THE Hut Group has retained its place among the north west's fastest-growing companies, having been named on the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table for the fifth consecutive year.

Headquartered at Gadbrook Park with more than 3,200 staff, the online retailer runs more than 166 websites and is valued at £3.25bn.

The latest table shows the company's annual international sales growth as up by 75 per cent over the past two years.

Its own figures show international sales of £512.4m in the year ending December 2017 – a large proportion of its £736m total sales.

With all of websites localised, they are available in 35 languages and ship to 193 locations worldwide.

Matthew Moulding, chief executive of The Hut Group, said: “2017 was a year of significant development and growth for The Hut Group, as we invested in our infrastructure, our technology platform, our people and our brands.

"THG is now firmly a global player and it is particularly pleasing to see over 70 per cent of sales coming from overseas, and 58 per cent of total sales being of our own brands.

“During the year our acquisitions of Hangar Seven and UK2 saw us develop further our propriety technology platform, THG Ingenuity, and investments in key brands such as ESPA, Illamasqua and GLOSSYBOX further extended our leading beauty offer.

In addition, our job creation continued apace and we welcomed over 1,800 colleagues to The Hut Group around the world.

“With our growing, talented workforce, our leading brands and our cutting-edge technology and infrastructure, we look forward to a further year of growth in 2018.”

Other companies include Missguided, Fayrefield Foods and Travel Counsellors, with the table sponsored by HSBC and DHL Express.

Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking at HSBC UK, said: “We at HSBC UK are delighted to back The Sunday Times International Track 200 again this year.

"All the businesses it showcases have truly inspiring stories to tell about creativity, resilience and ambition to succeed.

"The 19 companies in the north west are putting the region firmly on the map.

"They are the kinds of enterprises we are thrilled to support and that provide the backbone of our economy, today and tomorrow.”