Fastest growing businesses: London
Sadiq Khan became mayor of London in May and has wasted no time in promoting his focus on businesses in the city. Promising to be the “most pro-business mayor yet”, Khan has repeatedly declared “London is open” in a bid to keep investments coming as the Brexit bell continues to ring. “Our city is a global financial capital, a creative powerhouse and an international centre for business. We are home to an incredible mix of innovation and entrepreneurship,” Khan said.Fastest growing businesses: The South East of England
Away from the bright lights of London, Essex and Surrey accounted for the most businesses from the Hot 100 2016, housing eight and seven businesses apiece. As such, the South East of England is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to business locations, and that’s before adding in the numerous companies in the ranking from Kent and Hertfordshire. In fact, Surrey-based tiles supplier Domus actually topped the Hot 100 2016 fastest growing businesses list with a growth rate of 100.7 per cent and a £27.6m turnover. Estate agent Knight Frank supported the South East of England business strength – it revealed new office take-up around the M25, M3 and M4 motorway areas in the third quarter rose to be higher than expected. Meanwhile, professional services firms Grant Thornton and KPMG made various partner promotions and hires around the Gatwick area to meet regional demand. Although Gatwick Airport lost its contest for a third runway, the 2025 Heathrow expansion is set to be a huge boon for the country’s economy on the whole.Fastest growing businesses: Northern Powerhouse
This year started with an upwards focus for crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, which committed to the North West of England with an office opening in Manchester, described as an “exciting opportunity to further stimulate the startup scene”. George Osborne may have lost a seat of power once Theresa May replaced David Cameron, but in the Budget 2016, he promised “radical devolution of power” for his beloved Northern Powerhouse. In July, “proud northerner” Andrew Percy was named Northern Powerhouse minister. Shortly after his appointment, it was revealed that over 8,000 new jobs have been created in Northern Powerhouse Enterprise Zones over the past four years. And as of November, over £5bn worth of investment opportunities in the region were made available to China, including doubling the size of MediaCityUK. “Investors from abroad know that the North has some of the world’s best and most talented entrepreneurs and businesses, and today we’re showcasing 13 oven-ready opportunities to them which could create thousands of jobs for years to come,” said Percy.Fastest growing businesses: Midlands Engine
In early 2016, former business secretary Sajid Javid oversaw a visit from the Chinese minster of commerce to power the “Midlands Engine”. Fast forward to November 2016 and the inaugural Midlands Engine trade mission to China has taken place to promote the UK region’s £222n economy. According to the government, the Midlands is the only part of the UK where Chinese trade increased by more than double last year, compared to 2010. “This mission brought the Midlands Engine to one of the world’s biggest markets,” said international trade minister Mark Garnier. “Government has been helping organisations build their relationship with China and boost their global brand. Over five years, exports of goods from the Midlands to China have more than doubled to £4.5bn.” Among the various fastest growing businesses rapidly growing across the Midlands, Leicestershire was a key hotspot.Share this story