The East of England has cemented its position as one of Europe’s leading life sciences clusters, with six healthcare firms placing in the ORESA Executive Search Growth Index 2026 ranking of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing companies, including two in the top 10.
Stevenage-based Autifony Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company developing treatments for rare genetic neurological disorders, ranks fourth nationally after achieving two-year compound annual revenue growth of 336.5%. Cambridge’s Amphista Therapeutics places seventh with growth of 306.4%.
There are eight companies from the region in the national 100 overall, including Essex’s Premium Care Group (#38), and bit.bio (#65) and Cycle Pharmaceuticals (#86), which are based in Cambridge.
Altogether, six out of the 15 health care companies to make the top 100 are based in the East of England, more than any other region.
Orlando Martins, founder of Growth Index, said:
“While much attention is focused on London’s technology sector, the East of England continues to build one of the most impressive life sciences ecosystems anywhere in Europe. The concentration of healthcare and biotech companies appearing in this year’s rankings demonstrates the region’s growing importance as a centre for scientific innovation, commercialisation and scale-up growth.”
The wider picture
This year’s Growth Index highlights the resilience of Britain’s scale-up economy. The average company on the list achieved compound annual revenue growth of 136.1% over two years, making this the strongest edition of the ranking to date. Together, the Growth Index 100 generated more than £11 billion in annual revenues, with businesses ranging from data centres to art galleries, and from GB News to Popeye’s UK fried chicken shops.
Financial services remained the largest sector, accounting for a quarter of all companies featured, while healthcare continued its steady rise, driven by particularly strong performances from biotechnology businesses. Retail also enjoyed a resurgence after several more difficult years, reflecting growing consumer demand for health, wellbeing and value-focused products. Meanwhile, pure-play AI businesses are beginning to make a visible impact on the rankings, although they have yet to dominate them.
