EF News
By Damien Charlton, Partner and Head of Commercial at Ward Hadaway
For nearly 30 years, the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards have provided a consistent view of how independent businesses across the North East grow.
It was set up with the clear aim of recognising achievement and sharing regional success stories more widely. Here Damien Charlton of Ward Hadaway shares why he is so proud of the positive beacon it is has become.
In partnership with The Journal, the initiative brings together founders, leadership teams, advisers and investors with a shared interest in building sustainable businesses that last, and organisations that contribute to the regional economy and create long-term value. Growth stories can be fragmented or short-lived, but our Fastest 50 offers a clear view of how businesses in the region are performing over time.
The list of the 50 fastest growing businesses each year does not point to a single dominant sector or model, but reflects a mix of industries, ownership structures and stages of development. Manufacturing sits alongside tech and professional services alongside logistics, with some companies scaling quickly from a small base while others sustain steady growth over longer periods. That breadth is part of the story and suggests the region’s strength lies less in any one sector and more in the range of businesses finding ways to grow in different conditions, underlining that there is no single route to success.
Across the Fastest 50, the drivers behind that growth are more consistent, with conversations returning to people, access to funding and sustained effort over time. The role of people comes through clearly, particularly the importance of building and keeping a stable team as the business grows, extending beyond leadership into the wider workforce, where recruitment is only part of the picture and retention and development carry equal weight. Businesses that invest early in skills, training and culture often point to that as a factor in managing periods of pressure or transition.
Funding varies in both availability and approach. Some companies have grown without external backing, while others have used investment to accelerate expansion or enter new markets. In both cases, the focus is on how funding supports the next stage rather than growth for its own sake, with access to capital also bringing scrutiny that impacts decision-making as businesses develop. Many of those featured describe growth as a process shaped by changing market conditions and operational pressures, where progress comes from a series of decisions over time and early choices are often revisited as the business develops.
That is reflected in the recently launched Fastest 50 podcast, hosted by our Business Development Director Alistair McDonald, which offers a refreshingly honest account of how many businesses have developed, moving beyond headline figures to the decisions behind them. Across the series, founders and leadership teams speak candidly about hiring at pace, managing cash and investment, responding to market shifts and dealing with the pressures that come with growth, including where plans have not worked as expected and what they have changed as a result. Taken together, these accounts point to a broader view of impact beyond simply growth. They reveal how businesses that expand in a measured way are more likely to support stable employment, invest in skills over time, build longer-term supply chain relationships and contribute to the wider business environment across the region, rather than focusing only on short term gains.
Fastest 50 will continue to spotlight the businesses behind that growth. This is not simply as a ranking but as a record of the role they play across the North East, from job creation and skills development to supply chain activity and local investment, and how that sustained growth contributes to the region’s economic strength over time.
Every year I look forward to the positivity and inspiration of the Fastest 50 initiative, but in the meantime learn more about the region’s ambitious and fast-growing businesses on our podcast.
