Leeds fifth in the turnover league

Alert Research said it has completed the analysis of 3.4 million UK companies and discovered that a group of just 10,000 high growth companies are the powerhouse of the UK economy, averaging 48 per cent growth per year.

It found that Leeds had 128 companies in ‘High Growth 10,000’ list last year. These 128 companies recorded a collective turnover of more than £28.8bn and employed more than 208,000 people, the research claimed.

Leeds is the only Yorkshire-based city to make the top ten and comes in above the likes of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Nottingham.

Ray Murphy, managing director of Alert Research, said: “Over the last three years, when we have been in the depth of recession, these 10,000 firms have been responsible for 54 per cent of all new jobs created by existing businesses, collectively employing almost 6.5 million people and turning over more than £1.6 trillion.”

The research found that Leeds’s top five ‘High Growth 10,000’ companies were Firestone Diamonds, UK General Insurance, Jet2Holidays, Tracsis and Green Team Services.