JUST 16 per cent of the 250 largest businesses in Yorkshire lie within North Yorkshire’s boundaries despite its geographical dominance.

New business analysis by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has revealed North Yorkshire is home to 40 of the region’s top 250 companies.

The largest county in England saw its largest 40 companies return revenues of £13 billion last year, marking a 4 per cent increase on the previous year. As a result their collective operating profits rose by 10 per cent to £1.1 billion.

According to the report the firms provide employment for more than 37,300 people, an increase of three per cent in the last year, with construction, manufacturing and food and drink protruding as the dominant sectors.

Yorkshire Report is BDO’s annual analysis of Yorkshire’s corporate landscape, highlighting the contribution made by big businesses towards wealth and prosperity in the region.

Jason Whitworth, mergers and acquisitions partner at BDO, said: “People might think of North Yorkshire as having a rural economy based on agriculture and tourism.

“But while these sectors are undoubtedly important, the county is also home to many businesses which are playing strategically vital roles for UK plc.

“Last year, they contributed sales of £13 billion to GDP, provided employment for thousands of households and paid many millions of pounds in tax to pay for things that are easily taken for granted, like roads, railways, hospitals and schools.

“They have shrugged off the political and economy uncertainty that has dominated headlines over the last year to make a significant contribution to regional and national wellbeing.”

Large businesses in North Yorkshire include Drax Group, near Selby, which generates seven per cent of the UK’s electricity, York firms Persimmon plc, the FTSE 100 housebuilding giant, and Shepherd Group, the family-owned engineering, manufacturing and construction company, and Karro Food Group, one of the UK’s top three pork producers at Malton.

Others include R&R Ice Cream, the food producer also known as Froneri following its merger with Nestle, CNG, the independent commercial gas supplier, Severfield plc, the structural steel specialist, and Vantage, the family-owned motor group.