NORTHAMPTONSHIRE’S top 100 businesses continue to bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic to achieve a 14.5%year-on-year increase in turnover this year, says new data from business advice specialist Grant Thornton.
Its annual Northamptonshire Limited report found that the top 100 companies in the county achieved a combined turnover of £9.1 billion this year. The growth is in stark contrast to the 2021 report which saw a decrease of 2.5% in turnover on the previous year, as the impact of Covid continued to present trading challenges.
Profits were also up across the county’s top businesses in 2022, with Grant Thornton’s analysis revealing a 43% increase in combined EBITDA to £568 million year-on-year.
The Northamptonshire Limited report, launched to an audience of invited businesspeople at Northampton Saints, provides an annual review of the county’s most successful businesses as measured by annual turnover. The businesses included in the report have a turnover range between £17 million and £1.2 billion and collectively employee 43,921 people across the county.
The county’s food and beverage sector achieved the highest overall turnover at £3.1 billion but was among the lowest growth at 4% demonstrating the longer-term impact of the pandemic on this sector. The property and construction sector saw the highest growth (39.9%) to hit a combined turnover of £1.7 billion. Freight and logistics businesses saw the most sluggish growth in turnover at 0.9%.
A total 26 new businesses joined Northamptonshire Limited’s top 100 this year, driven by a number of notable acquisitions of the 2021 top 100 cohort. This emphasises the the quality of businesses across the county, Grant Thornton says. This has been supplemented by great performances by other new entrants, with international fresh food business Avara Food Holdings achieving the county’s highest turnover, taking the number one spot from construction contractor Winvic Group Limited.
Ryan Shields, Grant Thornton’s director for Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, said: “The Northamptonshire Limited report gives us an opportunity to assess how the county’s economy has fared over the past year by analysing the wealth created, retained and reinvested by key business decision-makers.
“We can see that Northants’ leading companies have bounced back from a decline in turnover recorded in our 2021 report to achieve a significant increase in revenues and an impressive 43pc rise in profitability. Against a backdrop of continued political and economic instability, this is welcome progress.”
Working with Northamptonshire’s leading employers has clarified how the county’s businesses are investing in their agility and resilience, he added.
“The panel of local business leaders who joined us at the report’s launch provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities they are facing, with a focus on businesses culture emerging as a key consideration in attracting and retaining talent in a competitive employment landscape.
“While there are many challenges on the horizon – not least an increasingly high bar for measuring and managing ESG initiatives – the findings of our Northants Limited report is cause for confidence that the county’s businesses are well prepared to meet the current cost-of-living and inflationary pressures.”
Pictured (top) at the launch of this year’s Northamptonshire Limited report are (from left) Hilary Chipping, chief executive of SEMLEP; Dan Harding, founder and CEO of Sign In App; Juliet Thorburn, group HR director, Scott Bader; Ryan Shields, director at Grant Thornton.