Growing Business Awards finalists looking to create c8,000 jobs in next 12 months

With more than 140 individual firms entering the GBA this year, the judges had their work cut out for them when it came to picking out the top performers across the 27 categories including HR, diversity and customer loyalty, disruption, technology, and innovation. Eventually, the judges selected 116 finalists that will now get to present their entries in person in early September.

Click here to view the full list of finalists for the 2022 Growing Business Awards

The 2022 finalists’ fast-growing credentials are certainly impressive. Altogether, the 116 companies generated a combined turnover of £2.23bn in 2021 - a stunning 60% increase on their 2020 revenues and a 75% uptick over a three-year period. Their average turnover stands at £19m and the majority (61%) report revenues of less than £10m per year, highlighting the fact that a number of these businesses were founded less than five years ago - but around 12% turn over more than £50m per year, with 4.3% generating revenues in excess of £100m. A large majority (85%) are profitable.

Their track record of job creation can also be a source of pride: the 116 finalists employed a combined 18,121 people as of early 2022, with 6,833 of these jobs having been created in the preceding 12 months (equating to a headcount growth of 60% year-on-year). Looking at the 2019-2021 period, their record of job creation stands at 8,807 roles, meaning that the cohort nearly doubled their staff count in the space of three years, despite the unprecedented disruption of the pandemic.

Last but not least, the momentum shows no sign of slowing down: the finalists intend to create an estimated 7,920 jobs over the coming 12 months, surpassing the 2020-2021 increase by some margin, once again despite mounting macroeconomic headwinds.

This last point is perhaps unsurprising, given that Growing Business Intelligence also found that 99% of finalists are confident regarding their trading prospects over the coming 12 months. More than two thirds (70%) are “extremely confident”, with that proportion rising to 77% in the media & marketing sector, and 73% in the technology and recruitment sectors, among others.