Northern Irish food businesses among most inspiring
Two Northern Ireland food companies are listed in the Daily Telegraph's annual study with the London Stock Exchange and DueDil of 1,000 inspirational small and medium sized (SMEs) businesses.
The Northern Ireland food companies, among 19 from the region listed, are Lynn's Country Foods of Downpatrick, county Down and Glens of Antrim Potatoes from Cushendall in county Antrim.
Lynn's Country Foods is known for its pork and venison products marketed under Finnebrogue and other brands. It is a leading supplier of products to retailers throughout the UK and Ireland and employs almost 200 people.
Glens of Antrim supplies a range of potatoes to retailers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The report identifies the most exciting and dynamic SMEs which are having a positive impact on economic growth and job creation in the UK. The final list was compiled after rigorous analysis of the performance and profitability of SMEs registered in the UK.
The report is a significant part of London Stock Exchange's broader campaign to support UK high growth companies in their journeys from Start-up to Stardom and to create an entrepreneurship revolution.
Food and drink companies are seen the toast of the UK economy, bringing 16,000 new products to market each year. The industry spends £1 billion annually on R&D, helping it stay one step ahead of changing consumer demand.
While no sector has been impervious to the recession, UK food and drink manufacturing has held up well against the economic headwinds, with increased exports and new job creation. Figures show that the UK government helped 2,500 food and drink businesses sell their produce abroad in the 12 months to October 2014 - more than ever before - generating £300 million for the UK economy.
400,000 people are directly employed by the UK food and drink industry- 96 per cent of businesses are micro- to medium-sized and 45 per cent increased in value-added exports in five years
The London Stock Exchange found its 1,000 companies to Inspire Britain with the help of Growth Intelligence, a technology firm that monitors the performance activity of every registered business in the UK.
Together, the LSE and Growth Intelligence drew up a set of identifying factors. Eligible companies had to show revenue growth in at least three of the past four years, in addition to outperforming their rivals in the same sector.
Other factors ignored turnover altogether, assessing businesses by increase in employee numbers, expansion of work space, and by the number of patents filed.