Ten East of England companies employing 12,000 people are named among the UK’s fastest growing businesses

Together the firms employ nearly 12,000 people and saw their combined sales rise by 10 per cent to £2.6 billion with operating profits up 21 per cent to £181 million.

The businesses are named among the country’s top 250 private mid-market growth companies and are praised for their strong contribution to the region’s economy.

They feature in the 11th annual Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table published this weekend.

Inclusion is dependent on sales or profits having risen by 10 per cent or more year on year.

And the region’s best performers are keeping some illustrious company.

Also on the list are Chelsea Football Club, Nando’s, Caffè Nero, Foster + Partners, Graff and Travelodge.

The region’s biggest mid-market growth company is Peterborough-based insurance giant BGL Group, best known for the price comparison website comparethemarket.com and whose adverts feature Alexander meerkat.

It saw sales grow by 13 per cent to £507 million in 2014 and is ranked in 22nd place up from 25 place last year.

There are two entrants that were not on the league table last year.

These are Peterborough-based TV shopping channel Ideal Shopping, which achieved the highest profit growth in the region, up 120 per cent to £10 million and is placed in 236th position, and Thurlow Nunn Group, the King’s Lynn-based agricultural machinery and car dealer, which had sales of £158 million in 2014, a rise of 12 per cent - in 215th place.

They are joined by food distributor AH Worth of Spalding, which is ranked at 194th with sales of £171 million.

Audio-visual equipment supplier Midwich, of Diss, of Norfolk, was placed 87th with sales of £280 million and profits of £11.6 million.

They are accompanied by car dealer, the Vindis Group, of Huntingdon in 60th place and food and agricultural firm Spearhead International, of Cambridge, in 168th position.

There are also three companies from Norwich in the list.

They are car dealers, Robinsons Motor Group in 77th place with sales of £304 million, building contractor RG Carter in 92 position with sale of £269 million and home products supplier Anglian Group, in 125 place with sales of £229.9 million.

The league table and awards programme is sponsored by Grant Thornton and Barclays, and compiled for the 11th year by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.

James Brown, Partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP, the title sponsor of the league table, praised the companies for their performance.

He said: “It’s inspiring to see such a diverse range of businesses creating growth opportunities both at home and abroad and positively contributing to the UK economy.

“The fact that over half of the Top Track 250 businesses are headquartered outside of London and the southeast speaks to the growing influence of the UK’s regional business hubs and the opportunity these present in the creation of a more vibrant UK economy, where business and people can thrive.”