its work. The company was bought out by its management in October 2008.

CJ Garland & Co Limited, Hartlepool

Garlands is one of the North-East’s largest call centre specialists, employing 2,000 people at four centres in Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and South Shields. Clients include mobile phone operators and the NHS.

Cleveland Cable Company Limited, Middlesbrough

Established in 1978, Cleveland Cable Company is one of the leading distributors of electrical cables in Europe. As well as its Middlesbrough headquarters, the company has regional depots in Bristol, Glasgow, London, Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Warrington.

Con Mech Group Limited, Stanley, Co Durham

This company specialises in the manufacture of ground engaging tools for construction and earthmoving machinery, forging and sheet metal for the railways and agricultural engineering industries.

Continental Conveyor Limited, Sunderland

Continental is the largest UK manufacturer of belt conveyor systems and belt conveyor components. It employs around 200 people and in 2005 saw 45% of its sales exported, mainly to other European countries.

Controle Mesure (UK) Limited, New York, North Tyneside

Winner of the Fastest Growing Medium Business in the Fastest 50 2007, this company specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of temperature and pressure sensors including associated cabling systems, monitoring and control systems.

Cordell Group Limited, Stockton

Specialising in project management, engineering design, fabrication and site construction, Stockton’s Cordell Group has enjoyed notable success in recent years, securing several major long-term contracts and acquiring Kent-based panel-building and site installation company, Cranford Controls Systems, in 2007.

CTC Marine Projects Limited, Darlington

CTC specialises in marine trenching and subsea cable installation services to the offshore oil and gas, telecommunications, utilities and defence industries. In July 2008, the company was bought out by US oil giant Trico Marine Services.

Danesmoor Limited, Newton Aycliffe

Danesmoor offers furniture companies around the world a wide range of services and product solutions, selling fittings and complete furniture in addition to design services. As well as its offices in Co Durham, the company also has operations in the US and Hong Kong.

Demon Fire Protection Limited, Blyth, Northumberland

Demon Fire Protection specialises in the on site application and installation of structural fire protection systems. Based in Blyth, the company carries out a range of work for clients across the UK.

Egger (UK) Limited, Hexham, Northumberland

The Hexham factory of chipboard manufacturer Egger has been a well-known landmark in Tynedale for 25 years and currently employs 450 people. Earlier this year, the company secured planning permission for a £100m expansion of the site.

Entec Holdings Limited, Newcastle

Formed in 2005 via a management buy-out from Northumbrian Water, Entec is an environmental and engineering consultancy which works on a range of projects across the country, including the strategic plan for the future development of London.

Express Engineering (Thompson) Limited, Gateshead

Headed by well-known North businessman Chris Thompson, Express makes precision-machined components for customers in the UK and abroad in industries including sub-sea oil exploration and production, power generation and defence.

F Peart & Co Ltd, Hartlepool

F Peart & Co has been delivering home heating oil, road diesel and gas oil for 80 years around the UK. The family-owned company is the North East’s largest independent oil distributor, delivering over 120 million litres of fuel oil a year.

Fentimans Ltd, Hexham, Northumberland

Fentimans makes botanically brewed drinks including ginger beer, shandy and tonic water. Its products are supplied to a range of retailers in the UK and exported to countries including the USA and Japan. It secured its largest order in its 104 years in 2009 with a 200,000 bottle deal with Waitrose.

Ferschl Hose and Hydraulics Limited, Gateshead

This industrial company assembles hydraulic and metallic hoses and also acts as a distributor in the engineering sector.

Godfrey-Syrett (Holdings) Limited, Newcastle

Office furniture maker Godfrey-Syrett’s products can be seen not only in workplaces and schools across the UK but, thanks to contracts with the Ministry of Defence, in military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hall Construction Services Limited, Rushyford, Co Durham

This building and civil engineering company has more than 30 years’ experience in the field and has a portfolio of projects at locations across the UK. It employs more than 300 staff operating from offices in County Durham, South Yorkshire and Scotland.

IHC The Engineering Business Limited, Hexham, Northumberland

Overall Fastest 50 winner for 2007, this company designs, builds and supplies engineering solutions for the offshore oil and gas, submarine telecom, defence and offshore renewables industries. It was bought by £1bn Dutch shipbuilding company IHC Merwede in a multi-million pound deal in 2008.

John Harrison (Stockton) Limited, Stockton

Trading as Harrison Packaging, this printed carton and leaflet manufacturer was founded in 1882 and supplies customers in the healthcare, food and household industries.

John Nixon Limited, Newcastle

Trading as Nixon Hire, this is now one of the largest privately-owned construction equipment hire and sales companies in the UK. It has a head office in Newcastle and depots throughout Northern England and Scotland.

Jomast Property & Finance Co Ltd, Stockton

Part of the Jomast group, which encompasses property development, commercial property and hospitality divisions. Jomast is currently building a new commercial development at Spectrum Business Park in Dawdon, Co Durham.

LJJ Limited, Stockton

Formed in 2001, building services company LJJ Limited specialises in the design, installation and commissioning of mechanical and electrical services. The company has recently won a series of contracts in the education, health and defence sectors.

Melbourne Holdings (Northern) Limited, Middlesbrough

Melbourne sells a range of tyres and exhausts to the wholesale and retail markets from its base on Teesside.

