New look Essex Top 100 Business survey launched for 2015

The fastest growing businesses in Essex will take their place under the spotlight alongside the county’s top 100 performing companies, when the results of the new format Essex Limited 2015 study are unveiled by financial and business advisers Grant Thornton and Essex law firm Birkett Long LLP in early December.

Essex Limited was first launched in 2011 to provide an in-depth financial analysis of the county’s 100 largest companies and has since become a recognised barometer of Essex’s economic health.

For the first time this year, the new look study will also focus on those businesses which have achieved the highest rates of growth, to give an even more detailed snapshot of the Essex economy. The report will also feature a ‘ones to watch’ section, highlighting companies which are likely to make the top 100 next year.

Paul Dearsley, head of Grant Thornton’s new Essex office in Chelmsford who is leading the 2015 Essex Limited report, says: “We have extended the parameters of this year’s study in recognition of the huge contribution ambitious, high growth companies make to the Essex economy. They may not yet have reached the turnover levels of the big players but they have a key role in stimulating the local market, creating employment and driving the region forward.

“The report will still maintain its focus on the top 100 performing companies but the new format will enable us to provide an even more accurate picture of what is happening in this dynamic, vibrant county.

The traditional Essex Ltd analysis looks at key performance indicators for the top 100 companies such as operating profit and employment, plus a breakdown of the financial data by sector. The top 100 businesses are selected based on the postcode of their trading address and turnover levels.

Tracey Dickens, head of Commercial and Corporate Finance at Birkett Long, added: “Last year’s Essex Limited findings showed another solid performance from the top 100 businesses with a substantial rise in operating profit and a significant increase in employment. Our county’s businesses are by nature progressive and resourceful and with the economic revival we have seen over the past 12 months, we anticipate a similarly optimistic picture for 2015.”

The Essex Ltd 2015 findings will be unveiled during a breakfast briefing hosted by Grant Thornton and Birkett Long on Wednesday 2 December at Stock Brook Country Club in Stock.  The event will also include a Q&A with a panel of guest business leaders.

For further information, to register your interest for the Essex Ltd 2015 event, or to request a full copy of the report, please email EssexLtd@uk.gt.com