AUTHORS of a prestigious new list of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ have been left embarrassed - after including a Northern Ireland firm which went into administration last month.
The report from the London Stock Exchange Group identifies the UK’s most dynamic and fastest growing small businesses, and featured a record 28 firms from Northern Ireland among its top 1,000.
But among them are Dixons Contractors in Dunloy, which in May entered administration, putting 90 jobs at risk.
Founded in 1979, Dixons had been a major employer and contributor to the local area, and its plight was met with a sense of acute shock and disappointment.
The report authors say each company’s average annual turnover growth rate is calculated over a three-year period based on four sets of accounts, and any company with more than 20 per cent deterioration in net assets over a three-year period is excluded.
And in a further disclaimer the publication says the list is compiled based on information made publicly available by each company, and it does not take any responsibility in relation to such information.
However, it will still be a sense of embarrassment that a firm with obvious financial difficulties as Dixons is sitting alongside so many inspirational Northern Ireland companies.
The 28 local businesses in the report recorded a 43 per cent average annual revenue growth rate and generated more than £943 million in total turnover.
Around 2,700 jobs have been created over the past two-year period by those featured Northern Ireland companies, who include 10 in greater Belfast, eight in the west/south, six companies in the east and the other four in the north west.
The overall average annual revenue growth of the 1000 UK companies featured in the report was 108 per cent, up from 70 per cent in 2018. Together they created 95,827 jobs over the past two-year period (up 39 per cent on last year).
London Stock Exchange Group chief executive David Schwimmer said: "Ensuring that dynamic growth companies can realise their potential is vital to the UK’s future prosperity.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises, accounting for 60 per cent of all private sector employment, drive growth, innovation and job creation and are the lifeblood of the UK economy.
"In the context of wider macro-economic uncertainty, supporting these businesses is critical to economic success and the creation of a society that works for everyone."
The 28 Northern Ireland companies included in the Top 1000 (with their revenue range in brackets) are:
:: Alpha Marketing Holdings (£20m-£30m)
:: Camlin (£20m-£30m)
:: CDE Global (£50m-£75m)
:: CHC Group (£10m-£20m)
:: Commercial Shipping Company (Oils) Ltd (£50m-£75m)
:: Decora Blind Systems (£50m-£75m)
:: Dixons Contractors (£20m-£30m)
:: Eakin (£50m-£75m)
:: Eos IT Management Solutions (£10m-£20m)
:: Fleming Agri-Products (£10m-£20m)
:: Fonacab (Belfast) Ltd (£10m-£20m)
:: Henry Group (£75m-£100m)
:: JP Corry (£20m-£30m)
:: Lagan Homes Group (£40m-£50m)
:: Linergy Group (£10m-£20m)
:: Lynn's Country Foods (£50m-£75m)
:: McKinstry Skip Hire (£10m-£20m)
:: Mac-Interiors (£75m-£100m)
:: Mar-Train Heavy Haulage (£10m-£20m)
:: Mills Contracts (£20m-£30m)
:: Mpa Recruitment (£10m-£20m)
:: Oakwood Door Designs (£20m-£30m)
:: Parkline Enterprises (£6m-£10m)
:: RMS Cash Solutions (£6m-£10m)
:: RTD Crawford (£10m-£20m)
:: Springfarm Architectural Mouldings (£20m-£30m)
:: Target Umbrella (£50m-£75m)
:: Wilson's Auctions (£20m-£30m)
