Kirklees Top 100 companies celebrated at first face-to-face event since 2020 launch

Companies that made it onto the Kirklees Top 100 Companies list 2021/22 met for the first time since the initiative launched during the pandemic in 2020 at a celebratory event held at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) on 12 May.

The event was the first opportunity that companies on the Top 100 list plus the initiative’s partners have had to meet in-person since its launch in 2020 and discuss plans for the district around growth and regeneration.

The Kirklees Top 100 Companies is a partnership between the University of Huddersfield, Kirklees Council, the Huddersfield Examiner, and 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC), sponsored by CityFibre, designed to help raise the profile of Kirklees’ businesses and the district as an attractive destination for inward investment, business start-up, scale-up and growth.

The Kirklees Top 100 list is determined by a set of consistent metrics, using a combination of turnover, profit, employee numbers and growth, all derived from published company accounts of locally registered firms drawn from the FAME database.

Thornton & Ross was named the most successful company in Kirklees for 2021/22, having moved to number one from seven in the previous year’s list. Buy It Direct held the second spot, with Tandem 1987 Limited and PPG Architectural Coatings joint third.

The event officially kicked off the initiative for 2022/23 when the results of this year’s list will be unveiled at an exclusive event in October. It is hoped that this year’s list will provide a better understanding of how the pandemic impacted businesses across the district.

David Shepherd, strategic director for growth and regeneration, Kirklees Council, said: “The Kirklees Top 100 is a fantastic initiative, you can achieve a lot from businesses working together. Businesses are at the economic heart of the district, which is why at Kirklees Council we support companies, from business expansion to providing links to government departments and other organisations.

“Ongoing developments that will be of great benefit to businesses in the district include significant investment in the new cultural heart of Huddersfield that will offer leisure and cultural facilities; the Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor project that will provide more space for businesses to expand, and upgrades to rail services for a quicker, more reliable service for Huddersfield and Dewsbury, improving connectivity across the county.”

Tim Thornton, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Huddersfield, said: “The Kirklees Top 100 is an excellent way to showcase businesses and the district as a destination for inward investment, start-ups and scale up and growth, so thank you to the partners involved and congratulations to all the winners on this year’s list. Through the initiative we can celebrate the wonderful collaboration and strengthen bonds among our business community, as well as provide training opportunities for young people.”

Sue Cooke, CEO of the 3M BIC, said, “We are thrilled to finally be able to bring all the partners and companies from the Kirklees Top 100 Companies under one roof to celebrate the district’s business community and share plans for supporting regeneration, recruitment and inward investment. The initiative set out to bring the business community together to collaborate and enhance the district’s offering and make it an attractive destination for businesses and students, so we hope this in-person event is the first of many more.”