New leader of Growth 100
There's a new company at the top of the Insider Growth 100 – our annual list of the hundred fastest growing businesses in the Midlands. The top ten is made up of six new entries, across a range of sectors from construction and car retailing to betting and communications.
Topping the table is Stonebeach, the Birmingham company which owns and runs the Patisserie Valerie chain, showing outstanding growth.
The company, which employs more than 1,200 staff, recorded annual growth of 261 per cent per cent over the sampled period, with its most recent accounts revealing turnover of £37.2m and pre-tax profit of £5.5m.
Patisserie Valerie has expanded significantly beyond its London heartland during 2011, with more than a 50 per cent increase in the number of outlets across the country.
The trendy high street patisseries offer everything from an early morning breakfast to a high tea, as well as a bespoke catering service and exclusive collection of wedding cakes.
And it is this unique blend that has seen the chain carving out a high-street niche not met by traditional coffee house chains or cake shops and has continued to drive the company’s success.
The company, which was established in Soho in 1926 by Madame Valerie and with headquarters based in Birmingham, has opened more than 50 stores.
This success follows the 2006 Risk Capital Partners backed management buyout for £6m and has seen sales grow 68 per cent a year from an annualised £7.1m in 2007 to £37.2m in 2011.
Patisserie Valerie's chief executive Paul May credits its organic openings and acquisitions for the successful national rollout.
"Despite the current climate of doom and gloom, we have continued to bring investment and job opportunities to the UK's high streets and encourage the interest of the public who welcome the new stores," May said.
"If anything, the enthusiasm of the public has taken us by surprise, so we have continued to look for high-quality shopping venues in which to open and continue to grow Patisserie Valerie as a national brand.
"This has put us in a different market place and is why we have been able to gain so many new customers in the last year, continue to provide much-needed jobs and revive the use of empty buildings in UK towns and cities."
May said the Patisserie Valerie chain will continue to build on this year's success into 2012 and beyond with a number of new openings being planned across the UK.
The other West Midlands companies in the top ten were: Randles in Newcastle-under-Lyme; Bromsgrove-based Outcomes (UK); Stafford-based Keycom; Bet365 in Stoke; and Heyford Contracting in Birmingham.
The full Growth 100 is published in March's Midlands Business Insider out this month.
