North East takes eight places on list of UK’s most innovative companies

The North East has punched above its weight in a list that ranks some of the most innovative companies in the UK.

The IP100 list compiled by intellectual property specialists Metis Partners ranks UK companies in five areas: brand and reputation, patents, critical databases, software and trade secrets.

County Durham firm Kromek, which makes radiation detection devices, is ranked fourth in the UK list, while Newcastle company Grid Smarter Cities, which has developed technology to manage deliveries and cut congestion, also makes the top 10.

In all, eight North East firms are included in the list, including Sunderland’s Hyperdrive Innovation, which earlier this year won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise and which was this week part of a major takeover by Californian business Turntide Technologies.

Dr Arnab Basu CEO of Kromek Group plc, said: “I am incredibly proud that Kromek has once again been listed among the UK’s most innovative companies. It is a testament to the work of our highly skilled team here in Sedgefield and the wider group, that Kromek, and our region by extension, remains a leading light of British ingenuity.

“The work of Kromek has continued at pace over the past 12 months, with new developments in biological detection projects, including in relation to Covid-19, as well as continued progress in nuclear detection and medical screening.

“Importantly, the new innovations and patents have the capacity to make real and tangible differences to the lives of people very day.”

Neil Herron, founder and CEO of Grid Smart Cities, said: “When our patents were first filed in 2012 , the market wasn’t ready for our solutions.

“Now we’re starting to see a convergence of factors – air quality, congestion, climate change, last mile deliveries – it’s all converging on the kerb space and that’s the area that we pioneered. So what we’re doing is really timely and it’s great that we’ve made the top 10 again.”

Other firms on the region highlighted for their intellectual property include County Durham companies Pacifica and Redu, Gateshead’s wesellanycompany.com, UK Doorstep Choice, from Newcastle, and So To Company, which is based at Dissington Hall in Northumberland.

Stephen Robertson, founder and CEO of Metis Partners, said: “We saw evidence during this turbulent last 12 months how a robust IP strategy can be vital to the sustainability of any business operating in the modern economy.”