Hertfordshire LTD. 2026

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Hertfordshire’s key players: powering ahead on growth

Now in its 13th year, Hertfordshire LTD. celebrates the county’s most successful privately owned businesses. This year, the Top 100 generated £22 billion in turnover, up 14.4% on last year, and employed 82,401 people, up 7.6%. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) rose 27.8% to £1.4 billion, and average remuneration grew 11.7% to £57,400.

Growth took investment. Acquisitions and organic growth both played a part. Outside investors are taking notice too: Danone bought Tring-headquartered Huel , and Equinix has acquired a site in South Mimms for a data centre campus. Our report covers six sectors, from manufacturing and industrial to private healthcare and technology, media and telecoms.

What’s inside the Hertfordshire LTD. report?

We’ve analysed Hertfordshire’s 100 largest privately owned companies, ranked by turnover. The report includes:

the Top 100 companies, ranked by turnover
the 25 fastest-growing businesses, ranked on three-year EBITDA compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
the 25 largest international contributors, which are subsidiaries of internationally owned companies
a breakdown of six sectors and the county’s main business hubs
a case study with Lawsons, one of the UK’s largest independent timber, building and fencing merchants.

We’ve also compared this year’s results with last year’s to show economic trends across sectors.

What’s powering Hertfordshire’s growth?

Total turnover across the county’s Top 100 has increased by 14.4% to £22 billion since last year, and almost two-thirds of the businesses we could compare year on year grew their turnover. Average remuneration has also risen, up 11.7% to £57,400.

Who came out on top?

Find out which sectors and business hubs are powering Hertfordshire’s performance.

Download the full report [17403 kb]

Hertfordshire LTD. at a glance

£22 B

combined Top 100 turnover

82.4K

employees

£1.4 B

EBITDA

£57.4K

average remuneration

Check out who’s made the list for 2026 and see how Hertfordshire’s private businesses are shaping the county’s economy.

Download your copy today [17403 kb]

Frequently asked questions

The report uses the most recent publicly available accounts (as of 20th June 2026). It covers privately owned businesses in Hertfordshire, excluding listed companies, businesses owned by listed companies, schools, trusts and charities. Overseas-owned subsidiaries are left out of the Top 100 and shown in the international contributors list instead. The 25 fastest-growing businesses are ranked on three-year EBITDA compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Manufacturing and industrial is the largest sector by turnover at £6.8 billion, followed by real estate and construction at £5.7 billion and consumer at £5.4 billion. The report also covers business support services, technology, media and telecoms, and private healthcare.

Watford is home to the most Top 100 companies (18), followed by Borehamwood and St Albans with nine each, Hertford with eight and Stevenage with seven. But Stevenage’s seven companies generated the highest combined turnover in the county, £3.64 billion, narrowly ahead of Watford’s £3.49 billion. Kings Langley stands out too, with just four companies contributing £2.3 billion in turnover.

Yes. This year’s report spotlights the 25 largest subsidiaries of internationally owned companies in Hertfordshire, which together generate £32.4 billion in combined turnover. US-owned businesses lead the way.

Strong margins and reinvesting all our profit took us from 30 cars in month one to over 1,500 sales a month today, and we're now embedding AI across the business to go further.

Faheem Miah Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Car Planet

The strength of Hertfordshire’s business hubs is being reinforced by major investment decisions that confirm the county’s wider pull.

Mike Tillson Partner, Grant Thornton