The top 11 South West exporters sold a jaw-dropping £703million of goods abroad in the past two years, a new league table shows.
The 11annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
The 11 companies headquartered in the region, including three new entrants, grew their international sales by an average of 51% a year over the past two years - to a total of £703m. Together they employ more than 6,000 people.
The region’s top-ranked company is Plimsoll Productions, which comes in at number 30 in the UK and is one of five Bristol-based companies featuring on the league table.
It produces films and TV series including Hostile Planet, hosted by Bear Grylls. Customers include UK and American broadcasters, as well as streaming platforms including Netflix and Apple TV+. Its international sales grew at an average annual growth rate of 95% over two years, reaching £32.1million in 2019, on total sales of £37.3million.
Plymouth’s luxury yacht builder Princess Yachts – which features for the first time with international sales of £263.8million in 2018 – has been growing exports at an average of 33% per year over two years, on total sales of £340.3million. In 2018 the company launched six new models, including the carbon fibre R35 sports boat.
More about Princess Yachts
Cheltenham-based wine distributor Off-Piste Wines features on the league table for the second time. The company, founded in 2006, sells to 30 countries and plans to expand to the USA this year. In December 2019 it received an £8million investment from BGF to support its further growth. Its international sales grew an average of 64% over two years.
Bristol tour operator Inside Travel Group saw a 45% growth in foreign sales to £18.5million, and jumped 40 places to number 110.
Opus Talent Solutions, also based in Bristol, is a recruitment consultancy, which has seen 43% growth to £31.7million in exports.
Western Global, a storage tank manufacturer also based in Bristol, had a 42% overseas sales hike, to earn it £36.6million.
A-Gas, Bristol-based chemicals and gases distributor, had a 41% export increase, making it £182.8million.
Cornish fashion retailer Seasalt, which has just closed three stores, is nevertheless an export hit, enjoying a 29% lift in overseas sales, to £3.7million.
Spectrum Medical, Gloucester’s medical device developer, saw a 64% export increase, with exports coming in at £19million.
Also based in Gloucester, Corin Group, an orthopaedic parts maker, had overseas sales of £106,2million – up by 34%.
And Somerset’s Integrity Print enjoyed a 67% rise in foreign shores sales, bringing in £5.3million.
The companies in the South West appear alongside well-known British brands based across the UK including Mountain Warehouse, which opened 21 shops abroad last year; BrewDog, which was valued at £1bn in 2017 and now has nearly 100 bars worldwide; and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, the London-based cosmetics and skincare brand, which ships to 76 markets.
International Track 200 star alumni include Skyscanner, Specsavers, Lush and Endava – which first featured on the league table in 2012 with exports of £3.6million, floated on the NYSE in 2018 and is now valued at more than US$2.5billion.
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Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
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The league table programme is sponsored by HSBC, DHL Express and Oracle NetSuite, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, HSBC UK, said: “The Sunday Times International Track 200 shows the strength, ambition and resilience of companies across the UK and we are delighted to be sponsoring again this year.
“At HSBC UK, we take great pride in recognising the contribution these businesses are making to driving growth across the UK. The three new entrants in the Southwest are making a significant contribution to employment, driving prosperity and growth and are the sort of businesses we are pleased to support every day.”
The full league table is published as a 10-page supplement with the business section of The Sunday Times on February 16,2020, both in print and in the tablet edition, and on www.fasttrack.co.uk
