The NET 250 returns to showcase region’s elite

www.bdaily.co.uk/net250login

LinkedIn: N magazine

The NET 250 is back – and bigger and better than before.

The North East’s premier celebration of business excellence will return this spring to once again shine a spotlight on the region’s most vibrant and successful companies.

Showcasing the organisations driving financial growth while innovating in an exciting new era of devolution, The NET 250 – compiled from Companies House accounts and business websites – will reveal the North East’s top 250 firms by turnover.

Those organisations – researched in partnership with Newcastle University Business School and verified by PwC – will be unveiled at an exclusive breakfast event on Thursday, May 14 at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, between 8.30am and 11.30am.

Launched last year at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the showpiece ceremony celebrated the region’s software developers, builders, manufacturers, subsea operators, professional services firms, transport businesses, process sector companies, trade hubs and more that are delivering tomorrow’s successes today.

The 2026 event – which counts Newcastle and Stockton-on-Tees-based national legal and professional services firm Knights as its headline partner – will build on that success, with a number of new and exciting award categories set to be unveiled to recognise more organisations from Northumberland to Teesside.

Steven Hugill, NET editor-in-chief and The NET 250 ceremony host, says: “We’re delighted to be delivering the event once again.

“Last year’s ceremony was a huge success, with incredible interest in The NET 250 list.

“We’re very excited to be returning with a bigger and better programme.

“As a multi-platform publisher deeply embedded in the North East, we have championed the region for years, celebrating its entrepreneurs and commercial success stories while casting an analytical eye across the legislative landscape to advocate further positive change.

“The NET 250 builds on that commitment.”

Accolades at the event – which is additionally backed by partners including PwC, S&W, Hill Dickinson and Community Foundation North East – will include honours for the top company in the North East, as well as new awards for the highest new entrant and the highest climber.

The ceremony will also feature the judges’ select award, celebrating an organisation’s financial success alongside its wider impact on the region.

Dr Fiona Whitehurst, Newcastle University Business School associate dean for engagement and place, says the education provider is thrilled to be working on The NET 250 again.

She says: “We are delighted to continue our partnership, as it reflects our shared commitment to championing the North East’s business landscape.

“Last year’s event was spectacular, and we were delighted our students, under close academic supervision, played an integral part in the research.

“It has also been exciting for this year’s team to research new categories for the 2026 event.”

Richard Podd, PwC North East market senior partner, says: “It is an absolute pleasure to be working with NET and Newcastle University Business School again on this event.

“PwC is incredibly proud of our heritage in the region and the variety of businesses we have supported over the years.

“This event is an opportunity for the whole business community to celebrate regional success stories and put North East businesses on the map.”

Kenton Bazeley, Knights’ regional client services director, adds: “Partnering with The NET 250 is a statement of intent for us in the North East.

“Our teams in Newcastle and Teesside are growing, backed by our unrivalled nationwide team of professionals.

“Such a prestigious event is a great place for us to forge even closer ties with our region’s businesses.

“We’re really looking forward to celebrating those at the forefront of our vibrant and creative business community.

“It promises to be a great event.”

For more information about The NET 250 sponsorship packages, contact NET event manager Dawn Owens at [email protected] or call 07789 666437.

Buy your ticket to this year’s event here.