Updated: 18 September 2025

The Fastest-Growing Companies in Northern Ireland | 2025

The Fastest-Growing Companies in Northern Ireland | 2025 Table of contents Possibly one of Northern Ireland’s most famous businesses is the story of the DeLorean.

Words Lily Ruaah

Possibly one of Northern Ireland’s most famous businesses is the story of the DeLorean.

Back in 1978, DeLorean struck a deal to set up shop with a factory near the Twinbrook industrial estate in Dunmurry, not far from Belfast. This move not only created a huge number of jobs for the area but also promised to churn out 30,000 DeLorean cars annually. It was a game-changer for the area, especially in the context of Belfast’s declining textile industry.

But back to the future, we’re looking at Northern Ireland’s economic landscape in 2025, in our third part of the UK’s fastest-growing companies.

Discover the Northern Irish business landscape

Before we get into the companies that made the list, let’s take a wider look and explore Northern Ireland’s business landscape overall. Currently in Northern Ireland, there are 80.2k active companies. Out of those active companies, 22.1k are headquartered in Belfast, approximately 28% of the total — just slightly lower than the average for the other nations.

Industries and sectors

When it comes to industries in Northern Ireland, we continue to see overlap of the same three industries across all of the UK’s nations.

Northern Ireland however is the first nation in our analysis to have Cars, motorcycles and other road vehicles at fourth place, making up 4.1% of all companies.

Application software, which came in second place in England, and at number four for Wales and Scotland, still made it onto Northern Ireland’s top five list at number five — and remains a huge industry across the UK.

The fastest-growing companies in Scotland

Discover the key insights and trends behind the high-growth economy in Scotland.

Discover Scotland

Gender balance of directors

In Northern Ireland, 61% of active companies have exclusively male directors, while 13% have all-women directors — and 18% are led by director teams with an equal gender split. These proportions are broadly in line with trends in England and Scotland, as well as across the UK overall, where 62% of active companies have all-male director teams and 17% all-female directors.

Foundations and cessations

Company foundations hit an all-time high in Northern Ireland in 2024 — when there were 17.7k foundations. That’s a huge 26% increase on the previous high of 14.0k in 2023. So far in 2025, there’s been 7.83k foundations in Northern Ireland, meaning we are unlikely to hit as high numbers of foundations overall in 2025.

Looking at company cessations, numbers have grown steadily since 2015, ranging from 3.85k in 2015 to 7.86k in 2024. However, in 2025 we have already seen a record number of cessations (10.6k).

The fastest-growing companies in England

Discover the key insights and trends behind the high-growth economy in England.

Discover England

Equity investment in Northern Ireland

Our recent report, The State of UK Investment, examines all equity investment into UK companies during the first half of 2025.

In this period, Northern Ireland accounted for 1% of the UK’s total deals and 1% of overall investment value, ranking fourth among the nations. Compared with the second half of 2024, this represents a 7% rise in the number of deals completed but a 25% decline in the total amount invested.

Want a more detailed breakdown of equity investment in the UK, read the report: The State of UK Investment

Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing companies

To identify the fastest-growing companies in Northern Ireland, we’ve calculated turnover growth between each company’s two most recent financial statements.

To be included in the analysis, a company must have had comparable statements for the last two financial years, reported at least £100k in turnover in their base financial statement, and hit one of our Growth Signals.

To make our list of England, Wales, and Scotland’s fastest-growing companies, we used data from the Beauhurst platform, which was used in conjunction with research from the Sunday Times to create the Sunday Times Hundred. This ranking, published in the Sunday Times on 29th June, ranks the UK’s fastest growing companies by sales growth over a three year period.

What is The Sunday Times Hundred?

The Sunday Times Hundred is a ranking of the UK’s 100 fastest-growing companies.

This high-growth list is compiled using a combination of our data and independent research from the team at The Sunday Times. It highlights exceptional UK companies that meet strict criteria:

£5m+ turnover
Independent, privately-owned and UK headquartered companies
Have four years of accounts, with sales growth measured by CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the latest three financial years

To create this article, we have used the same dataset. This means every company on this list has also featured on The Sunday Times Hundred 2025.

