NORTHERN Rock has once again taken top place in the league of the North-East’s top 250 companies, which is published exclusively in The Journal today.
The country’s eighth biggest bank has for the third time led the annual list with a turnover of more than £5.1bn, which also widens its lead at the head of the table.
This year the closely watched list, which is widely seen as the clearest snapshot of the state of the region’s businesses, has been stepped up from 200 to 250 firms. This reflects the growth of the North-East’s economy and this year allows businesses with £21m turnover upwards to be considered.
Brian Aitken, editor of The Journal which organises the event, explains: “There has been a steady incremental growth over the years. An initial Top 50 became a Top 100, then the Top 150 and the Top 200.”
He explained the significance of the this year’s publication at a presentation lunch marking three decades of the rankings at the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle yesterday. “This year sees The Journal celebrate its 175th birthday. That, combined with being the 30th year of the event, plus the fact that we continue to see an increasing number of success stories from the North-East business world, made us decide to raise the bar even higher and go for a Top 250,” he said.
Professor Rob Dixon, deputy dean of Durham Business School, which compiled the list, said: “There are a large number of outstandingly successful companies in the region and I am delighted to be part of that.”
This year’s number two in the Top 250 list of companies in order of turnover, is a meteoric highest new entry by engineering and project management company Amec which has edged Britain’s biggest housebuilder, Barratt, into third place.
Amec, though centred in Cheshire, has a major decision-making centre in Darlington that fulfils criteria for a listing. Its success comes during a restructure which saw it sell its loss-making project services, and is refocusing away from construction.
Closer now to project management in the gas, oil and nuclear industries, it has been rewarded by winning a big share in a £500m contract on Teesside for National Grid.
Carmaker Nissan is fourth – and soon to reap full benefits from its launch of three new models within a year from the Sunderland plant where it has more than 4,000 workers.
Two bus and rail groups, Arriva and Go-Ahead, stand fifth and sixth respectively as Arriva also celebrates this week winning a prime rail franchise, the cross-country train route, from Virgin.
Together, the top 10 companies show the broader spectrum of successful North-East business. There are two housebuilders, two public transport groups, and the others in financial services, software, car manufacturing, process chemicals, green energy and engineering services.
This year’s highest climber, leaping 51 places to 58th, should inspire small businesses. Started from a family owned garage in Blyth, Fone Logistics under its founder and head Ian Gillespie has morphed today into a leading provider of airtime and mobile handsets to independent phone dealers in the UK.
It also repairs and services mobile phones, employing 175 people at Cramlington. All this has been achieved in little more than a decade.
There are 59 new entries to the enlarged list and two re-entries, Hashimoto the East Boldon automotives firm, and Pride Valley Foods of Seaham.
Meanwhile 49 firms have fallen down the ranking though, in fact, a good number had higher turnovers than before, suggesting a tightening of competition for places.