Britain may have endured the longest recession in the G7, but we are now bouncing back strongly. Analysis from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, has shown that strong growth is being driven by medium-sized businesses across the Central South region.
As part of BDO’s focus on the Central South’s mid-market, it has identified the leading companies in the region who are already achieving sustained profit growth. The top 20 companies include six in the Southampton area including Reilly Holdings Limited, GDC Group Limited, D.P.P. Limited, CLC Group Limited, Silva Holdings Limited and Elforist Limited.
Business growth is being driven by mid-market businesses embracing opportunities in national and regional markets, undertaking international expansion, innovation and from the recovering M&A (mergers and acquisitions) market.
Confidence is also helping to drive the trend, with a recent BDO Business Trends report finding that business optimism is at its highest point since the coalition government came into power.
Ironically, it was the recession that put many businesses in a position of strength having prompted companies to re-evaluate their business; to seek professional advice; to truly understand their core strengths and costs; to realign their operations and objectives.
Helen O’Kane, corporate finance director at BDO LLP in Southampton, explains: “It’s clear that Central South mid-market companies have become leaner and their management teams more focused over recent years. They are positioned to take advantage of the upswing and, critically, there are now far more opportunities to gain financial support for growth.
“The six Southampton-based companies in the top 20 have shown great resilience and strength, and their sustained growth provides real inspiration for other mid-market companies in the region. The key for any business is to get the right advice on making an in-depth evaluation of what will work for them, whether that is M&A or investment in research and development, recruitment of talent or expansion into international markets, and maybe a mix of several such aspects.”