Merit Merrell Technology Limited, Cramlington, Northumberland

Merit is an installation, engineering and facility management company focused on high technology and complex industrial market sectors including semiconductor, biotechnology, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

Midland Steel Traders Limited, Chester-le-Street

MST provides the construction, mining, quarrying and plant hire industry with replacement spare parts. As well as its headquarters in Co Durham, the company also has service centres in Airdrie in Scotland and in Redditch, near Birmingham.

Owen Pugh Holdings Limited, Cramlington, Northumberland

This demolition and construction company was founded in 1946 and offers a range of services including land reclamation, demolition, civil engineering, earthmoving and plant hire. Last year it bought Newcastle-based construction company Grayson Dyson as part of an acquisition strategy.

Parsons Brinckerhoff Holdings Limited, Newcastle

Part of the US-owned Parsons Brinckerhoff group, it provides a range of infrastructure solutions and services from strategy, planning and engineering to programme and construction management, operation and maintenance.

Protek-CNC Limited, Washington, Tyne & Wear

Established in 2004, Protek is a CNC machining company which specialises in subcontract work. The company bought a purpose-built manufacturing unit in 2006 and is now a preferred supplier to several of the UK’s leading valve manufacturers.

Radford HMY Group Ltd, Burnopfield, Co Durham

Radford has become one of the biggest suppliers in the shop fitting industry, specialising in manufacturing shelving and other retail display fittings. Customers include blue chip companies and household names in retailing.

Ramsdens Financial Limited, Middlesbrough

This pawnbroker and jeweller has more than 50 years’ experience in the sector and provides a range of financial and credit services to consumers. It operates via three main divisions: Ramsdens Online, Ramsdens Branches and Ramsdens Home Credit.

Rooneys Scrap Merchants Limited, Gateshead

Rooneys specialises in recycling metal waste, a sector which has seen major growth in recent years as the price of metals has continued to rise.

Sirius Geotechnical and Environmental Ltd, Durham

Sirius was founded in June 2003 and has evolved and expanded to combine geo-environmental consultancy and remediation in one company. Sirius has worked on a range of projects, including the second Tyne Tunnel.

Soil Machine Dynamics, Wallsend, North Tyneside

Soil Machine Dynamics - or SMD - is one of the world’s leading subsea engineering companies, specialising in the design and manufacture of remotely operated vehicle systems. The company was bought out by its management team in 2008 in a deal backed by Inflexion Private Equity.

Surgo Construction Limited, Newcastle

Formerly Bowey Construction, Surgo was renamed in 2004 and has since seen its turnover grow to £45m. Employing 200 people, the company carries out private and public sector projects in fields including education, health, residential and commercial.

The Davy Roll Company Limited, Gateshead

Davy Roll is a well-known name in Tyneside industry, manufacturing and supplying cast rolls for the metal forming sector. The company has won several awards for its export performance, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2007.

The Inta Group Limited, Gateshead

Under the Bill Goff brand, Inta Group is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of golfing holidays and short breaks, sending over 28,000 golfers abroad each year. Earlier this year, Inta merged with Scottish operator 3D Golf to create a £25m turnover golf-focused leisure business.

The Specials Laboratory Limited, Prudhoe, Northumberland

Founded in 1999, The Specials Laboratory manufactures unlicensed medicines for the retail and hospital pharmaceutical markets. These “specials” are used to treat patients who don’t respond to normal prescribed medicine. The company was sold to Ireland’s United Drug for £20m in November 2008.

The Station Hotel (Newcastle) Limited, Newcastle

A familiar landmark in Newcastle city centre, the Station Hotel was opened by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1858. The three-star venue has 144 bedrooms hotel and 10 conference suites.

Tyne Electro Diesel Limited, Newcastle

Established 20 years ago, Tyne Electro Diesel specialises in the overhaul, repair and test of all makes of diesel fuel injection equipment, and related components for the marine and power generation industries.

United Carlton Office Systems Limited, Gateshead

United Carlton provides a range of IT and office equipment, including digital copier/printers, scanning and document management solutions. The company is ranked in both Toshiba and Sharp’s top ten dealers in the United Kingdom and has more than 4,000 clients.

Waymid Limited, Stockton

Waymid is an electricians and electrical contracting business based in the Norton area of Stockton.

Wearmouth Construction and Plant Limited, Stockton

Wearmouth Construction & Plant provides a range of construction contracting services from its base on Teesside.

Wellburn Care Homes Limited, Newburn, Newcastle

Wellburn operates 12 care homes and a day centre throughout the North-East and Yorkshire. The family-run business achieved the Investors in People Award in 2000 and ISO 9000 in October 2004.

The companies in this list have been selected from the table of fastest-growing profit-making, private, regional companies, based on turnover growth.

Information has been compiled by researchers at St. Chad's College/Durham Business School using data which is publicly available at Companies House of UK listed companies.

The average turnover growth has been assessed on a percentage increase based on the difference between turnover figures filed for the last three years.

To qualify, companies must be trading entities and have turnover in excess of £1m in the last three years of filed accounts, which are up to date as at 31 July 2007. Companies must also have made profits in each of the past three years accounts.

Private limited companies which are subsidiaries of listed companies do not qualify. Subsidiaries of foreign-controlled companies have been accepted if they have headquarters or a decision-making function in the region.

Ward Hadaway and The Journal do not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions.