Hot 100 is revealed

Lancashire Business View’s Hot 100 list of the county’s most profitable SMEs was unveiled at a breakfast gathering at Barton Grange Hotel near Preston.

Guests were given an exclusive glimpse of the 2019 league table, which will be published in the forthcoming issue of the magazine.

They also heard from a panel made up of business leaders and experts who discussed some of the challenges facing the county’s SME sector – including Brexit and the need to have a strong voice in the Northern Powerhouse.

This year’s Hot 100 has been produced in partnership with Edge Hill University’s Productivity and Innovation Centre and supported by Brabners, Haworths Chartered Accountants, who compiled the list, and IT company Nybble.

This year Lancashire Business View has also been working with Edge Hill University to produce in-depth research into the county’s economic health and wellbeing, including the key hotspots for growth.

That exclusive analysis of around 3,600 high-growth businesses that are delivering £4.6bn to Lancashire’s economy will also feature in the July/August edition of the magazine.

Taking part in the breakfast event panel discussion, Prof Simon Bolton, associate dean and chair professor for innovation at Edge Hill, called on Lancashire and its businesses to be “more outward looking and pro-active.”

He also said it was vital that the county had “more voice in the Northern Powerhouse project.

Mark Schofield of Haworths said the continued uncertainty over Brexit was having an impact on businesses.

Attendees at the breakfast gathering included representatives of companies in this year’s Hot 100 list.

The panel, which also included Nicola Whittle of Brabners and Ram Gupta of Nybble, discussed the attributes of a successful SME, including “clarity, confidence, consolidation and communication”.