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Durham and Newcastle companies make Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table

Three North East companies will feature in this year’s Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table, one more than last year.

Published this weekend, the 19th annual league table ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing sales over three years.

Top-ranked company in the region is Newcastle-based Iam-Sold, which is a new entrant at No 23. Ben Ridgway and Jamie Cooke founded the property auction services provider in 2009, when they were both aged just 24.

The company offers both white-labelled online auctions, and traditional physical lots in the UK and Ireland. Sales have grown by an average of 90% a year to £8.7m last year.

There are two companies headquartered in County Durham: kitchen appliance manufacturer Andrew James, which is based in Durham, appears for a second year running at No 32, having grown sales 72% a year to an annualised £17.5m this year; and Thornaby-based mobile phone accessories distributor PJA Distribution, which is a new entrant at No 37, having increased sales by 71% a year to £7.3m this year.

Sir Richard Branson of Virgin, the title sponsor for all 19 years, said: “This year’s Fast Track 100 is packed full of entrepreneurs and family businesses tackling many different challenges head-on and thriving thanks to their team spirit and togetherness.

“Entrepreneurship and family values are at the heart of everything we do at Virgin. Like many on the Fast Track 100, we’ve turned a family business into a business family. Working with family works.”

The companies in the northeast appear with businesses from around the UK, including fashion retailer Missguided, restaurant operator Bill’s, brewery BrewDog, and premium cycling clothing brand Rapha.