North East business success championed at 2026 Fastest 50 Awards

The event, held at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead last Friday, brought together business leaders from across the region to celebrate the North East’s fastest growing privately owned companies.

Held in partnership with The Journal, the awards are now in their 28th year and rank privately owned, profitable North East companies by their average annual turnover growth over three financial years. Wallsend-headquartered Barrier Group, which works across modular construction, industrial services and fire protection, was named both overall winner and fastest growing large business.

Hartlepool firm Borthwick Heating Insulation UK took second place in the large business category, followed by Hebburn-based mechanical and electrical building services specialist Castle Building Services Organisation.

In the medium business category, Gateshead’s OES Group, which provides testing, inspection and compliance services across energy, marine and industrial markets, took first place. Sunderland business STS Marine Solutions, a global provider of ship-to-ship transfer and marine services, was second, with Spennymoor-based Premier Traffic Management completing the top three.

The small business category was won by lead-generation specialist The Media Den which hails from Newton Aycliffe. Consett’s This Is Me Agency, a supported employment business, took second place, followed by Spennymoor family-run sauna design and installation specialist Finnmark.

This year’s 50 companies have a combined turnover of £1.3bn and employ 6,803 people, compared with 5,353 three years ago. Average turnover growth across the businesses within the list stands at 37%.

Opening the awards, Damien Charlton, Partner and Head of Commercial at Ward Hadaway, said: “The rising jobs figure alone gives you a sense of what these businesses are contributing to the North East. Almost 1,500 more people are employed by this year’s 50 companies than three years ago which alongside the increase in turnover truly demonstrates the level of achievement.

“A place in the Fastest 50 reflects growth sustained over three years while remaining profitable, so there is a great deal behind every name on the list. These are businesses recruiting people, winning work, investing and making decisions about where they go next. To see that happening across such a wide range of sectors is a real positive for the region.”

Guests also heard from keynote speaker Vikki Jackson-Smith, founder of Hartlepool-based J&B Recycling. Vikki began working in her family’s solid-fuel business at 16 as a weighbridge clerk before moving into transport management and founded J&B Recycling in 1998 as demand for solid fuel declined. The company went on to employ around 200 people and process more than 200,000 tonnes of waste each year.

Vikki said: “By the late 1990s, the market we knew was changing. Gas was moving into homes across the North East and demand for solid fuel was falling. We had a choice: defend the past or build the future. In 1998, I founded J&B Recycling and took what we already knew about transport, logistics, materials and customer service into a completely different sector.

“Over nearly three decades, we repeatedly reinvested in the business, upgrading machinery, technology and vehicles. Growth was not one dramatic bet. It was a long series of decisions to put resources back into the operation, spot opportunities and then have the confidence to act on them.

“Did I get every decision right? Absolutely not. What mattered was learning quickly, deciding, measuring, listening and adjusting. If it works, scale it. If it doesn’t, own it, learn from it and move on.

“The North East has never been short of initiative, resilience or generosity, and the companies recognised here today are part of that continuing story. We share what we know, we open doors and we back each other. That’s not just community spirit; it’s a competitive advantage.

“It’s a genuine honour to be among the companies recognised here today and to share one growth story in a room full of them. The businesses in this room have grown by questioning, adapting and moving, and for all of us, the work continues.”

Half of this year’s businesses have featured in a previous Fastest 50 while Newcastle-headquartered care home operator Crown Care Holdings has now made six appearances and Sunderland-based social housing regeneration specialist RE:GEN North East has secured a place for four consecutive years.

Nick Gholkar, Executive Partner in Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle office, said: “The Fastest 50 looks very different today from 15 or 20 years ago. Technology has removed some of the barriers to scaling a business and we are seeing a new generation of founders able to grow companies more quickly, alongside established businesses that continue to find new markets and new ways of working.

“One thing that has not changed is the willingness of North East businesses to help each other. There is a strong culture of sharing experience, making introductions and supporting other companies when they do well. That sense of being part of one business community is a real strength for the region.”