Read The Sunday Times Hundred ranking

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Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing companies

Founded as a family business in Belfast, Lagan Group has grown into one of Northern Ireland’s best-known construction names. Now part of Breedon Group, it delivers large-scale civil engineering, asphalt, and building materials projects across the UK and Ireland.

Lagan has been central to key infrastructure, from airports and roads to energy facilities. Its integration into Breedon in 2018 gave it scale and resources to expand further, while retaining a strong Northern Irish base.

Since being acquired by Breedon in 2018, the company has gone on to acquire Frametech in 2019.

Set up to tackle the poor connectivity in rural Northern Ireland, Fibrus is one of the region’s fastest-growing telecoms companies. It has rolled out full-fibre broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, winning government contracts to deliver connectivity to underserved areas.

Since the beginning of 2025, it has now reached over 400,000 premises, created almost 900 jobs, and is expanding into Great Britain. The company featured on the Deloitte Ireland Fast 50 in 2024.

Part of the Braidwater Group, BW Social Affordable Housing focuses on building energy-efficient homes that meet pressing social needs. Working in partnership with housing associations, it has delivered developments such as Cappagh Green in Portstewart and Black Ridge Hill in Belfast.

The company has committed tens of millions into affordable housing, reflecting its dual mission of commercial success and community impact. It hit the Beauhurst Growth Signal for 20% scaleup, meaning the company has grown by at least 20% consecutively for three years — and it hit our Social & Governance Signal for having age diversity among its directors.

Zesty, also known as Simply Zesty, is a digital agency combining design, marketing, and technology to deliver standout online experiences. Known for creativity rooted in data, the agency has attracted both Northern Irish and international clients.

Like BW Social Affordable Housing, the company has hit our Growth Signal for scaling up by at least 20% over three consecutive years. In August 2025, the company was acquired by Irish company Granite Digital.

Nightlife Security provides licensed, professional door supervision to Belfast’s hospitality industry. Focused on safety, customer care, and compliance, it supports venues ranging from nightclubs to live events.

Although a smaller operator, its emphasis on well-trained, SIA-registered staff has built a reputation for reliability in the industry. The company also hit the Beauhurst Growth Signal for 20% scaleup.

NUGENT is a second-generation family business that has grown into a leading mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor thanks to its BIM-enabled off-site fabrication facility and investment in digital construction.

The company is also a 20% scaleup, and it hit our Social & Governance Signal for having age diversity among its directors.

TeamFeePay was built to simplify the financial and administrative burdens of grassroots football clubs. Its platform handles registrations, payments, fundraising, communication and e-commerce, giving volunteers and coaches more time to focus on the game.

Serving clubs across the UK and Ireland, the business has grown its Belfast team to over 70 staff and continues to roll out new features. The company has been through five funding rounds, most recently securing £2.59m in May 2024 — bringing its total raised up to £6.89m.

Based in Newry, Cunningham Contracts Group has built a reputation for delivering projects across residential, healthcare, industrial and commercial sectors. Its portfolio ranges from large housing developments to specialist facilities such as data centres.

With nearly two decades of experience, the company emphasises quality, safety, and collaboration with clients and architects. As well as making it to the third spot on our fastest-growing companies list, the company also featured on the Northern Ireland Fast Growth 50 in 2024.

P McVey Building Systems specialises in providing high-quality modular and temporary buildings in Northern Ireland. By working closely with architects and contractors, the company delivers bespoke, energy-efficient building envelopes that improve both performance and design.

In 2021 it acquired Donnelly Cabins, a manufacturer of temporary accommodation products such as modular buildings and shipping containers.

Union Arch Properties is an established Northern Irish property development and investment firm. Active for decades, it focuses on acquiring, developing and managing commercial and residential assets.

While details on its portfolio are limited, its long-standing presence and continued registration reflect a sustained role in the region’s property sector. Union Arch operates at the intersection of investment and development, contributing to the evolving built environment across Northern Ireland. The company takes our number one spot on the fastest-growing companies in Northern Ireland 2025.

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