New research from accountants and business advisers BDO LLP has revealed Surrey and Sussex’s top performing mid-sized companies have continued to forge ahead, reporting profit growth of 40% in the last year, despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit that has prevailed over the last 12 months.
The top 20 firms in each county featured in BDO’s Best in Business 2017 are ranked by compound annual operating profit (CAGR) growth over three accounting periods. Collectively they employ 8000 people.
The best performing company across both counties was Surrey-based Michael J Gallagher Contractors Limited with CAGR of 147%, followed closely behind by SAV Holding (UK) Limited, also Surrey-based. Two companies – SAV Holding (UK) Limited and Whiteline (Group) Ltd – have maintained their performance by appearing in the list for the second year running.
BDO’s analysis also highlights the continuing importance of mid-sized businesses to both counties, being home to 547 companies each with a turnover between £10m-£300m. In total the companies employ more than 139,000 people and generate overall revenues of £27.9bn.
Manufacturing, real estate and construction, motor retail, technology and telecommunications, and transport and logistics companies all grace the top list, highlighting the broad expertise the counties possess.
Despite such positive growth, BDO is calling on the Government not to take the resilience of the region’s mid-sized businesses for granted and take steps to create a more friendly business environment. BDO’s New Economy report suggests twenty two polices – including tax simplification, smaller-scale infrastructure investment and a greater focus on skills – that the Government should consider to support the ambitions of mid-sized businesses.
Kevin Cook, partner at BDO LLP, said “Mid-sized businesses continue to thrive across the counties and have reported impressive results for the last year. They have remained focused on sustainable growth and with uncertainty continuing to be the only certainty they will need to remain vigilant and continue to drive their businesses forward.
“We have a tremendous base of entrepreneurial and aspirational companies in the counties and Best in Business seeks to recognise them whilst initiating dialogue to increase awareness of the challenges they face, and how together we can overcome them.
“Despite their strong performance, mid-sized businesses are overlooked and undervalued by the Government. We would like to see policy makers create a more business-friendly environment by simplifying tax and investing in infrastructure”.
